The Grand Canyon - South Rim
Canyons sneak up on you. You never see them coming. You notice the forest thinning, the trees stop ahead and you simply step out from behind the last tree and it unfolds below you. Magnificent, sublime, humbling.
The first time you see it ... It seems impossible, like gazing at a fantasy world in a sci-fi painting. Nothing in your life has prepared you to see such distance, such depth, such breadth, such color all in the scene your standing in. I mouthed the word "wow" and just took in the spectacle. For me it was a deeply moving experience.
The Canyon is 277 river miles long and over 5300 feet deep (1 mile). In the snap below, the farthest rim behind me is about 14 miles away. To put it's size into perspective it would take 4 Twin Towers stacked one upon the other to reach the rim from the canyon floor. It would take 65 New York Cities to fill the Canyon.
As you can imagine it's also a major tourist destination, developed to process thousands of visitors per day like only the National Park Service can. It's open 24x7x365. It never closes. By the time sunset arrives (currently ~8:30pm local) the park has thinned out and the tour buses are back at the hotels. That's the best time in the park.
The first time you see it ... It seems impossible, like gazing at a fantasy world in a sci-fi painting. Nothing in your life has prepared you to see such distance, such depth, such breadth, such color all in the scene your standing in. I mouthed the word "wow" and just took in the spectacle. For me it was a deeply moving experience.
The Canyon is 277 river miles long and over 5300 feet deep (1 mile). In the snap below, the farthest rim behind me is about 14 miles away. To put it's size into perspective it would take 4 Twin Towers stacked one upon the other to reach the rim from the canyon floor. It would take 65 New York Cities to fill the Canyon.
As you can imagine it's also a major tourist destination, developed to process thousands of visitors per day like only the National Park Service can. It's open 24x7x365. It never closes. By the time sunset arrives (currently ~8:30pm local) the park has thinned out and the tour buses are back at the hotels. That's the best time in the park.
The Desert View overlook is about 25 miles from the main entrance and the visitors center. The road to the outlook is full of great views both marked and unmarked as well as the forest floor around the canyon. The overlook affords a great view of the Colorado River 1 mile below.
The twilight snap at the Desert View overlook is my favorite picture. As I drove the 25 miles back to the park entrance, with a heavy dusk, she started playing "Key to the Highway" as I slowed for a herd of Elk crossing the road. The large bull stood sentinel in the middle of the road while the doe(s) and calves passed on by. Only then did he leave. The perfect end to the perfect day.
Thanks for talking the trip with me.
Wishing you peace.
Joe
Grand Canyon Snaps
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