The first of my three trips to the Grand Canyon, I spent most of my time on the North Rim. Exponentially less crowded than the South Rim, I was able to enjoy my hiking and exploring in relative seclusion. When you’re here for the first time, and you reach the canyon rim for the first time to see the vista in person, you are left speechless. (That’s all I have to say).
As you may experience yourself, the Grand Canyon is difficult to photograph well from the rim. The vast panoramas, subtle hues, and depth of field are frequently lost in a two-dimensional photograph.
The Grand Canyon is not about the photograph. It is about embracing the opportunity to witness a canyon that is 18 miles wide and over one mile deep. It stretches 277 miles and exposes nearly two billion years of Earth’s geological history.
Theodore Roosevelt revered this park and in 1906, Roosevelt designated 23 sites that would become part of the National Park Service’s purview when it was created in 1916 by President Woodrow Wilson. At the time, Roosevelt implored, “Leave it as it is. You cannot improve on it. The ages have been at work on it, and man can only mar it.”
When I return for my fourth visit, I plan to visit the canyon floor and explore the river, but I will insist on and will enjoy the trip out of the canyon on a mule.
