A SPONTANEOUS ADVENTURE

Sunrise in the Grand Canyon

When my daughter, Joliene, announced to me that she had enough frequent flyer miles to take us both to the Grand Canyon I was thrilled.  This was a place that I only have seen in pictures and one that I was looking forward to visiting one day.  Here I was, hearing the words from Joliene, “Let’s go to the Grand Canyon Mom!”  

We did.  For three days, we were introduced to the most indescribable place I have seen.  So many thoughts and observations that it will take more than one writing for me to express it all.

Watching the sun rise on the Canyon, provided jaw dropping delights every moment I stood there.  As the sun lifted over the buttes of the Canyon and the golden lights danced on the tops while lavender, pink, blue, and peach hues filled in all around me, I continually muttered “Oh my God, how beautiful” with every new visual revelation that lay before me.  

Standing on the rim’s edge, experiencing  the thin air that 7000 feet up will provide, I turn to the Park Ranger and ask, “How many people do you lose a year to the edge?”  

Thinking he would say one or two, I was stunned when he said, “Fifteen to twenty a year.  Not all of them accidental, but most of them are.”  

He continued, “We just lost a man last week.  He was standing on the unprotected edge when the wind blew his hat off.  He reacted by trying to catch his hat, forgetting how close to the edge he was and he just went over.”  

From that moment until we left, every person I saw challenge their fear by standing at the edge of the unprotected rim caused my heart to stop until they stepped back inside the barrier.  There is no forgiveness for mistakes on the rim’s edge.  

That was not the only danger we witnessed in our short 3 day visit.  Later that same day, a massive electrical storm rolled through the Canyon.  Lightening bounced off the walls of the Canyon in ways I have never seen.  It was explained by the Park Ranger that due to the rocks, lightning ricochets rather than getting absorbed by the ground the way it does here in the East.  So when an older couple, watching the lightning dance in the Canyon, got hit by a ricochet lightning bolt I understood.  The older gentleman, standing there, suddenly had a large burn mark running up the side of his head.  The Park Rangers flew into action, sending the man to the hospital to check for internal injuries.  

All the while this was happening, we began to notice white puffs of smoke darting here and there across the Canyon.  The Park Ranger I was talking with, explained, “the lighting strikes, hitting the pines are causing the fires.  We are not worried though, because the rains in the storm will dampen the damage that could be done.  We actually welcome this as it helps keep the pine forest healthy.”

All this exciting to us, but just a typical day in the life of living in the Canyon.  

Our stay at the El Tovar Lodge and the Bright Angel Lodge was extraordinary.  The porches at the El Tovar where definitely my favorite place to hang out.  (I’ll write more about this later.)

Although the average visitor only spends 1 to 4 hours visiting (according to the Park Ranger) I can not help but observe how much they miss by not spending more time to absorb all that the Canyon can offer.  On our third and final day, we decided to take a leisurely drive back along the Desert View Drive and stop in a few highlighted points to view the Canyon from different places along the rim.  

View from the Desert View Watchtower

We stopped at the Desert View Watchtower, another design by Mary Jane Colter, who is responsible for the design influence on the south rim of the Canyon.  Magnificent—beyond description—is all I can say regarding her work.  

Our last stop before heading back to Flagstaff for the return flight home was the Sunset Crater Volcano.  As we drove into the area, rounding a bend, we were taken back by the sudden lava field that filled the area around us.  Up to 3 stories high in fused black rock and cinder ash that flowed down the side of the hills.  Black sprays of cinder on both sides not allowing for anything green.  The shock is when we picked up the flyer that told us this happened 800 years ago!  It looked like it could of happened a few months ago, but 800 years was unbelievable!

 I will never forget this three days exploring the Grand Canyon with my daughter.  Thank you Joliene for this spontaneous adventure that will forever touch my life.