Life is full of joys, great and small. From a simple cup of coffee to start your day to getting a new promotion to the hug of an old friend, there is a lot to find joy in and we all have different things. For us, nature can bring that solace and peace in our own personal ways. The Grand Canyon takes it to a whole new level. The pictures included here do not do it any kind of justice.
With a bright and early start to the day, we were able to catch the sunrise, complete with a church group singing beautifully as the sun crested over the horizon. You can check out Juan’s personal Facebook page to see and hear that. Afterwards, your adventurers split up to go wander around on personal mini trips (being cooped up in the RV ya gotta find some personal time). Here are some thoughts from the time.
First off, nothing can capture the feeling at the Grand Canyon. Mike being a Geosciences major, he was drawn easily to the interesting rock stuff (and when kids were like “but mom it’s just rocks” he may have rolled his eyes a bit). The first thing you notice is the scale: the canyon is huge, and it really is something to experience more than just be told. You feel small and humbled in the best kind of way.
The next thing (after it gets sunnier) are all the colors. Deep reds, black, tan, brown, all mixing together to create this beautiful landscape against a blue sky, progressively growing cloudier over the morning in our case. One might call them some happy little clouds before the thunder came rolling in.
Without all the people that showed up by noon, there is a sense of calm and stillness everywhere, giving you time for personal moments along the way. Throughout the time, you feel at peace and also miss very deeply the people you want to share the moment with. We each felt happy, calm, and could’ve spent so much more time wandering around finding places to take pictures and tell our friends and family we missed them and loved them and really wish we did more of that. There’s one thing I learned especially at the Canyon: life is full of moments to share; don’t be afraid of doing just that. Others love to see and hear about your experiences.
The only downside was the funny triangle sunburn Mike got from wearing a backwards hat to take pictures. Image not available.
If you can afford the time and trip, we cannot recommend the Canyon enough. It does live up to the hype, especially when you can find those quieter moments to sit with the grandiosity of it all.
Our time wrapped up at noon, just in time for a half hour long line of cars started to develop at the entrance, so perfect timing. We headed back to our campground for an afternoon of rest, catching up on some work, and celebrating how far we’ve come so far. A lot of ground has been covered in these 17 days. This break was delightful, and we get back at it tomorrow. Until then, enjoy some little moments, tell someone you miss/love them, and treat yourself to a personal adventure sometime soon. You’ve earned it.
M-n(elly)-J