02/21/2013 through 02/25/2013
Millions of people from all over the world have visited the Grand Canyon. Billions of words have been written about it’s beauty and awesome-ness. So, we’ll try to limit our words and mostly give you pictures.
Here are some of our reactions to the canyon:
JANE: We arrive at the canyon’s edge as night falls. I’d been told that the Grand Canyon would be amazing, but I really didn’t know it would be beyond words! How to describe standing on the rim? (and you can stand right on the rim; there are few railings here) I’m crying now as I write this, thinking about seeing the canyon for the first time – and every day after. I have to stop and struggle for the right words. It’s beautiful. It’s breathtaking. It’s bigger than you could possibly imagine. My soul follows where my eyes look and soars over miles and miles of the multicolored, impossible landscape. That such a thing could be, in this world, is awe inspiring. Looking at the Grand Canyon, you get the feeling that anything is reachable. My spirit was transported to the highest pinnacle, the lowest chasm. How could this small, fragile vessel of a human body contain a thing so huge? Wow! I have no other words to describe it.
Take a look at the slideshow. Make it big! Turn it up! These pics needed some music…
In such a place, it’s no surprise that we met some new, great friends. Eva and Robert. They were enjoying something that I have no stomach for: sleeping in the back of a pickup (with a cap) in zero degree weather and snow. And yet, as you’ll see in the photos, they were happy and beautiful! Stronger than me, they are for sure. We shared meals with them and a fantastic hike down into the Canyon with them. They were a joy! We hope to see them again somewhere, sometime.
The Grand Canyon belongs to all Americans. You should go and see it – soon!
DAVID: One of my favorite things was watching families and couples take pictures of each other. It looked trite at first, then I saw the beauty. The beauty of sharing that first reaction that keeps hitting you for days and every time you turn around. The light, ledges, shadows and sheer heights all grab you over and over. Its hard to walk away.
I am a speck. A speck in space and time. The canyon is SO big, vast, as a barrier you must travel hundreds of miles in either direction to get around it. You can’t see it all without turning or tipping your head. Neither breadth, nor height. It is not a spectacle, just to be stared at; you can walk in. You can walk WAY in. For hours you can walk down. Then for more hours, you can walk back up and out. Switchback trails go down for hours into millions of years of geology lessons and multiple climates and wildlife zones. You HAVE to VISIT yourself!
Here’e the slide show:
– Jane & David
The Voyage of the Tramper 