The Grandeur of the Grand Canyon - A Spectacle to be Experienced

chillibreeze writer — Yojana Yadav

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SOMETHING TELLS you there’s a spectacle ahead. Rows of cars begin lining up on either side of the road. They’re all there - men stocking up on fluids, women fussing over the sunscreen, kids trying on colourful hats and sunglasses, bikers on their Harleys peering into maps, couples holding hands and pets enjoying the attention of passers-by. We’re lucky to find a parking space. Cameras and binoculars in place and a prayer on our lips, we head on foot to the Edge of the World.

Five yards down, the trees give way to bushes and we catch glimpses of a chasm with rugged edges. The chatter suddenly goes quiet as Nature shows off her splendour. An endless expanse of beige-hued gorges (or were they a tinge of rust?) opens up. Look left, look right and all you see is the earth sliced into huge gorges of various shapes. Look closer and layers and layers of civilisation stare back. Welcome to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, the icon of the American West.

Colorado, the Creator
It's 11 am and the sun is beating down. The only sound audible is the roar of the wind. A solitary California condor soaring is the cynosure of all eyes. Suddenly, there's a commotion. A lizard just made its way to the cool shade of a bush. Smiles cross faces and borders melt. A Korean tourist requests to be clicked with the canyon as a backdrop. His wife is a little panicky when asked to step back towards the ledge. Obliged, they move on to enjoy the numerous views showcased for generations at the Grand Canyon National Park.

Suddenly, it dawns that the creator of this breathtaking spectacle is nowhere to be seen. "Where is she?" wonders a voice. "Down there near Phantom Ranch," points out an old-timer. "Down where?" ask many voices, amused. It's not easy to spot the Colorado river. She's more than a mile below and hard at work, slicing the earth as she heads to an area called Kaibab Arch. It's difficult to believe how a river so narrow and calm, that occasionally glistens in the noon sun, could cut the Colorado plateau to create a canyon that measures 277 miles (446 km) in length and four to 18 miles (6 to 29 km) in width over say 17 million years!

Confluence of cultures
The rock layers at the canyon are literally a wall in time. They range in age from the two billion-year-old Vishnu Schist at the bottom of the Inner Gorge to the 230 million-year-old Kaibab Limestone on the Rim. The Park Ranger's reference to Vishnu is enough to spark off whispers among the strong representation of non-resident Indians from Silicon Valley and their extended families. Though the Grand Canyon guide is available in French, Dutch, Italian and Spanish apart from English, it is a popular tourist destination among the Asian community, particularly Indians. Desis (the local lingo for Indian expats) often refer to it as a “Patel spot”, a must-visit for members of the enterprising west Indian community of Gujaratis. So if you have a Scandinavian hiker on the trail to Cedar Ridge, you also have a sari-clad woman in her sixties soaking in the sun set amid a drama of shadow and colour. They say no two hours at the canyon are the same. So is it with the visitors, who arrive in hundreds daily from across the globe.

Home to the canyon
The original inhabitants of the canyon are, however, elusive. The closest most outsiders get to Native Americans on a day-long visit is a feel of their culture at the souvenir shop. Make-it-yourself figurines in split twigs besides the ranger’s accounts of potsherds and ruins offer a peek into the cultural legacy of these reclusive people, who have dwelt in this landscape for 8,000 years. For the past millenium, the principal inhabitants have been a tribe called the Havasupai. Driving down the highway to the Grand Canyon it’s difficult to miss the rows of quaint mail boxes lined up outside white, wooden gates. A mud trail leads through the near-barren terrain to their houses, perhaps. Though the gates are wide open, it’s a trail we don’t take in respect of their privacy. They’re like the canyon, beautifully preserving civilisation despite exposing the wall in time.

Back to the present

After a day of hopping on and off the shuttle bus and a look at brave souls taking the skywalk, a filling lunch of chicken burger and cold coffee at the store and enjoying the geology exhibits at Yavapai Observation Centre, we rush to the souvenir shop. T-shirts, books, stuffed birds and memories…there’s something for everyone to carry back home.

It’s dusk and the end of May. The sun has been up longer than usual and so have we. Our next destination: the bed at Holiday Inn Express in Flagstaff, an hour-and-a-half down the highway, but not before one last look at the majestic Grand Canyon that stands quiet in the darkness as the stars come alive above. Awesome.

Chillibreeze's disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of Chillibreeze as a company. Chillibreeze has a strict anti-plagiarism policy. Please contact us to report any copyright issues related to this article.

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Yojana writes for chillibreeze.

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