This is a throwback walk to last summer. And when I say grand, I mean grand in a way that my smartphone and amateur photography skills can't capture.
This walk was taken at Grand Canyon National Park and the beauty and wonder of the magnitude of this location takes your breath away. Walking up to the edge is nerve racking if you aren't comfortable with heights and the fences lining the path don't do a lot to make you feel safe.
As I glance back at these photos, I marvel at the power of persistence. This land was not created in just a day. The water that carved out the rock took a long time to do. Much longer than our simple minds cam even begin to comprehend.
It does offer a powerful lesson, however. When we focus our actions on creating something of beauty and do it with consistency, the finished result can be grand!
One of the features that really struck me was the varying layers of the canyon. The signage throughout the park offers maps for you to reference the names of different peaks and plateaus, some of which are more than 20 miles from where we were standing.
There are only a few roads to get here and you travel many miles through wilderness to get here, but that doesn't deter the numerous visitors that come daily to take in the wonders. It's not just people here, though. There are also ground squirrels that love this place too.
I didn't get any pictures of the river which you can see from some of the viewpoints along the path. It is quite a ways down to the water from the top.
There is even a place to stay overnight down there. To get reservations you have to plan way, way ahead. It takes 2 days to hike there from the top.
The locals don't seem to have any fears walling along the edges of the canyon.
This next picture is my favorite as it shows the many layers of distance. The faintest and lightest layer of rock in the upper right is over 20 miles from where I stood to take this photo.
The weather can apparently turn quickly here. It was clear when we arrived, then this storm came in quickly, cutting our visit short.
On our way out of the park, traffic was stopped because this beautiful elk was walking along the road.
The trip was shorter than we had planned and hopefully we get back here someday soon. Maybe we'll even get to visit the canyon floor.
I hope you enjoyed this grand walk as much as we did. Happy Wednesday!
