This was to be one of the crown jewels of this trip. I had never been, and it did not disappoint. I have “seen” the Grand Canyon many times. In books, posters, and paintings. I even have a memory from back many years of seeing an Omni or Imax film about the Grand Canyon. None of it compares to walking up to one of the rims for the first time. It was emotional for me.

I’m one who prefers to be on “my side” of the camera.  But I wish I could have a picture of me at that moment. An inward laugh rumbled inside at two things; one was just that my reaction surprised me. The other was remembering a theme that was repeated in the story of the Petrified Forest and the Painted Desert. “Water will always have it’s way.” I realized the scientific truth of that in much of what I have seen in these travels. The Grand Canyon is the ultimate example of water will always have its way.

Whoever first used the word grandeur had to be standing here.

The day was a mixed bag of weather. It was mostly sunny but the elevation of the south rim made for cold and windy conditions, temp in the fifties and wind gusts up to 40. That would prove to be consequential to my experience.

My first stop was at a viewing area over The Little Colorado River. If you come to Grand Canyon National Park from the east there are a couple of viewing areas outside the park that are run and maintained by the Navajo. It’s a great first look and a good opportunity, if you’re inclined, to buy some nice hand painted pottery right from the Navajos.

There was one spot in this viewing area that had a narrow U shaped railing where you could walk out on an equally narrow ledge and look straight down. I girded against my vertigo, got a white knuckle, two handed grip on the railing, and took a peek. Taking a picture was literally impossible the wind was blowing that hard.

Once inside the park the first viewing area and visitor’s center you come to has this tower. I have to admit was so caught up in the canyon itself that I didn’t pay any attention to the history or information about this tower.

 

 

 

You can get to the top walking up through a series of rooms and up narrow staircases. While I was up at the top, having exhausted every window view on the canyon side, I spent some time on the side on the side facing the parking area. Being the wandering people watcher that I am, it was a good people watching spot. There was a curious common thread through all of the people arriving. Everyone walking from the parking area down to the viewing area was walking fast. In some cases really fast. It was almost as if they were worried the Grand Canyon was going to close before they got there. I have to admit I probably looked the same. The sense of anticipation is something else.

So enough of my rambling, here’s some more pics.

So, here’s a humorous one.  I was trying to do a panoramic in gale force winds.  The result speaks for itself.

 

What!?  That’s it you say.  Come on, you’ve seen lots of photos of the Grand Canyon.

On the south rim I stopped at every viewing area between the east entrance and the Grand Canyon Village at the west entrance. The Village was the only place I didn’t stop because by the time I got there in the early afternoon the entire population west of the Mississippi was there.

When I exited the gate there were four lanes open checking people into the park and two lanes of traffic backed up about a half mile waiting. I made my escape.

Here’s a shot I took on the way back to my campground in Cottonwood. It’s Humphrey’s Peak, the highest peak in AZ.