Grand Canyon, North Rim

We arrived at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon yesterday afternoon. The sky was clear, the breeze was warm, the sun the bright. The changing landscape between here and Vegas kept us oohing and aahing. Flat desert with little vegetation segues into gentle hills with more greenery then broader mesas and buttes with varying shrubs, trees and signs of life. People live in these places, but we are not sure where or how they make a living. I can imagine scenes from old Westerns in this land; it does make you appreciate how difficult a life settling here must have been, but at the same time how sacred it must be to native people. It would have seemed that there was room enough for everybody.

I wasn’t sure what to expect of the Grand Canyon. I knew it was big and deep, but that’s about it. I did know that it was in Arizona, at least. It is beyond spectacular. To look at the breadth and depth, the layers and colors or rocks and to know that it is billions (1.8) of years old (pre-dinosaur) and that people lived and farmed in it thousands of years ago is both astonishing and humbling. We were reminded of how insignificant we are in the grand scheme of things, and yet how incredibly fortunate we as humans are for all the natural wonders surrounding us.

Gus has been entertained by it all and appreciative most of the time at what he is seeing. It was gratifying today to be talking as a family about the vegetation on one of the trails and have Gus refer to flowers we had seen on a hike in a wildlife preserve in southern India a few years ago. He has been paying attention!

Janet