The Great Canyon

Driving through Arizona, Briar accidentally kept referring to the Grand Canyon as the “Great” Canyon. Hearing the canyon’s majesty being demoted to “great” was enough to make us laugh every time. It became a running gag and soon everyone started referring to it as the “Great” Canyon. Though this family now lovingly refers to the Grand Canyon as the “Great Canyon”, its original moniker doesn’t lie; it truly is grand.

Not having seen the Grand Canyon before this trip, Rob and I were able to share our first-time experience of the canyon with our children. I felt fortunate to have such a monumental moment with them. Being able to be there with them, seeing their wonderment but also experiencing my own, is a memory I will always treasure.

There is just so much to take in visually when you initially see the Grand Canyon, your brain can hardly stand it. It is a marvel of nature, to say the least. Much like the Meteor Crater I wrote about last week, the Grand Canyon is something that must be viewed in order to truly feel it. There are no pictures that can demonstrate its grandeur. Visiting the park is the only way you can experience the stirring of emotions as you gaze upon this wondrous canyon.

Rob actually recorded our initial reaction to seeing the Canyon. You can hear me say, “Oh my god,” a few times. My favorite part is towards the middle of the video when the twins go, “Ooooooh,” simultaneously. The area we are approaching in the video below is fenced, but there were areas a little farther down the way that are open and have no fence at all. We had our weekly family meeting by a sloped edge of the canyon where there was no fence. It is unbelievable when I think about it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AxuC_4TTZs

Some little tidbits of information from the National Park Service and Wikipedia:

• The Grand Canyon covers 1,218,375 acres
• Caused mostly by the Colorado River but also wind and rain, the Canyon has been carved over millions of years of erosion
• It reaches depths of 6,000 feet, but its average depth is 4,000 feet
• The canyon is 277 miles long
• At its widest point, it is 18 miles across
• Over 600 people have died in the Grand Canyon since 1870. Many deaths are due to falling, hikers taking on bigger challenges than they can handle, drowning in the Colorado River, suicide, and homicide
• Grand Canyon National Park officially became the 17th U.S. National Park on February 26, 1919
• According to the National Park Service, the Canyon itself  is only 5 or 6 million years old (I also found estimates of 17-70 million years old), but the rocks at the bottom of the canyon are 2 billion years old

I want to end this post with a comment from President Teddy Roosevelt and what he thought about the Grand Canyon, “Leave it as it is. The ages have been at work on it, and man can only mar it. What you can do is to keep it for your children, your children’s children, and for all who come after you, as one of the great sights which every American should see.”