The View From Above

“In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks.” - John Muir

Flagstaff, the world's first international dark sky place, greeted us through the darkness. The unique street lamps cast a deep golden light over the city as we entered. Exhausted, we collapsed onto our hotel bed and fell into a deep restful slumber.

Sunlight poured into our room in the morning as I tried to snuggle deep beneath the warmth of our comforter. The cold air crept into our room like a thief as I raced to pull on comfy clothing. We ate our breakfast sandwiches that were delivered to our room and set out to visit Flagstaff. This outdoor paradise was a high contender on our list of cities to visit and possibly make our forever home. But, it wouldn't be a true adventure without a little bit of excitement and change of plans.

Before we set out to Arizona, we had planned on camping a few miles just outside a famous national park. Utilizing the first come, first served feature of recreation.gov, we would get to the campgrounds in the afternoon to snatch a site. The reservable sites were completely booked, so our only chances were to get there early. (AKA: we had no back up plan as nothing booked before we left!) I called the ranger of the Tusayan campground region, and he informed me that the earlier we got there, the more likely we would be to get a spot. So, we abandoned any plans to explore Flagstaff and set off north on 180 toward Kaibab National Forest.

The ponderosa pines and Douglas-fir trees blanketed our surroundings as bright yellow Aspens illuminated the mountainsides showing off their fall outfits. My heart pumped with anticipation and excitement as we drove toward the national park that had eluded our eyes for many years: the Grand Canyon. When we arrived at the campgrounds, the host informed us that, unfortunately, all first come, first served sites had been claimed : ( Although we were crestfallen, the host smiled as they informed us that a reserved site had just opened up today! The camper's RV needed repairs and he would be gone for a couple of nights so we were more than welcome to camp there!

We eagerly headed toward the site and pitched our tent in the shade of an ancient ponderosa pine. The campsite was perfect! Pine needles littered the ground as I took in a deep, refreshing breath of clean air sweetened by the surrounding trees. Relieved to have lucked out with our site, we ate a delicious lunch and jumped in our SUV to explore the Grand Canyon.

We drove east along Desert View Drive, planning to make pit stops at the turnaround point, Desert View. The east entrance to the park was closed due COVID lockdowns in the neighboring Navajo Nation. Our first stop was Navajo Point, the highest point at the south rim. Staring into the immense canyon below, I suddenly felt small. At 7400 feet, I peered down toward the Colorado River, edging closer to the tip of the rocks overlooking Cardenas Butte. The unique angle allowed us to view Colorado's 'big bend' area. Green vegetation contrasted with the bright reds of the layered igenous and metamorphic sediment rocks. Horizontal striations told the story of an ever changing landscape, evolved from billions of years of erosion and geological forces. I force my eyes to peer deep into the belly of the canyon, trying to find the eldest of the layers. Based on the principle of superposition, the rocks on the top are generally younger than the rocks below. The Bright Angel Shale makes up one of the oldest layers of rocks in the Grand Canyon.

Each of the view points brought a distinctive vista into the mile deep canyon, offering a special perspective of the treasures hidden below. At Lipan point, the Grand Canyon Supergroup, a specific type of striated rock formation that includes many of the possible rock types in the region, is visible. Hance rapids crash quietly in the distance and Escalante Butte shows off an array of gorgeous colors. Moran point shows three distinctive rock groups layered in colorful vistas for miles.

We walked along Grandview point to the trailhead of a hike into the canyon toward Coconino Saddle and Cottonwood Creek. Near Grand Canyon Village, we parked Ren and ventured along the Rim Trail to Mather Point. The vistas were absolutely breathtaking. The view from above at Mather Point extends from Garden Creek and over the deep canyon of Pipe Creek, peeking at sections of Bright Angel Trail. We took in what we could, avoiding the crowds and socially distancing and masking as much as possible, before heading over to the trailhead for Bright Angel Trail. Tomorrow, we would tackle this beast of a hike into the canyon.

On our way out of the park, we glanced a herd of wild horses grazing alongside the road. We pulled off the roadside and quietly got out of car to venture a little closer to the herd. In the golden light of a setting sun, peering through the pine trees that decorated the landscape, I saw a majestic dark bay stallion a small distance from his herd. He grazed blissfully unaware of my presence as I slowly inched closer. My heart sang with excitement at being able to view one of my most admired animals in the wild. I stood, transfixed, as a small foal came into my view, and the rest of the herd moved deeper into the forest beyond. I silently thanked the stallion for allowing me to watch his herd and raced back to our waiting car, feeling exhilarated and ready for the adventures that tomorrow would bring.

We set back to our campsite to get an early start on dinner and a fire, prepping for a restful snooze under a blanket of stars.