Back to the North Rim

Sunset from the North Rim 
July 2017 

I'm off tomorrow for a long weekend at the Grand Canyon.  The North Rim again this year.

What draws me, year after year, to what is essentially a piece of serious soil erosion?  Good question.  Something ineffable about that hole in the ground clearly tugs at my soul.

Because of my procrastination in making plans this year, I'm limited to a two-night stay in one of the Grand Canyon Lodge's cabin facilities.  I might have had better luck on the South Rim, which has far more elaborate facilities and is where ninety percent of park visitors end up.  But mid-summer at the South Rim -- a thousand feet lower than the North -- is just a tad too warm for my Seattle metabolism.

I face nearly a full day traveling from Seattle to the North Rim, and another full day returning.  That leaves me with just one full day -- plus Friday evening and Sunday morning -- to poke about at my destination.  Not enough time to do any serious hiking, but enough for a bit of non-serious hiking along the rim and maybe down a bit into the upper reaches of the canyon.

And allowing time to study the geology of the canyon, mulling over the passage of millions of years, while sitting at the Lodge's canyon-side terrace, beer in hand.  To see Eternity in the canyon's geology, to hold Infinity in the palm of my hand.