The Grand Canyon

Have you ever taken the perfect photograph? Nailed the timing, the light, the atmospherics? It had been raining on/off all day, with snow showers at higher elevations, especially on Highway 180, from Flagstaff to the Grand Canyon. The South Rim stands at a very respectable 7,000 feet, higher than Lake Tahoe. It was cold, maybe in the low 40s. Late afternoon; you can tell by the sun illuminating the trees in the foreground. An unsettled sky, emblematic, perhaps, of the current state of the world. Intermittent showers. Spring, but really Winter trying to break into Spring, one foot in and one foot out. Ambivalence. Equivocation. Then, a rainbow, with the pot of gold at the bottom, maybe a few thousand feet below the rim. No leprechauns, but magical nonetheless. You can hike for miles along the South Rim. It’s not all flat, but it is paved (at least the parts which I walked). I took a few pictures, but this is probably the best one. I am looking east. South Kaibab Trail, my adventure the following day, would be about a 45-minute walk or a 10-minute shuttle ride in that direction. Consistent, unending switchbacks carved into red sandstone, eroded for millennia by nature’s elements. Descend to Cedar Ridge (about 6,000 feet elevation), about 1.5 miles from the top. Most hikers stop here, enjoy the views, perhaps use the restroom, and head back. We continued for another 1.5 miles, to Skeleton Point (not as bad as it sounds). Notably, the mighty Colorado, green, majestic, vital, is finally in sight, but it is still about four miles away and 3,000 feet below. It is a wondrous sight, perfect for a picnic lunch and a rumination on the universe. But, alas, the rainbow. In seemingly no time, it passed, not to be seen again during our remaining two days in the Canyon. I had first visited the Grand Canyon in the Summer of 1995, the South Rim, a quick picture or two, which, unsurprisingly, I cannot find 27 years later, halcyon days, youth, before returning to our car and continuing our post-college road trip to Albuquerque, New Mexico. Recall Chevy Chase in National Lampoon’s Vacation. Very nice, time to go. This was different. Comments welcomed.