The Grand Canyon
January 27-29, 2007

I have to tell you, the Grand Canyon is one of the most awe-inspiring things I've ever seen. I couldn't think of words adequate enough to describe it while I was there, and I certainly can't now that I'm gone. This is very frustrating to me -- I want to somehow convey in words the immensity, the color, the way you went 100-yards and were looking at a completely different picture.

Maybe there just aren't words. Pictures certainly don't do it justice (although I've painstakingly picked 15 to show you). All I know is that I stood in a thousand different locations and saw a thousand different scenes laid out in front of me -- and above all I wished I could express to God how it made me feel to know He spoke this into being. Yes, yes, the Colorado River made it -- and who made the River? ;)

On the first evening we went for about a three mile walk along the South Rim. If you can believe it, this was actually not the scariest picture taken that day. We saw a couple guys climb down so that they could swing their legs off a rock over a sheer drop. I decided not to have that picture taken. ;)

I was continually amazed by trees growing out of sheer rock. I don't know how they managed, but they seemed to be thriving all over the canyon.

Second day's "short" walk. We decided to take an easier hike than the main Bright Angel Trail...and at the end of the day realized we pretty much didn't know what we were talking about! It was about nine miles by the time we crawled our way back to the top. At least we were wearing enough layers and had two backpacks of food and water.

This plaque was on a stone pillar on our way to the trailhead. I hesitate to show it lest some church/state separationist get ahold of it, but I'm going to throw caution to the wind because I thought it was so great that it was there.

After getting down to the ledge we'd been eyeing from the top, we decided to stop. It didn't hurt that this was where we had to go next. Can you make out the trail?

Maybe this will help - this picture was taken from the same place as the one above. During lunch we watched some hikers continue past us.

And here's my water bottle representing the place I sat for lunch. It took an hour and fifteen minutes to get down that mountain so I thought we could probably afford a 30-minute break before heading back up. We passed several hikers who reminded us it took twice as long to get back up and I was keeping an eye on the sun.

Here's another view from lunch, back out into the main canyon. We were so far down, but we sat on a ledge looking down into another crevasse more than twice as deep as we'd already climbed.

On the way back to camp we stopped at several lookouts.

On the third day I drove out the east side of the park, stopping at eight or nine places along the way. I took a picture of this tree because it reminded me of the verses talking about the mountains and rocks crying out in praise to God. It sits on top of a rock that your average non-superhero wouldn't attempt climbing out to and spends its life looking out on one of the best views on earth. If we will truly hear from creation at some point, I think this tree may have something to say.

The wildlife!

And at the last spot before exiting to the east, this sign, which seems to state the redundantly obvious to me.

Consciously designed. I'm thinking yes.