The Grand Canyon

After getting stuck behind a big oversized truck who was going about 25 miles per hour on a single lane road with a speed limit of 70 for about 45 minutes, the driver finally thought it was time to pull over to the shoulder to allow the 20-30 cars waiting behind him to pass. A few miles later we stopped to get a little lunch, but took it on the road with us because we were pressing for time to get to the Grand Canyon before the sun went down. After about 10 minutes or so at Burger King I pulled out back onto our route, and sitting in front of me is the same oversized truck going 25 miles an hour.

Yet the Lord was so gracious in getting us there before the sun went down so that we could see this massive, beautiful hole in the ground. You wouldn't think that a big empty spot could be so majestic or attention drawing, but it deserves all of the hype.

After I had about 7 anxiety attacks from kids playing really close to the edge, thinking they were cool while almost dying, our group hung out well past most people leaving the lookout we were at to watch the light slowly die to our left over the canyon wall and watch the stars begin to light up. Gradually the big hole in the ground in front of us became a fog of darkness, seemingly wanting to convince me that it was no longer there, that there wasn't a drop just a few steps in front of me that went straight down hundreds of feet. Up above, the stars had now filled the sky and created an ambiance that is hard to match. It's crazy to think that God could create the world so that a little river could create a huge hole in the ground and also put all of these massive balls of fire in the sky, seemingly just to dazzle us.

I made it a point to sleep outside that night, almost as if I could cuddle with the stars or find some sort of peace from God through it. Whenever I sleep under the stars I think I'm going to stay up for hours watching them, but then my eyelids and the promise of sleep start calling my name and its off to unconsciousness. For some reason I thought it'd be a good idea to sleep on top of my car. Too bad my back was bent backwards along the curve of my hood, so about an hour or two into my sleep I arose to lay down on the ground with my sleeping bag.

In the morning we arose while the sky was still full of stars to try to catch the sunrise over the canyon. We went out to a new lookout and watched as the sky slowly began to brighten just in front of us, then the sun starting poking its head out over a elevated rock on the other side. As a group all of our cameras came out to pose with the sight and marvle. I almost feel like in some ways I was too concerned with capturing the sight on a camera than I was with really soaking in the sight personally. It can be so easy to want to share an experience with people that you don't even experience it yourself.

On to Vegas.