May 1st, 2019 Grand Canyon West, Arizona Getting hereThe Grand Canyon itself is a little off the beaten track, and the western rim, our destination for yesterday, was even further off that track. It's only two hours from Las Vegas, into which we flew, but that second hour takes you deeper and deeper into a seeming desert-like wilderness. We awoke in Richmond as 3:00am, got on a 6:05am flight, and after a layover in Atlanta, had a four-hour flight to Las Vegas. Another hour to buy some supplies at the local Trader Joe's, plus two more hours in the car, and we pulled into Grand Canyon West a little after 4pm local time. After a tour of the western rim, we had dinner, arrived at our cabin overlooking the edge of the canyon, and tucked ourselves into bed around 9:30pm local time (12:30am Richmond time). All in all, it was a very long, but interesting and fulfilling day, That is one big-ass hole in the groundEveryone speaks with awe about the Grand Canyon, one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. But, truth be told, now that I've seen it myself for the first time, I must say that I'm one of those (probably rare) people that is underwhelmed by the canyon. Yes, it is big — 277 miles long and 18 mile wide — and it is deep — approximately one mile, but is is ultimately just a big-ass hole in the ground. It is the perfect example of millions of years of erosion and the powerful ability of water to carve paths through easily dis-solvable rock, for example limestone and dolomite. By contrast, the Vredefort crater in what is now South Africa was formed from the impact of an asteroid a mere 6-9 miles in diameter, and that crater is roughly the same size as the Grand Canyon. The difference, of course, is that the Grand Canyon took 5-6 million years to form, while that crater was created instantly upon impact. Now that's impressive. PhotosHere are some photos that we've either taken or collected recently. Next up
6 Comments
Becky Simmons
5/2/2019 06:36:08 pm
God Bless you both’
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Suazanne & Mr D
5/2/2019 08:08:56 pm
If you don’t like the GC then you might as well come home and we will take your trip!!
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Linda Roberts
5/2/2019 10:31:32 pm
Love the blog and love the photos. Thank you!
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Lizzy
5/3/2019 08:54:22 am
My favorite photo so far is you standing by the big-ass hole! HaHa! You've done so much in a short amount of time and there are many more adventures ahead. I look forward to the upcoming commentary and the future pics!
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Richard Day
5/3/2019 11:49:47 am
Now I know TWO rare people who are underwhelmed by the canyon. Josh and my EX! ;0) Try the South Rim next time.
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Ronda Ingersoll
5/4/2019 09:37:33 am
My favorite part about travel...new scenery and nature to discover! Enjoy!!!
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Joshua GolubAn occasional blog about what's going on in our lives. Categories
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