The Grandest Canyon

Grand Canyon

Grand Canyon, AZ.  7/18/2014:    The Grand Canyon is not "timeless," it is Time itself.  You're looking at roughly 2-billion years there.  One mile deep, ten miles wide and 280 miles long, it exposes a record of how the earth formed, layer after layer after layer.  As one writer put it:  "Through two billion years of Grand Canyon formation, mountain ranges have built up and eroded away, seas have swept over the land and retreated, rivers have come and gone..and erosion has leveled and shaped the landscape."

And still, there is the Grand Canyon.

I come here as often as I can.  It's one of the 7 natural wonders of the world.  There is more than I can take in, but I try anyway.  The colors, the shapes, the hidden canyons within the canyon..all details that fill the eye to overflowing.  Since one of my main tools these days is a set of cameras, we'll just see what we can see:

That's The Battleship.  And beyond it, across the river, is Cheop's Pyramid.  It's amazing to study the formations. It's even more amazing to go down the Bright Angel trail to be among them.

In this shot, I liked the way morning light played off the edges of the rocks.

Down in the hollows to the right, California Condors fly lazy circles, looking for the day's first meal.

An even better view of The Battleship and the Pyramids.

Just look at the colors!!

A canyon within the canyon.

You can see the north rim on the horizon..ten miles away.  I know folks who hike the width of the Grand Canyon at least once a year, starting at the north rim and ending at the great hotel, El Tovar, on the south edge.

Magnificent.

Four points of depth.  You can lose yourself in this picture.

I have a favorite bench here.  Like most good viewpoints, you can change positions on my bench and see a different picture every time.  You just slide up or down the bench and watch the light and angle change on whatever you're looking at.  It's a great place to just sit and think.  Here's the basic view from my bench:

So, sit down, friend, and search the scene.  You'll find something you like and it will make you happy .. at least for a while.

A bench like this, in a place like this, is a treasure and good for the soul.

You're invited.


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Jim Slade
Grand Canyon, AZ

7/18/2014