It rained hard in Flagstaff, Arizona the night before we drove north. About an hour drive from there. You find a place to park. You try to figure out which direction to go. You finally get it figured out, you walk around the bend and then……

…..your breath is taken away.

Stunning.

Absolutely stunning.

And of course I cried like a baby.

Mind-boggling beauty does that to me.

Does it you?

These pictures don’t do it justice.  Having finally seen it myself, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a picture that has.  It’s just too grand.  Too majestic.  Overwhelmingly …..overwhelming.  I’m at a loss for words.

You just have to see it for yourself.

I’d love one day to take a rafting trip down the river.  That would bring an entirely different perspective, I’m sure.

Here are Éva and I hanging around….

I have to go back.

If you’re ever in the United States, if you’re ever in Arizona, you must, you must stop and see the Grand Canyon.

Again, words fail.  You just have to see it for yourself.

We stayed that night, a very, very hot night (hardly any sleep) in Bullhead City, Arizona (what a strange name), then moved on west into California and saw this nice sunrise on the way.

We crossed the Mojave Desert early in the morning before it got too hot.  It was a nice drive and I saw a lot of trains, pictures of which I’d have liked to take, but my camera decided to start tweeking out on me – I don’t know what’s wrong, but I’ll try to get it figured out.

Anyway, Éva’s at her Aunt Amy’s house and I’m at my son Joe’s house now for visits.  In fact, that’s what we’ll both be doing for the next few weeks – visiting friends and family in California, Oregon and Washington – so my posts will probably be few and far between these next few weeks.

Before signing off briefly while I focus my attention on family and friends, I just want to add this – when I was at Craters of the Moon National Park, I bought an annual Park pass.  On my visit to the Grand Canyon, it paid itself off monetarily.  But honestly, it’s paid itself off a hundredfold with every visit to every park.  I am so grateful for our National Parks.  If we’ve ever done a good thing in this country, it’s creating National Parks to preserve these wild and beautiful places.  I’m so, so grateful for that.