USA Road Trip: Week 4 (Part 1)

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You have to see the Grand Canyon to believe it - pictures of it may be impressive, but nothing is as awe-inspiring as seeing the real thing. Lonely Planet has this to say about it: “No matter how much you read about the Grand Canyon or how many photographs you have seen, nothing really prepares you for the sight of it.” “The sheer immensity of the Grand Canyon is what grabs you at first - a two-billion-year-old rip across the landscape that reveals the earth’s geological secrets with commanding authority. But it’s Mother Nature’s artistic touches, from sun-dappled ridges and crimson buttes to lush oases and a ribbon-like river, that hold your attention and demand your return... simply grab a seat along the Rim Trail and watch the earth change colors before you.” “Arguably the USA’s best-known natural attraction, the Grand Canyon is an incredible spectacle of colored rock strata, carved by the irresistible flow of the Colorado River. Its buttes and peaks spire into a landscape that’s always changing with the weather” (Lonely Planet, USA, 2018, pp. 854, 12, 637).

“Standing for the first time on one of the South Rim’s overlooks, the immense gaping gash in the earth will make your pulse skip a beat in utter awe. The brash vastness conjures questions about the universe and human’s place in it” (Moon, USA National Parks - The Complete Guide to All 59 Parks, Becky Lomax, 2018, p. 262).

The Grand Canyon is 1 mile deep, 18 miles across, and 277 miles long at the Colorado River. Although the North Rim is only 18 miles from the South Rim as the crow flies, you must drive about 200 miles to get from one rim to the other (or hike an 8-mile trail to the bottom of one rim, cross the canyon floor, and then back up the other rim). Although the South Rim is open all year, the North Rim, at 8,297 feet above sea level, didn’t open until May 15, so we saw other parks in the area until it opened (next blog).

Even though this was our fourth time at the Grand Canyon, the light and the clouds are never the same, and each time, it was an amazing sight to see.

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