Day 11 - A Natural Wonder

 

This was a day that took one’s breath away.

Arizona. The sun threw soft morning light across Bill Williams Mountain. A sweet perfume of Ponderosa pines and white fir trees filled the air.  The cool was welcome after the warm lands of Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico. Jeans replaced shorts. A light jacket was a good idea.

The viewing room gave me goosebumps
 and taking photos became obligatory!

A friend said, “Careful, there’s a big hole out there somewhere. Don’t fall in!” We were on our way to one of the seven natural wonders of the world. Yes, the Grand Canyon.

In these layers of color, lay the bands of time - millennia captured and revealed to the world.

Now, technically speaking, we were on a tour of Route 66, and the Grand Canyon is not on the route! However, this side trip was billed as a highlight not to be missed. I can assure you this is true. 

A local resident surveyed our picnic
 lunch with interest.

We drove through the beauty of high country pinyon pine trees and Utah junipers. In silence, we watched the widening rift in the landscape unfold.

The South Rim stands 7,545 feet above sea level. We gazed across an unfathomable chasm, 18 miles wide in places, to the North Rim which is 8,000 feet high. The colors, contours, and layers are strikingly beautiful. 

It wasn't just water that created this canyon:
the Colorado tectonic plate rose and cracked
 8 million years ago, and the river ran between
 it to carve out the space left behind.

A mile below, the Colorado River was a blue-green ribbon. How many pioneering travelers must have wondered how to they would get across this 277 miles long canyon?

My words are insufficient and so I will only say, the sight is worth the voyage.

Tomorrow, we’ll get back on Route 66 and continue west. 

Click and continue!