The Grand Canyon

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You cannot see the Grand Canyon in one view, as if it were a changeless spectacle from which a curtain might be lifted, but to see it you have to toil from month to month through its labyrinths. -- John Wesley Powell

I'm not sure I want to toil for months, but in the winter it's actually not that bad. We arrived at the Grand Canyon to find quite a bit of snow and ice on the ground. Kevin wanted to hike down into the Canyon, so we set out on Kaibob Trail which travels down one of the ridges to a great lookout point. We only went a very short distance down into the canyon, but the views were absolutely gorgeous, and different than viewing it from the rim.

We saw people navigating the snow and ice in street shoes, and I was eternally grateful for the shoe spikes Kevin had bought... I really don't know how people were managing without them. On the way down, we saw quite a few people coming up from camping at the bottom... sounds like a cool idea, but I think I need a burro to get all the way down to the bottom and back up again.

From inside the canyon, you can feel the vast quietness just surround you. The varying layers of orange and brown rock loom over you, and yet are warm and inviting at the same time. The birds soar above and below you, making you feel like you're right up in the sky with them. And you are :-) Or maybe it's just that the sky has been brought down to your level... either way, it's an awesome feeling of peacefulness that everyone should experience at least once in their lifetime.

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Photos

My souvenir magnet
Kevin can vouch for all of this...