Posted by trevorlawson I think its fair to say that the CC will out cook a thermadore due to open burners. Fair to say based on what? Please describe what this means. The high end is 22K BTUs-pretty close to Capital. This is the rating for the heat output, nothing to do with open or closed. The low end is 375 BTUs. We don't know what Capital has for that. I am sure everyone knows what I sell. What I sell does not detract from the fact that open burners outperform sealed burners. The difference between open and sealed burners is significant nothing nominal about it. We tested a wolf range with caps on and caps off using same pan same water side by side at the same time, the burner with caps off boiled water over 23% fast..... that is significant Here is the video. Outperform would be a mischaracterization of this "test". I see performance as more multidimensional than putting the most heat in the center of a pan. If you had a wider pan, or changed the metal it was made of, or what you are cooking, your results would be different. This falls under the category of showmanship rather than anything scientific. How can you say this-"the burner with caps off boiled water over 23% fast."without any supporting data? You are right it is not how big the burners are but how the burner delivers heat to the CENTER of the pan, so the base of the pan gets evenly hot. Sealed burner send vast majority of the heat to the outside of the pan, open burners send the heat to the center of the pan. Please explain using the principals of heat transfer how delivering heat to the center of a pan is allowing the base of the pan to get evenly hot. If you have a ring of heat on the bottom of the pan, heat will travel in both directions from that ring to heat the pan. The center will receive heat from more directions and heat quicker, until it comes to equilibrium, than the outside so it is optimum to have a ring with the maximum heat more towards the outside of the pan than the inside. It is much harder to get heat to the part of the pan outside of the ring. A sealed ring burner flame pattern is only slightly wider than an open ring burner, a little more if you have it wide open. If you use a pan with reasonably good heat transfer like copper or aluminum, the burner shape doesn't really matter as much, but I wouldn't want the heat in the middle of the pan. The only way I would see heat in the middle of a pan as a benefit is if I were using a very small pan or a wok. I use everything from a 7 inch pan to make caramel with no stirring to a 14 inch aluminum pan on my sealed burners. For any pan less than 7 inches, I have a "small pan burner" I can make fried potatoes in that 14 inch pan with even color all the way across. I use cast iron if I need a lot of heat as in searing meat.

These comments refer to the south rim of the Grand Canyon. My advice is to drive your parents to the Grand Canyon in your car and park at the many overlooks available. The parking lots at many overlooks are only a short walk from the edge of the canyon. The viewing area west of the main lodge/building is restricted. Personal auto traffic is not allowed, however, a tolley is avaiable that stops at every popular viewing spot. These run periodically. You can get off at any apot and catch another trolley to move to the next location. One caution: Do not miss the last trolley of the day. Its a long walk to the exit. By using your own auto, you will have the most flexibility. For example, you might want to drive out of the park to get bite to eat or to visit San Francisco peak, a huge volcanic cinder cone. You will also have the flexibility to leave on your schedule, and not the train's schedule. The main reason for taking the train is a nostalgic train ride. It does not enhance the viewing of the canyon.

I haven't been to these sites in ages and ages.. well, at least 4-5 months. But came today to get some information for a friend who is thinking about taking a cruise when I saw this post. The Hotel and Restaurant you might be thinking of is "El Tovar" and is is ages old, fantasically wonderful, right *in* the canyon and the food is delicious and well prepared. We lived in Arizona years and years ago and used to take our whole family to the grand canyon and we always stayed there. Once my sister came with us and since reservations are booked sometimes two years in advance, she stayed at one of the places outside the park and she said the whole experience was dismal compared to what we were enjoying. Hope that helps!

If you really want to experience the Grand Canyon you could do what a coworker did. He started on one side, ran down, then ran up the other side. Once there, the group thought maybe doing the reverse as they intended might not be a great idea since one of the guys had a cold. They found someone willing to give them a ride back to the other side but then discovered it would be a four hour drive. So they decided they might as well run back. So they did. They had started the trip at about 1 AM (lighting their way with head lamps) and figured on 13 hours. Took more like 16. Actually, I do not recommend this at all! lol Among other reasons - the park rangers, apparently, really frown on this running down and up and down and up adventure.