Saturday, May 8, 2010

Arrival to the Grand Canyon!

We said goodbye to Sedona this morning, thanking our dear friend Rick for hosting us during our stay. Our departure followed a glorious route north along Route 89, with a brief stop in Flagstaff and Cameron. Turning west onto Route 64, we approached the Grand Canyon from the east, stopping for glorious and spectacular vistas at several scenic overlooks.




After hurriedly setting up camp at the South Rim campground, we were able to scurry to the edge of the canyon to take in this evening's sunset. While Mary faced her fear of heights, I spent some time on a precipice overlooking a dizzyingly deep section of the canyon.


Sitting on the side of the canyon as the sun set, I lay on my belly and looked down over the edge into a chasm whose depth it was difficult to digest. Although I'm not afraid of heights, I did indeed experience a sense of vertigo, and meditated for a few moments on how one's life truly sits on a knife's edge when one visits such a place. One slip of the foot, one miscalculation, and a long and wild ride to the bottom is the result. While the canyon itself represents permanence and the solidity of the earth in one respect, it also demonstrates for us the frailty of humans in relation to the natural world. Quite a metaphor for life in general!


The canyon is overwhelming in its enormity, and breathtaking in its scope. There is indeed so much to see, and we will take full advantage of our few days here. Tomorrow, Mother's Day, Tina will unfortunately spend the majority of the day in the park's kennel so that we can do some hiking that she would naturally resist in her old lady fashion. We feel bad to leave her behind, but we simply have to take in some trails which would just be too rigorous for her old bones. This will be the first time we've ever kenneled her, and we beg her forgiveness in advance!





We are so grateful to be here in this beautiful and awe-inspiring place that is one of the natural wonders of the world. Being here at the Grand Canyon is indeed a turning point in our journey, and it's a place to take stock of where we've been, what we've seen, and how much more of the country is waiting for us to find it. For now, this is a wonderful place to be, and we are joyful to have arrived to this wondrous piece of the earth.

---Keith

5 comments:

  1. Oh how beautiful, how majestic is this place!
    Wonderful photos....thanks! I always wanted to see it in person...maybe someday. The colors of the canyon are just so special!
    Blessings to you two today,
    Hugs,
    Ruth

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  2. Wow! Cheers to both of you! Please take some time to give thanks for all your blessings! We thank you for sharing these with those of us still doing the mortgage payument thing! Most important: Happy Mary month and Happy Mother's Day, Mary!

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  3. hey guys...

    Thank you --- Happy mothers' day
    Mares...

    I love that place..
    I did spend many summers out near there
    when I grew up..

    It is a beautiful place to be

    living-It is a beautiful way to be

    too long not hearing from each other..
    gfv

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  4. Amazing! Such great photos! I spent time at the Grand Canyon when I did my move from Chicago to Portland, OR back in 1979. We traveled from Ignacio, CO (where my brother was living at the time) with a new born kitten we'd found abandoned in the woods. We kept her in a shoe box and I was feeding her w/ a doll baby bottle! We named her Ignacia aka 'Nacia' ... and she lived to be 17 years! I have a pic of me holding her at the Grand Canyon and I'll try to find. Ah, see what your trip does? It evokes memories for all of us! You guys are the best! I love the pic of the two of you snuggling on the edge of the canyon ... and Tina in prep for her day in the doggy kennel! So sweet!
    Much love! Pat

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