Arizona is one state I’d never been to before, so I was really excited to scope it out, especially the Grand Canyon. Obviously I’ve seen pictures for the Grand Canyon before, but I’d never been overwhelmed by its beauty in the pictures. I’ve realized that while it’s remarkably beautiful, it just isn’t super photogenic.

My morning started out perfectly with a chat with my friend Jeni after I flew into Phoenix and had rented my car. As I was talking to her there were seas of cacti alongside the ride. I’m pretty sure I squealed in excitement as I was talking to her. There’s something about being alone and going on an adventure that puts me a state of nirvana like nothing else on this earth can. The drive flew by quickly and I opted to not even stop at my hotel to check in before going to the Grand Canyon as I knew I was already cutting the trip shorter than most people do. I got there shortly after 2 pm and took my time reading the maps and information at the visitor center. I allowed for a certain build-up as I followed the path to see the Grand Canyon.

I have to admit – The Grand Canyon was nothing like what I was expecting. I envisioned it as being a giant hole in the ground, like a meteor had hit. And, I’d also excepted the colors to be very dull since it was in the desert. Now having seen it, I would explain it as standing at the top of a mountain and being able to see down the mountain and across to other mini mountain tops. Only you didn’t have to do the hike up to get to it. After seeing it and taking it all in for about an hour, I was unsure if I really needed to go to other parts of the Grand Canyon for views; you kind of got an idea of what it looked like. However, it’s like the seaside cliffs in California or Australia where it doesn’t matter how much you see – different areas look just a little bit differently, and no matter how many views you’ve had it still takes your breath away.

I proceeded to drive West, knowing I wanted to settle on a viewing point by 5:00 so that I could be ready for the 5:30 sunset. I stopped at every view point along the way, scoping it out and where the sun was in the sky to try to predict where the best spot would be. I made it all the way to the end of the road and the last stop before I knew for sure where I wanted to back track to. I made it back shortly after 5:00, put my headphones in, sat on a bench, and watched the sun set as the sky changed colors and lighting over all the buttes in the distance. The best part was shortly after the sunset when the entire sky lit up in pink. It was a pretty remarkable site to see.

Tomorrow I’m heading out early to see the sunrise at the Canyon and then doing the drive East to check out all the views. I’m not sure two days are going to be long enough for me to drink it in and remember what it looked like; after one day I find myself going back through my pictures to remember the degree of the beauty. And, I have to admit that my little iPhone pictures doesn’t do it justice. Here’s a little sneak peak: