The Grand Canyon

On the last day of my trip to fabulous Las Vegas, we rented a car and headed out to the Grand Canyon. I have seen many pictures of the place over the years and thought that's nice, but I don't know if that's worth the trip. The picture I included is a nice picture but I'm not sure if it says you have to go see this place.

Everyone should go see the Grand Canyon.

Located entirely in the state of Arizona this natural spectacle is so far amazingly beyond any natural destination I have ever seen. I have not been everywhere. By no means have I seen it all. I have been a few rather cool places in my life. The Grand Canyon tops my list.

The canyon is wide. The canyon is deep. You can see many layers of the earth. You feel small as you stand at the edge. It is difficult to write about as words do not do justice to how I felt as I stood next to this natural wonder.

Since we were in Las Vegas we went to Grand Canyon West. The Hualapai Indians own the land and manage the attraction. They are business people, it will cost a bit more than a couple of bucks to visit, but I was completely satisfied and felt I got more than I paid for.

I also pulled out my iPhone and turned on the GPS app I have in it. The south rim at the west end of the Grand Canyon has an elevation of over 4600 feet. That's higher than Calgary but not quite as high as Denver. It added to the feeling of being with nature to be up in the thin air.

Although it was fairly cloudy the day we were there, it was quite the place to be as the sun set. As the sun gets lower in the sky and strikes the canyon walls at different angles the experience is enhanced. As the sun was setting it did manage to find a bit of a hole in the clouds. Sunshine on the bottom of clouds is always breath-taking, even more so at the Grand Canyon.

There was one thing I did find a wee bit strange. There is was no safety barrier along the edge of the canyon and the ground is not prepared along the edge. If you mis-step, you could stumble and fall over the edge. That would be it. However, it was part of the amazing experience that it was not too prepared. The adrenaline rush from standing so close to the edge without any safety equipment was unique in this day of over safetied everything. It felt closer to nature.

I've tried but I know I have not done justice to this amazing natural spectacle. All I can really say is everyone should make every attempt to visit the Grand Canyon in their lifetime.