Jan. 18, 2012

The Grand Canyon trips.

When I was around 8 or 9 years old, in 1961 I think, I remember a trip when I got to go with the family to visit the North Rim of the Grand Canyon while on our way to pick up Alma from Jacob’s Lake, AZ where she had been employed during the summer. I was young enough to remember what the place looked like where she worked and I remembered the fields and high mountain grasslands that we passed by while traveling to the North Rim. It wasn’t until years later as Marie and I were headed to AZ to photograph Troy’s wedding in 2003 that we decided to leave early enough that we could go to the rim on our way to Alma’s. I must admit that the images which had been in my mind from my youth were totally correct as to what they looked like but totally incorrect as to where they were in relation to the entire trip. I had always thought that it was only a couple of miles from Jacob’s Lake to the rim but was shocked to find out that it was over 30 miles one way. (I remember thinking I was glad we had left earlier than planned initially.) The areas or scenes that had stuck out in my mind were between Jacob’s Lake and the rim when I had always thought that they were just outside of Freedonia, AZ. I had wondered several times while traveling to Mesa before for other weddings why I never been able to find those places even though we went past where Alma had worked all but a couple of those times. It became very clear on our last trip. The images of the resort at the rim and the fences and everything else around that lookout were correct. We decided also that year to come back from AZ and visit the South Rim since I could not remember ever having been to it. I enjoyed that view but must admit that the North Rim is far more spectacular in the view that you get of the Grand Canyon.