My previous submission was also from Horseshoe Mesa [link] which details a bit of the history.

Horseshoe Mesa is interesting because most remnants of human history at Grand Canyon are Native American in nature. Here, the origins are very different.

The Grand Canyon Association's "Grandview Trailguide"--Horseshoe Mesa is at the bottom of the Grandview Trail--provides an excellent history of Peter Berry's copper mine.

The trail providing access to the mesa, for instance, was something of an engineering feat as sections of it were actually hung from the walls of the canyon. A fair amount of the 'cribbing'--essentially cobblestones to provide traction for mules' hooves--still exist for modern hikers to walk upon.

There was a technical problem to be overcome in taking this image. The long early morning shadows are desirable, but they also throw the shadow of both myself and my camera and tripod onto the scene. So, I had to set the camera up at an angle that allowed me to "bury" the shadow in among those of the surrounding bushes.

I used a very wide angle 75mm Schneider Super Angulon lens for this shot stopped way down for depth-of-field.