Insider's Look at Grand Canyon

Interview with Park Rangers Pat and Ron Brown. They talk about the spring migration of birds through Grand Canyon National Park and the importance of International Bird Migration Day. http://www.nps.gov/grca/photosmultimedia/grca_pod.htm

An Interview with Park Ranger Megan Kohli about Youth and teen Camps. Working with Grand Canyon Youth, a non-profit partner of the national park, youth camps have been offered since 2008. This is an excellent opportunity for kids to get out and experience the backcountry and ride on the river rapids while learning about their national park. http://www.nps.gov/grca/photosmultimedia/grca_pod.htm

My sculpture is a result of a physical process of spontaneous digging and marking in clay with my hands, a blind act of faith. As I work, I create the negative void that is ever present in this life full of ambiguity. Removing my hands, I fill the dark, cold space with materials. Then painstakingly peel away the soft layers of clay on the outside until the solid form is exposed -- like an excavation. The result is an expressive object like a fossil manifestation of the complexity of my desires, fears and expectations. The layers of clay are recycled over and over again as a foundation for more digging and building more sculpture. When my will tries to control the negative space, the outcome takes the form of fierce substances. But when I push with spontaneous marks of bold confidence, a wonderful evolution of probity and consciousness appears. The pinhole photographs are a documentation of the moment of discovering the sculptures in the Arizona landscape. - Kim Henkel

Women have played an important role in Grand Canyon's history from the beginning, but they are not always as well known. Rangers Davis and Daly discuss three women important to Grand Canyon's architecture, culture, and ranger heritage. http://www.nps.gov/grca/photosmultimedia/inside-look-33.htm

On her first backpacking trip into the Grand Canyon, artist Erica Stankwytch Bailey tells of her adventures walking through snow on the rim, then down into the desert in the canyon's depths, and ultimately to a waterfall. If you would like to find out more about hiking in Grand Canyon National Park, visit : http://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/backcountry.htm

Insider's Look host, Ranger Patrick Gamman talks with Ranger Nicole Koehlinger about the ravens in Grand Canyon National Park. Ravens are one of the most common birds seen in the park. They are intelligent, savvy, sociable and problem solvers.

Legendary canyon storyteller, Captain John Hance (Park Ranger Ron Brown) returns to tell the story of one snowy winter when he was hungry and all he had to eat was molasses, a bar of soap, and an old shoe.

Legendary canyon storyteller, Captain John Hance (Park Ranger Ron Brown) returns to tell the story of one snowy winter when he was hungry and all he had to eat was molasses, a bar of soap, and an old shoe.

Hear the struggle between two great forces in aquatic ecosystems in epic Shakespearean fashion in "Moose-terpiece Theatre." It's an excerpt from the Mountain World Heritage Interpretive Theatre production, "Water...on the Rocks!" which tells the tale of water in the Canadian Rockies. Mountain World Heritage Interpretive Theatre is Parks Canada's very own theatre troupe, based in Banff National Park. The troupe shares the stories of the Canadian Rocky Mountain National Parks (Banff, Jasper, Yoho and Kootenay) with inspiring and hilarious interpretive shows. Mountain World Heritage Interpretive Theatre tours to schools, special events and festivals. Their newest play, IMAGINaNATION, celebrates 125 years of national parks in Canada! Link to the Mountain World Heritage Interpretive Theatre page on the Parks Canada website: http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/ab/banff/edu/edu4g_e.asp

Topics include: visitor transportation systems, Jr. Ranger Programs and interpretive presentations. She shares a funny skit from Banff's Mountain World Heritage Interpretive Theatre.

Verkamp’s is the park's newest Visitor Center in one of the oldest buildings. Located in the National Historic District of the South Rim, the building dates back to 1905. The curio shop was owned and operated for over 100 years by the Verkamp family.

Ranger Andy Pearce discusses the Environmental Education Program at Grand Canyon National Park with host, Patrick Gamman . Educators. If you are interested in curriculum-based activities at Grand Canyon National Park or in the classroom, listen up! Learn about the many programs offered for school groups, from ranger-led activities at the canyon to rangers visiting your classroom.

Park Ranger and Insider's host, Patrick Gamman, interviews Randy Erwin about his work as a cowboy poet, yodeler, and demonstrator of rope tricks, as well as what he did as an Artist in Residence at Grand Canyon. He also sings and yodels!

Santa and his Elf, Peppermint, meet Grand Canyon authors. Peppermint the Elf (Park Ranger Patrick Gamman) interviews Lori Rome, Thomas Ratz, and Tom Martin about their recent books. The interviews took place during the 2009 Holiday Open House at Books and More. http://www.nps.gov/grca/photosmultimedia/inside-look-022.htm

Featured in an art exhibit at Historic Kolb Studio from Nov. 13, 2009 through Feb. 17, 2010, Sally Hall talks about how Grand Canyon has been a source of inspiration for her artwork since she was nine years old.

An Interview with Park Ranger Chris Carroll by Park Ranger Patrick Gamman. After returning to Phantom Ranch for the first time in 40 years to do interpretive programs, Ranger Chris Carroll describes his first canyon hike. What started as an adventure - ended in a bout with dysentery and severe dehydration. Carroll tells how he met a "knight in shining armor" who stuck with him for more than 7 hours and enabled him to rehydrate, recharge, and to walk back out of the canyon. Let's examine some of the differences between Grand Canyon backpacking, "then and now." Today, we have ultra-light sleeping bags and really great shoes, but there are still many factors that can get you.

Landscape artist Peter A. Nisbet discusses his reasons for painting at Grand Canyon National Park, sharing his inspirations and experiences. "Without question this is the greatest landscape on Earth for painters. A landscape painter faces more challenges here than anywhere else on the planet. You've got light moving quickly, you've got forms that are incredibly complex, you've got an array of colors that are beyond description, you've got a time issue of the sun clocking overhead. You have to finish these paintings in two hours or you are just painting a moving shadow."

Park Ranger Patrick Gamman talks with Park Volunteer Sjors about caring for the trees at Phantom Ranch. National Park Service Volunteer Sjors has lived and worked at Phantom Ranch for 20 years and is responsible for watering the vegetation that provides thousands of visitors each year with a cool resting place in the shade.

In this podcast, we have the opportunity to meet Capt. John Hance, portrayed by Park Ranger, Ron Brown. Hance was an early Grand Canyon pioneer and storyteller who first saw the Grand Canyon in 1883, then called the area home for the rest of his life. Hance entertained early visitors with dozens of tall tales - many with alternate endings. It was said that he never told the same to story in the same way twice.

Park Ranger Patrick Gamman joins Park Ranger Nicole DeLuca for a who's who of Grand Canyon history at the Grand Canyon Cemetery. Visit this serene and beautiful location and final resting place for many of the area's earliest pioneers. If you're here on Saturday, October 31, 2009, join Ranger DeLuca for a Halloween Full Moon Cemetary Walk.

"Unimaginable, I had seen it on maps, I have seen it on pictures, but to see it in reality is awesome! It is one of those very, very unique and special places in our world. As Secretary of the Interior, I have the great honor to be at some of the greatest landscapes in America: the Apostle Islands, Acadia National Park in Maine, Glacier and Waterton in Canada and the United States, Alaska and Denali, and here I am in Grand Canyon. In days ahead I will places like Rocky Mountain and others. We truly, as national parks, have been given the responsibility to be the guardians of the planets best crown jewels."

Park Ranger Patrick Gamman interviews park Aid Amanda Myer about her summer job at Grand Canyon National Park. Park aids answer a variety of visitor questions while roving through the park and when working the visitor center information desk. Learn more about this great summer job for students.

Park Preventative Search and Rescue Ranger Sarah Shier describes her job. "I basically talk to people who are headed down the trail and make sure that they are 'Hiking Smart,' that they have brought enough food and water for the hike they intend to do, and that the hike they want to do is reasonable for their hiking abilities and the time frame that they have."

Greetings, once again, from Grand Canyon National Park. This Ranger Patrick Gamman here to share with you the exciting news that the Arizona Public Service Company, (APS) who provides 900,000 customers with electricity has donated and built solar panels for the Grand Canyon Visitor Center. On May 18th, 2009 the park and members of APS held a dedication ceremony. Here are some of the highlights, starting with Park Superintendent Steve Martin. Download the transcript here: http://www.nps.gov/grca/parkmgmt/upload/trans20090518Solar-ded-grca.pdf

Greetings, once again, from Grand Canyon National Park. This Ranger Patrick Gamman here to share with you the exciting news that the Arizona Public Service Company, (APS) who provides 900,000 customers with electricity has donated and built solar panels for the Grand Canyon Visitor Center. On May 18th, 2009 the park and members of APS held a dedication ceremony. Here are some of the highlights, starting with Park Superintendent Steve Martin. Download the transcript here: http://www.nps.gov/grca/parkmgmt/upload/trans20090518Solar-ded-grca.pdf

Landscapes have different values to people at different times. This can become especially clear when you stand at Grandview Point along Desert View Drive on the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park.