Obi asked, “Will the Franimal include crying at the site of the Grand Canyon in her blog?”
“Yes” she replied.
Before I go on, I should back up a bit. Obi and I flew from NY Friday afternoon with a mostly uneventful trip aside from a delay in Phoenix boarding the puddle hopper to Flagstaff. We arrived in Flagstaff later than expected at 9:30 pm, a little over an hour later – to find all the car rentals closed. They had closed at 4 pm so one way or another we were not getting our car. We wandered outside to the taxi stand to find one taxi who graciously offered to come back after dropping off his schedule trip to bring us to the hotel. Before we took the taxi – I called Budget to inquire about our car and was informed that they gave the car away and were most likely not going to have a car for us. We had no choice but to return in the morning and see what happens. Being the intrepid travelers that we are, we did book another car (nearly twice as expensive) from Hertz just in case. We car pooled from the airport with another lone traveler whose plane was also delayed and was stranded sans automobile. The three of us check in to a hotel that sadly was very run down and – felt dirty. The internet can be so deceptive when you look at pictures. Thankfully it was only a one night stay for us and I quilted the floor with unused bedding throws and towels for me to hop to and from so that I could avoid the carpet. I used a handy dandy travel clothing line that was gifted to me (I brought it along to hang our sweaty hiking clothes because I knew it would be H.O.T.) to pinch the blinds together so that we could get some rest. We woke up to the sun shining its way through the tiny holes in the vinyl blinds. The effect seemed like a sun constellation with the small holes of light and the dark inside room. I could almost make out the big dipper. I was pretty set on leaving as soon as possible so after a quick rinse and pack –up we scrounged up a few things for breakfast like brown bananas, a small yoghurt and Obi delighted in a “homemade” Belgium waffle. We opted for a Lyft back to the airport. As suspected Budget did in fact not have a car for us so we took a few steps so the left to Hertz and got a car. Yahoo – we were heading out at last!
The drive from Flagstaff to the North Rim was just under 4 hours according to Google – mostly along a two lane road with designated space for passing the vehicle in front of you. Obi is steady and calm in the car – often offering me to drive but my excuse is that I am not on the insurance so I don’t try. I know I should practice – but the fast pace of a highway intimidates me. About 20 minutes into the drive the car beeps and alerts us to a “system malfunction” – we quickly pull over and can feel the heavy jolt of air as fast cars wiz past us. The cars tells us to look at the owner’s manual which we do, and see that the sensor used to automatically activate the brakes (if we get too close to another object) does not work. It is a driver’s assistance feature not an essential feature like actually having brakes that operate – so we continue on. I did call Hertz to inform them – they said it’s a common problem. Along the way we passed many Navajo jewelry stands – wooden shed like structures with built in display tables where we can see many crafts laid out for purchase.
The landscape is what kept my attention though. Shape shifting land with each mile. At first a flat yellow sand drenched the ground. Far reaching yellow earth that eventually starts to elevate from the ground and bold hills emerge, flowing like bubbles from one to the next. Perfectly rounded arcs of a black rock substance. Given the smooth and round edge one might think they were soft and could almost blow away with a strong gust of wind. But then suddenly you can see tire tracks up and down along the edges of many – a four wheel playground/track? The bubbles turn back into flat rock now turning redder with each mile. Hardly a tree insight and barely a small bush for any natural shade. The air was extremely hot, temperatures reached 111 degrees F in areas where we were and the sun was surely broiling the earth. The rocks at certain points glistened like gems when a ray caught its jagged edge. As we ventured onward canyon like structures started to appear – as if from thick air. The air did not feel thin, it felt thick. The mini canyons joyfully teased you for what was to come. The final part of our drive was through a national forest. From what I could tell, and the messages from Smoky the Bear – the fire warning was high. The forest looked bone dry and the dominant species were evergreens. Pines pined with their green needles. Black seared tree bases were everywhere signs of a past fire. Some trees had been burned leaving only the pointy remains of a charcoal like substance. At this point in the drive with about 45 minutes to go Obi put on a pod cast from Sam Harris. We listened to an interview about the impact of food, particularly the animal meat industry has on global warming. The discussion focused on our economy, the market for meat, the importance of plant based meat substitutes and cultured grown meat and the immunity we are developing to antibiotics (given the percentage of antibiotics given to animals). All topics that were hard to ignore seeing the charred forest floor, the heard of bison we drive past (yes – so splendid to see) and the menu options at the lodge restaurant (they had a burger mixed with elk, wild board, beef, Wagyu beef and bison, all mixed together!)… but alas I digress and am getting ahead of myself.
We purchased an “America The Beautiful” pass for access to the National Parks and within a few miles of leaving the park entry point we pulled into the lodge, parked the car and made our way through the crowds to the lodge overlook.
And just like that we laid our eyes on one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
And just like that tear started to roll down my checks.
And just like that I was at a loss for words.
And just like that I realized again, what it meant to be a Wonder of the World.
Despite the hazy sky and smoky like air the sheer expansiveness and depth of this canyon is something hard to dream up. Mother Nature has written a master piece here. The layers of different rock in the cliffs, feel closely to the pages in a book. With each layer telling the history of a time once lived, of a river that forced its way down and through billion year old igneous and metamorphic rock plates which over time widened and spread open the canyon. The longer I stood there and from the various vantage points we walked, your eyes focus on new details and crevasses. This is a Wonder you need to see, like really see so that you understand what it means. The canyon is dripping with pride as it should – it is humbling to be at the foothold of such a massive hole, looking down inside what was once closed. Seeing this Wonder is personal and there were moments where I almost didn’t want to look further and deeper in for fear of seeing something I shouldn’t. The earth is sacred and some parts should be kept a secret, private and unknown – but the more you stand here looking out – the harder it is, to not inch your way closer and closer to the edge for just one more dizzying look into the belly of the beast.
Obi and I ventured to a popular lookout point and I scrambled up some rock points a bit off trail. These are the moments the Franimal comes crawling out, pulling me just a little higher and just a little further. The ground is stable but it’s hard to ignore the feeling of falling. Obi ventured as far as his comfort level could tolerate. The lookout points provided different angles from which you could see the canyon, and I wanted to see every single one.
Our day ended with dinner at the lodge restaurant and a conservation with two park rangers about hiking options for tomorrow. We also ventured out after each doing some writing to see the sun – set over the canyon rim. While the clouds were ever present, the sun illuminated their shapes and painted them shades of pink, red and orange. Obi and I were perched alone on a rock outcrop, wind in our hair, dust in our eyes and nose but a sight to never ever forget.
I should add before I end this long post, about 1 and a half hours into our drive from Flagstaff I realized I forgot my camera battery and charger plugged into the hotel bathroom wall. My own fault leaving with such haste. I was instantly furious with myself and it felt like part of me was missing, like a left a small limb behind. The reality of knowing I could not use my camera – expect for the one on my cell phone made me nauseous. As someone who enjoys greatly taking pictures of her adventures I was, am, gutted. This was a real lesson in taking in the experience with only my eyes and not through a lens – but it doesn’t mean that tomorrow I am going to do whatever I can to borrow a battery for a few minutes so that I can snap a picture or two with my real camera. We’ll see what the day will hold – I will surely let you know. Oh, I did call the hotel and they found my things – fingers crossed – they will give my battery and charger to UPS who will ship it to our home in Brooklyn. I also asked every general store we passed (not many) for a battery with no luck – maybe in Vegas I can buy one? Oh my.
thefranimal.travel.blog 
Wow! what a beautiful photo of 2 of my favorite people!
LikeLike