Our most recent trip to the Grand Canyon was a memorable experience that started with an overnight stay in the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel in Williams, AZ. The hotel is connected with the actual Grand Canyon Railway with regular daily departures and returns from the South Rim (South entrance) canyon area. The hotel was comfortable and convenient and within a 5 minute walk to/from the Williams “main drag” for additional dining options and other adventures.
The boarding process from the depot was preceded by an old fashioned wild-west show, complete with a gunfight and a town Marshall. The cast of characters also appears on the train at other points during the trip.
We were visiting the Canyon with the intent to show our exchange student Minttu a side of Arizona that she otherwise probably wouldn’t have gotten to see. This was also Tabi and Ace’s first time visiting as well. (Mental note: Make sure that the little man is well-fed on any future visits to the canyon! Otherwise… look out!)
Lots of opportunity for family photos and good memories with Minttu.
Plenty of detailed looks down into the depths from various perspectives along the Rim Trail as well.
I’d hesitate to call myself a photographer by any stretch of the word. Unlike my father-in-law who also has trouble with that distinction, I don’t spend nearly enough time in the craft to expect statements of grandiose artistic expression with the photos I happen to grab with borrowed equipment and limited knowledge.
That said, the Grand Canyon itself handles the statements of grandeur on its own without any assistance from me or others. You could point your camera in any random direction with nearly any setting and walk away with a memory worthy of a spot on a gallery wall someplace.
For me, that “key image” was the one below. I got a chance to walk the Rim trail about 20 minutes east of the main visitor center for the South Rim village. There were a few “safe” places to step over the paved area and settle in for a few quiet moments of thought and prayer. I had been snapping photos every 100 feet along the trail and this was the moment where I thought to myself “OK, I probably got enough.” I took one more composed look, snapped the following image and hustled back to meet up with our party to catch the train back.
After processing the images and really getting to look through them, I now have a new photo goal. Hike down to whatever trailhead ends in the lower left corner of the photo… and snap more photos of this amazing place from a new perspective.
