Grand Canyon!

Thursday – May 28 – a day I’ll never ever forget.  I had seen a glimpse of the Grand Canyon years ago when we were at a medical conference in Las Vegas, and I went there as a young child with my parents, so I had a vague recollection of its beauty, but today was just outstanding.  Words fail me.  I can only tell you that it impacts you at a very “soul-level”.  You look out on such vastness and feel overwhelmed that a God who can create THIS also knows and loves me intimately!  The immensity of this place is overwhelming.  I had several very emotional moments as it just spoke to my soul and I felt awed and humbled that this same Creator knows the number of the hairs on my head, knew me before I was formed in my mother’s womb, loved and cared for me and blesses me beyond measure every single day! How could one EVER doubt the hand of God in creation?  I’ll have to let the photos speak for themselves, though they cannot remotely convey what it’s really like to be here in person.

These were taken at Mather Point, one of the South Rim's premier overlooks. Lots of the rest were taken along the Trail of Time.  It is impossible to understand the vast geologic history of the Grand Canyon. If you're interested, go to www.trailoftime.org for more info and you can see a virtual Trail of Time.

We did a lot of walking, hiking, climbing, got more sun than we should have today – just an incredible, memorable day! As we were leaving, this guy happened to just be wandering along in front of us, right on the road! 

 We continued along Desert View Dr. where there were many stop off points to see various views of the Canyon.  Unless you've been here, you just can't imagine the magnitude of the Grand Canyon!

We found while walking the trails, because of the elevation and dry air, you need LOTS of water.  It's surprising how much you can drink.  We loved that they had various stations like this where you could fill up your water bottles.  Each of these areas had like four different height faucets for kids to adults.  And the water was pure spring water, and tasted heavenly when you're so thirsty!  The temperature was an awesome 78-79 degrees but it feels warm when you're hiking!

Isn't this awesome that this scripture was imbedded right into the wall!  I sat here for quite a while and just had my own little worship time!  

You can go all the way up to the top of the tower.  This Desert View Watchtower is one of the most prominent architectural features of the South Rim.  The tower was built in 1932 in collaboration with the Hopi artisans of the day.  The 70 foot tower provides fantastic views of the Painted Desert.

We were famished as we hadn’t eaten since breakfast, so we came on “home” to downtown Williams and ate at Rod’s Steak House – one of the best,  ribeye steaks I’ve ever had.  Maybe THE best with the one exception of the one Allen Speegle made us on his Big Green Egg grill!   We came back to the RV and crashed… we are declaring tomorrow a PJ and reading day!  Whew…