Two weeks shy of my family’s June 1 anniversary of living in Arizona we finally took a weekend to go see the state’s crown jewel: the Grand Canyon.
So many people ask me if I have been yet, and I always felt a little weird saying no. I have really had no excuse other than, “we’re too busy.” We found an empty weekend on our social calendars, so we took the drive four-hour drive to see it.
In a way, I thought of seeing the Grand Canyon as a bucket list item. Been there, saw that. Check! I had seen plenty of pictures and videos, so I knew what to expect; or so I thought.
What I wasn’t prepared for was literally losing my breath the first time I walked up to the edge of the south rim. If photos are two dimensional and real life is 3-D, the Grand Canyon is definitely 4-D. I can’t explain the fourth dimension, but it’s there.
My first visit to the Grand Canyon definitely won’t be my last. As I stood there at one view point looking down to see a few dozen hikers making there way on the trails like tiny ants, I couldn’t help imagining myself in their shoes. The wheels started turning and I have already begun to plan my next trip.
Our church sponsors a hiking trip each June where you hike down to the bottom of the canyon on day one, then stay two nights in a lodge, and hike back out on the last day. The trip is completely booked for this year but you can bet my wife and I will be near the top of the list when they open it for registration in 2014.
Here is a brief slideshow of some 2-D snapshots of the Grand Canyon.
Paul Fiarkoski 
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