On the road

[namaste]

I'm in Arizona this week. I've got a conference in Phoenix starting on Wednesday, and flew out a few days early to do the tourist thing. I spent today up at the Grand Canyon's South Rim, doing a lot of walking along the Rim Trail.

The last time I was there, I was about five years old, so I figured it was time to get back and see it again. The fact that it was amazing is not a surprise, but the vast expanse of it takes your breath away -- the colors, from the brown of the Colorado River so far below, yellow and red rocks in layer after layer, sudden valleys of green that have taken root in the smaller canyons inside it.

Having grown up on Lake Michigan, it's hard for me to imagine life here, in the hot, dry and harsh regions of the Southwest, but at the same time it's easy to see the spiritual aspects of the canyon that must have kept people here, despite the conditions.

But then, I fully admit to having a healthy fear of heights. (I couldn't even make it down to the first switchback on the Bright Angel trail before I scurried back to the relative safety of the rim.) So maybe this kind of territory doesn't come to me naturally.

But it is beautiful. Want to see some photos? I've got some up here if anyone wants to see. I'll update with other photos the next few days as well.

Comments

[ladynina1.livejournal.com]

wow!!!! LOVE THE PHOTOS! my fave has to be the squirrel on his lunch break...the smallness of the animal juxtaposed by the hugeness of the canyon..amazing!!! looking forward to seeing more of your travelog..thanks for sharing!!

[namasteyoga.livejournal.com]

You're welcome. I couldn't resist the squirrel photo. He was hanging out just over the wall, over a large dropoff, but of course he was in his element. I also tried to get photos of some lizards and ravens, but they were too fast for me.

[pwcorgigirl.livejournal.com]

Those are great photos! The layers of color in the canyon walls are just incredible. I love the watch tower. It looks like a Spanish ruin instead of something in the American West. (Did they have signs up about not approaching the squirrels? A few years ago when we were in Wyoming, we saw those in public areas because the prairie dogs and chipmunks carry plague. It took the fun right out of seeing the little furry guys up close.)

And snazzy shades, too, on you in your self portrait. :)

[namasteyoga.livejournal.com]

The watch tower was actually built in the 1930s, designed by Mary Colter, who also designed the Phantom Ranch, Hopi House and Bright Angel Lodge in the canyon. Go figure, huh? (There's a steel super structure inside the tower, and inside she had local Indians paint and decorate it so it looks like a reclaimed ruin.

And yeah, lots of warnings not to approach or feed the animals. No mention of plague, but one of the signs shows a deer head butting a tourist, which is a very specific warning.

[hibernia1.livejournal.com]

Great pictures - I especially love the tree and the squirrel. Being from the very flat Holland, I'm awed by nature like this. Thanks for showing these!

[namasteyoga.livejournal.com]

I was recently reading "A Voyage Long and Strange" by Tony Horwitz, about the pre-Mayflower settlers and explorers in North America, and he noted that the Conquistadors of Spain were astounded by the flatlands of the plains when they got to that area in what's now Texas. They couldn't believe there was a place so flat that you could lay on your back and not see a feature of hill or tree -- nothing but sky. So I think "awe" just depends on what you're used to. Some of the Navajo would probably be amazed by the ocean and dikes.