The Glorious Gorge

I would imagine when most people in other countries think of America, they think of big guns, Chevy trucks, McDonalds, and Coca-Cola. But I would imagine they also think of Old Faithful at Yellowstone, the Statue of Liberty, the Alamo, and the Golden Gate Bridge. If the tourists who were present in Arizona last week were any indication, they also apparently think of the Grand Canyon. It's the quintessential image of the American west: the wild western landscape, the dramatic cliffs, and the endless open expanse. The place was crowded with visitors from foreign lands, Asia and Europe mostly. I think about the places overseas I'd love to see and I imagine these people thought the same of the Grand Canyon, which is why they probably paid a fortune to fly over to see it.  But for us, it's only ever been a day's drive away, another piece of natural splendor in the vast beauty of America, but one we hadn't made it to see yet. Thankfully, the government - in all the things it seems to try to mess up - has preserved the National Parks for visitors like us. The boys and I had never been to the Grand Canyon before, now we're glad to say we have.  

Cold weather camping for these southern boys...

It almost doesn't look real at times, as if you could reach out and touch the canvas...

Looking around, there were plenty of families with kids like ours, checking out the views, taking the hikes, and waiting in the seemingly endless wait lines for the shuttle buses. I think for the past hundred years or so it's been the thing to do, take the kids to see the Grand Canyon, then tell them when they get older that they were there and show them the pictures to prove it. So we did our part. Here are the photos of when we went to the Grand Canyon, kids. It was incredible!