April 6, 2001
Quote of the Day:
"Oh my God.."
-Me at the South Rim (repeated many, many times)
Meteor Crater (pretty creative name, eh?) was much more impressive than I expected, but in a different way than anticipated. Basically, as most of you know, it's a really big hole in the ground in Arizona, where a meteor hit 50,000 or so years ago. The thing that surprised me though, was the size of the crater as compared to the size of the meteor. Of course, when I reflect on it a bit, I realize I shouldn't be surprised. Something that big and heavy, traveling at such a high rate of speed would naturally leave a really big impression on the planet. The thing is, when you stand there on the rim and look down into this pit big enough for 6 football stadiums (I may be misremembering, but I think that's the number we heard), that 150 foot diameter starts looking smaller and smaller.
Overall, it was very impressive and somewhat mind-boggling. I've passed that place a dozen times or more without stopping - figuring it was some kind of cheesy tourist attraction, so I'm glad that Bruce wanted to see it this trip. It was time well-spent.
However, that experience completely paled in comparison to the sight of the Grand Canyon late Friday afternoon.
We arrived at the Canyon around 4:30 or so and when Bruce pulled the car around that curve to "Desert View" I was absolutely stunned. Never in my life have I seen a natural sight that so completely astonished and delighted me. The Grand Canyon is truly a thing of such exceptional beauty and grandeur that I will likely never find words to describe it. It is so huge and so beautiful that I suspect most of us can never fully grasp it all. either The thing I remember most vividly was this very strong desire to keep moving closer to the rim. No matter how close the rails came to the edge, I found myself leaning over to look down into the canyon.
The colors, the textures, the juxtaposition of ancient eroded rock with the shrubbery in the foreground... so much to see, so few words suitable to explain it all. I would love to go back there with paints and a few hundred canvases, to try to capture it in color and brush strokes. Unfortunately, I'm not much of an artist. But you know, I may still try to do that sometime. I could be very happy just sitting at the South Rim for a few hours. :)
I can't speak for Bruce, but as far as I'm concerned, it is truly the most beautiful place I've ever seen and I absolutely fell in love with it that first day. The trip back on Saturday only reinforced it all. (Though I must admit that as beautiful as the place is in daylight, it possesses a magical quality at dusk. There's something very mysterious and mystical about the Canyon during what filmmakers call "magic hour".)
Both of us have pictures, but we haven't had any time to go through them yet. Sharing a small apartment (and timesharing a single computer) limits us time-wise right now. Once we settle into a better routine, I'm hopeful we'll both find more time to write.
Meanwhile, I'm glad I finally got a few words out about that trip. It seemed to me that perhaps it is the cathedral God built for Himself /Herself. Seeing all those spectacular rock formations, cliffs, and colors stretching out to the horizon and beyond, I felt a sense of peace and quiet that, again, I can't really explain. It felt much more like God's house than any church I've ever set foot in.
If you ever get the chance, please go. It's remarkable. Everyone on the planet should see it at least once in their lives. As for Bruce and I, we'll be going back. Definitely.
