The Grand Canyon, it is more than a wonder or a feat of nature, it is one of the most seen natural landmarks in the world. Let’s face it, when I started planning my list of things I wanted to do this actually inspired most of the adventures we took because it was a huge piece of my own personal bucket list. When I was young I remember traveling a lot, but never to this location for some reason. It was like it existed only in photos, but I was determined to see it.
For weeks I began planning each stop along the way to the Canyon and it became my obsession. I must say however, no photos, YouTube videos or planning could have prepared me for the first day we finally arrived at the Grand Canyon. I was expecting one thing and then taken aback by another.
Have you ever been to one of those places where you suddenly feel like anything you could have been worried about suddenly becomes small and insignificant? It is like the world itself shows you how you are just a tiny piece and the surreal feeling of the magnitude of everything around you finally makes sense. This was the Grand Canyon for me.
It was as though we were walking along a normal trail and then the world opened up and said hello for the first time. No photo I had ever seen could even begin to explain the vastness nor the beauty and though there were thousands of people lining sidewalks it was as though we were there in our own personal space of clarity.
Day one was short, as we had arrived later in the afternoon, however we managed to hike some 4 miles in what seemed to be no time. The air was clear and crisp, the ledges calling us for that first sunset and by nightfall we were relishing in the days events.
Cell signal was limited, but for the first time on my trip, I didn’t seem to care, I used the camera until it nearly died and just couldn’t seem to stop trying to capture this amazing sight in a way that I could share with others so they could understand the true feelings of what I had when the world opened up.
Sitting on the ledges and taking photos, I cannot express enough how much of an amazing sight each vista held. It was as though it was telling the story of so many before and so many which will follow. The bright colors of the red rocks, the deep purples and greens of the layers etched from millions of years telling the history long before cities and lights. In a time less complicated, the world was filled with natural beauty.
It was what my soul had been craving and searching for during a time when I most needed it. I spend time in quiet reflection and enjoyed laughter with an old friend, a perfect way to spend my first day and night in a place, which until I went I never really knew I needed to truly be. It is amazing how life works out sometimes putting you just where you need to be like that.
It was an adventure of a lifetime, and just on day one of our exploration I could only imagine what would come as we sat and attempted to capture the last moments of light before heading to camp. I was a lucky girl indeed.
