The Grand Canyon, AZ.

Saturday, March 17th, 2007

I was here so many years ago that all is like new right now. Yesterday I saw the Grand Canyon, it seemed like for the first time, and as much as every place that I visited these past almost 6 months held a special place in my heart, I have been speechless since… What can I write? What can I say?

I thought about just posting the pictures! Well, I have never had such a hard time taking pictures… so much glare and so much haze and all so distant. I am planning some sunsets to better capture them. Sunrises?… too cold, sorry, Spirit’s water bowl was frozen this morning… We even had to wait a while to go retrieve my Dish replacement… remember… the blown away incident!

My first thought was imagining the facial expression of the first adventurer coming upon it! That would have been priceless. Priceless because as one approaches the Canyon, there is no sign what so ever of the spectacle that you will encounter. Even the last mile is flat, scenery just like the surrounding areas, full of greenery and the trees are actually hiding the Canyon… and without warning, suddenly it is, the basic speechless expression of human kind “WOW”… this is huge!!! It is actually an overload of the senses. My eyes could not grasp the views, the understanding of what, here, Mother Nature has done.

A total short of the fuses… a humbling experience as no human would be able to duplicate this… Even the crowds did not matter as the intensity of the sight made me one with it. I stopped very quickly trying to digest it all, it was like a fourteen course meal all presented all at once, I almost turned my back on it, too much, way too much to take it all in!

One of my first thought was… I want to go down there! I even inquired about it… I saw the trails and I could only see some very short bursts of the river down below. I know I could never make the hike!… back up anyhow. And I was so disappointed that I did not made the Journey a few years back.

I also found out that they have one week boat trips from Lee’s Ferry that would cover the whole length of the Canyon, and when I found out the price, I knew that was also out of the question due to budgeting at this point of my life! I heard that it was a life altering experience, and I believe it…

Some regrets came up in mind as I realized I was not going to be able to afford the one week trip… all the money spend on frivolous matters now seemed like such a waist compared to this once in a lifetime experience. They have a saying in French “if youth knew what the elderly knows…” Of course, I did not know!

Ah! Go with the flow… As I left for this Journey I knew that there will be some compromises. Due to financial reasons and due to having Spirit share my life with me. And I always accepted them without an ounce of regret, content with a big smile. Yesterday for the first time I “wished” that only THIS TIME there would have been an exception…

Well, time has passed… we have witnessed our first Grand Canyon Sunset… and some better pictures. The ride to Desert Point at the East entrance has many view pull outs to stop and I know that each night we will ride to a new sunset framed by the end of the day.

The East entrance was the furthest point from here and as soon as the sun laid to rest for the night the temps dropped considerably, at least feeling like 20 degrees colder… By the time Spirit put his coat on (you know the truth right?…) and I plugged my Gerbings, we were the last ones to leave. Great ride as darkness fell, nice and warm all the way back to the campsite.

Time seems to be lingering here at the campsite, the clock has stopped, this has been one of the best and most enjoyable place I have camped. Since I knew that we were coming back late, I decided to prepare my dinner in the morning and have it for lunch! Stuffed Tortellinis with chicken. I am so into my Micro Cooking, finding ways and, what I call and always called, systems to prepare and easy meal and make it look nice.

I used dry Tortellinis (they have a longer shelf life), boiled al dente, reserve that hot water to wash the pans later, sauteed the chicken strips with a bit of horseradish, remove and replace with the contents of a can of peeled plum tomatoes. Add a bit of Dijon mustard, it adds a zing to it, and you see the presentation, no brain surgery but it looks nice and topped with sliced green onions and even grated cheese if you have it!

More riding tomorrow, there is also a airplane Museum I want to visit south of here, the ruins of Tusayan also should be interesting, will push to Lee’s Ferry which allows one to actually soak their feet in the Colorado River… more cooking… and of course, more Sunsets.

Enjoy, be well…

Ara & Spirit

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6 Responses to “The Grand Canyon, AZ.”

  1. Nick brown Says:

    Great pictures as usual. I went on a helicopter ride into the canyon in 2001 and the sights are unbelievable. Be good to visit that place again… Even better to have my two Staffordshire bull terriers at my side while walking around that place.
    Hope you and Spirit are having a good time.:-)

  2. conchscooter Says:

    I hiked into the canyon and out in one day in 1981, nearly killed my 23 year old legs, all because there were no permit to camp.
    Reading your words reminded me of the value of making the effort. thank you.

  3. Joe Says:

    I agree with you, Ara. The first time I saw the Canyon was one of the few times in my life I was speechless, and if you look at my blog, well, that doesn’t happen too often. One of the things that amazed me was that you’re driving along without a clue as to what lies in store. You get out of the car at the first viewpoint and then all of a sudden, WOW, what an incredible view. Every person should make it there at least once in life. Pet Spirit for me.

  4. ECP_est04 Says:

    This is a realy cool idea. one day I hope I can do something like that. I have seen the west and never saw the Grand Canyon. such a disapointment now that I live in FL. I dont know when I’ll be west again , but thaks for ppl like your self for takin’ pics and writing stories. great pics.

    ECP_est04

  5. Jim Whitehead Says:

    Thanks Ara, you took me back to the first time I saw the Canyon. Everyone should have at least one visit to fully understand what glorius natural views we have here in the USA. Give Spirit a scratch behind the ears for me.

  6. Tim Says:

    Hi Ara,

    I enjoyed our dinner together. We should have stayed a little longer as our date did not turn out as well.
    I hope to see you next time in Flagstaff – there are some things I would like to show you.
    Stay healthy and drive safe that we can enjoy your blog a long time.
    Thanks,Tim

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