Day Nine – The Grand Canyon and other Assorted Details

During the short time we have been behind the wheel of Stacy, our beloved Malibu rental from Hertz, we have taken in quite a few iconic postcardish moments. I’ve put together an easily navigated list.

Seattle

• Space Needle
• Mt. Ranier
  
• Countless Evergreen Trees
  
• A Starbucks on every corner

Portland

• Waterfalls
• Columbia Gorge
• Powell’s Bookstore
• Mt. Hood

South of Portland

• Mt. St. Helens
• Coastal cliffs and heads (heads are the mammoth rocks in the surf)
• Sunset over the Pacific

Northern California

• Redwood Forest
• Historic Highway 1
• A very blue Pacific Ocean
• A Big Foot Store

San Francisco

• Golden Gate Bridge
  
• China Town
  
• Cable Cars
  
• Alcatraz
  
• Fisherman’s Wharf and Pier 39
  
• Museum of Modern Art
  

Central to Southern California

• Vineyards
  
• Mojave Desert
• Joshua Trees

Las Vegas Nevada

• The Strip (consisting of such landmarks as the Luxor, Caesar’s, The Bellagio, MGM Grand and more.)
• Fremont Street (old Vegas, consisting of the Plaza, 4 Queens, Binions and the Golden Nugget.)
• Lake Mead
• The Hoover Dam

In having taken it all in, it seems only right that the apex of our trip should put us at the most visited spot in America: The Grand Canyon.

We arrived in Williams, Arizona around 3:30, checked into the local Howard Johnson’s and quickly sped away to highway 64, the Gateway to the Canyon. As much of this drive has been, there were of course, constant changes of scenery, going from a very rocky Arizona interstate to a more subdued Kaibab National Park full of trees and shrubs. We pulled into a spot near Mather Point just inside the park entrance. We had yet to have eaten anything of substance at this point and had talked about making something from the cooler before seeing the canyon. Then I think the two of us must have caught a glimpse of the magnitude of where we were and lunch was put on hold.

As I neared the edge I caught my first real look at the vast landscape. It was as if the earth had opened up before us in an extended yawn. Layers and layers of rock and sediment carved out and shaped into unsurpassed beauty for the whole world to see. One could look left and then right and never really catch the endpoints. They just seem to blur and fade out of the range of the human eye. After a few long looks from different points, we climbed the steps back to the parking lot. It was refreshing to see the eyes of those passing us towards their own first look at the canyon lit up in wonder and awe.

Lloyd and I drove to a few more points before finally settling just behind Bright Angel Lodge to catch a once in a lifetime sunset. The real show isn’t how the horizon strangles the sun but rather the resulting burning created by the afterglow. During the day, the canyon’s depth plays tricks on your eyes with all the patchy shadows sprinkled across the floor. When the sun finally sets, the colors become more even and the canyon goes from a noisy rock star to a sleeping child. Most visitors become more quiet and reverent as they take in the burning red cliffs.

That said, I can’t describe it any more**. You really have to experience the canyon and my feeble attempts to put such beauty into words only mocks it’s grandeur.

We returned to Williams just as the sun had all but given up hope. We found a Mexican restaurant called Pancho McGuilicuddy’s and decided to give it a shot. While the food and service was disappointingly bland, Lloyd and I did enjoy the guitar slinging cowboy who serenaded the dinner guests with everything from Marty Robbins to Johnny Cash to The Band. We closed out of Pancho’s and drove out into the middle of nowhere to get a look at the stars from the desert. In the absence of much of any distant glowing city, they were more brilliant and plentiful here than in most places on the planet. Once ones eyes could adjust, more and more distant lights began to emerge. This trip has definitely had a recurring theme of witnessing the grand spectrum of the world. It is true that we are indeed small.

Tomorrow we return to Las Vegas for a taste of civilization before we embark on Route 93 through Nevada, also known as America’s Loneliest Highway. Armed with a cooler full of Gatorade and lunchmeat, two I-Pods worth of songs, and 3 gallons of water in the trunk, Lloyd and I are finally starting to turn towards home.

Always,
H.

**For further reading on the Grand Canyon, see Donald Miller’s, Through Painted Deserts.