A Grand Canyon Vacation
Morning Arrives Along the Canyon Southern Rim Near the Kaibab Forest
Carved into eternity by the Colorado River, the Grand Canyon is firmly established as one of the world's wonders. Sunrise sets the stage for a journey into serenity.
Slashing through the landscape in Northern Arizona, the Grand Canyon looms larger than anything in anyone’s wildest imagination. The Colorado River has taken millions of years to carve a scene which would take a lifetime to describe.
On a drive from the east, towards the Grand Canyon’s southern rim region, the desert scenery of the nearby Navajo Reservation begins to give way to the green pines of the Kaibab National Forest. A night camping in the forest, amongst the panoramic star filled skies, starts a journey which turns into a morning of peaceful tranquility. Rising in the clean, crisp forest morning air and greeted by herds of elk and sporadic lone deer, it becomes easy to forget the reason for the trek is to view this American treasure.
Moving further down the winding road, the canyon becomes visible, and the spectacle is beyond words. The sheer size and scope of the canyon becomes something incomprehensible. Stopping and gazing upon the Grand Canyon, within that first view, establishes the immensity of nature, while reinforcing the reality of human frailty. A sight that must been seen to be truly believed, and even then it seems surreal.
The minutes tick quietly by as the manifestation of nature’s monument is absorbed. Sunrise trails slowly across the rim and shines into the wonder. The canyon’s rock scene becomes illuminated with numerous shades of orange, red, green, and brown. The cool, crisp morning air, filled with the scents of the wilderness pines, allows one to temporarily forget cities of concrete and steel.
A short drive further west along the road brings the visitor center, hotels, and some semblance of society. Vacation tourists unload off of buses and visitors scramble for views and pictures along the top of the canyon. The mule handlers begin moving the animals towards the holding pens in preparation of providing visitors a ride down into the waking canyon.
Looking down into the mile plus depth of the canyon brings awe and wonderment. Shrubs and trees growing into the sides walls add to the ever changing color schemes within the canyon. At the canyon center is the Colorado River, in its aqua greenish blues, carelessly flowing unabated, seemingly oblivious to the vision it and time have created.
Clouds form and dissipate above the canyon center right before the eyes. Winged wildlife soar along the air streams searching for meals. For the bold, the hike down into the chasm of sweltering day-time heat begins and the true enormity of the Grand Canyon is fully realized.
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