Grand Canyon and Bryce Canyon

July 29, 1995

From God-Forsaken to God-Blessed.   From desolate desert to majestic mountains. From Cliff Dwellings to Pueblo remains.  It seems as if we’ve done it all, but there is still seven or eight days left of vacation to go!

Lynda woke me up at 6:30am.  We gathered our things.  I grabbed breakfast and it was out the door.  We are heading north, stopping at Montezuma’s Castle—too far North to be an actual Aztec place.  How the ancient natives built their homes amazed me.  It took me back in time for a moment.  Then it was onward to Sedona, where blood red rocks and stunning views awaited.  There were also plenty of old fashioned looking buildings.  We got back onto the main highway and found our way to the famous Winslow, Arizona.  From there it was to the Homol’vovi ruins.  There was an archeologist there who took us around the excavations site and explained how the pueblos were built and abandoned.  They also talked about the process of uncovering them.  It was very interesting.  I looked around at the vast empty land and found it hard to believe that people once lived there, existing in harmony with the harsh land.

As a huge storm moved over us, we left the ruins.  The heavens opened up and God swept down, touching the sacred earth for a minute.  It rained only for a few moments where we were at, but it poured elsewhere.  We stopped at a rest stop and I got some real food—Mountain Dew and M&Ms! (Dave had packed Ginger Ale and Spam!) We passed through Flagstaff, where I purchased my Kokopelli Cup.  Then we traveled north along highway 87.  Highway 87 was God-forsaken.  Most of it was Navajo Indian Reservation land.  I bought a small Hopi pot for mom.  The mountains soon drew closer and we crossed Marblehead Canyon and stopped.  I was filled with a great sense of awe and peace.  Finally we came to Jacob’s lake.  Most of the camp grounds were full.  We were lucky to find one.  I get the tent here to myself.  Dave and Lynda are roughing it in the back of the truck.  So right now I am 79, 960 feet above sea-level.  The Grand Canyon isn’t too far south.  We are pretty close to it I think.  We are at the North Rim. Thank god it is much cooler up here!  It is down near 56 degrees.

In closing, I must say words cannot describe what I have seen.  I could write an entire book filled with descriptions.  The spirit of the Indians is close.  Wolakota.

 July 31, 1995

 Just when you think you’ve seen nature at its best, it tops itself.  The Grand Canyon was simply astounding.  I couldn’t fathom what I was seeing.

Before we saw that we woke up and had breakfast at 6:30am.  I drank a cup of coffee even though I don’t normally drink it.  We cleaned up camp and drove south through many pine trees.  Once we reached the North Rim, we hiked out to Angel Point.  Angel is accurate.  Seeing the earth plummet thousands of feet to an invisible raging river is heavenly.  Even through the morning haze, I could see the fine detail of the rocks, chiseled by the elements.  No human could dare to try and master this perfection it seemed.  Still, inside, I reminded myself that in seeing this it reflects the possible divineness my spirit is capable of.

Dave and Lynda swept onward and northward.  We decided to head into Utah to see Bryce Canyon.  My uncle Steve suggested we see it.  Utah seemed like another world compared to the mountains.  Utah feels like a cross between Arizona and Montana!  Vast open fields hugged each side of the road by towering red and sometimes white walls.  We continued on 87 north.  A stream meandered along the side of the road for a while.  We turned off onto 12 east.  We passed under red-rock tunnels.  Finally we came to the advertised Ruby Inn.  It is pretty. I am tired, but in awe.

Got up at 8am, had breakfast and drove up to Sunset Point at Bryce Canyon.  It looked as if angels has decided to make sandcastles or perhaps as if someone had knifed through the rocks trying to pass through or maybe….I can’t find adequate words to describe it.  Over millions of years wind carved out these gorgeous red-orange rocks.  Sunsets could have been born there.  Anyway, we walked the 1.3 mile trail to the bottom and back up.  The hike invigorated me and I felt alive!

Then we drove onward.  We drove all afternoon southwest out of Utah, past Zion national park with the huge gray and white windswept mountain.  We even drove through a mile tunnel through the mountains.  We drove across the corner of Arizona and finally into Nevada. We stopped in Las Vegas to get a hotel room….