The outdoors is not all hunting and fishing. It spans
exploring, bird watching, mountain biking, and hiking amongst other activities.
We have so many great places to see and experience nearby and yet we miss the
occasions and opportunities.
Sometimes we miss them due to pure ignorance. Not in the
sense that we are too dumb to know, but in the vein of just not knowing such
great paces exist. We also do not experience them for the lack of desire, not
knowing truly how special they are, or just not making time. All of these
reasons are a shame for bettering our lives and life experiences.
Occasionally we have to go to that one special place in
order to make us want to see more, closer to home. When money is involved in things
such as room, board, and travel, we worry whether something will live up to the
hype. We ask ourselves, “is it really that thrilling?”
Unfortunately, there are many places that do not live up to
the hype. While the Statue of Liberty is great historically, actually visiting
it can leave one with a feeling of disappointment. It is presented as larger
than life, yet doesn’t give the sense of awe we were expecting.
There are a few places that do not only meet those
expectations, but exceed them. Niagara Falls is an example. Pictures and video do
not do it justice. Even our own Linville Gorge can take your breath away.
Perhaps it is due more for the under appreciation or even lack of knowledge of
such a spectacular creation. I never have been there without losing myself in
the beauty and wander of the place.
At the time of writing this column, I am on my way to a job
in Nevada. I had turned down one of the clients in the past for work due to the
distance. This time, the work made the trip worth tackling. It also afforded me
a couple of days’ pause which I excitedly knew exactly what I would do with
them.
One of my bucket list items, and hopefully everyone’s, is to
visit the Grand Canyon. I feverishly started researching what and where to go.
The North Rim of the canyon was still closed for the winter
(it opens May 15th each year), so the South Rim would be my only
choice. Two campgrounds are located on the main road along the South Rim, of
which I planned on staying at the more primitive of the two that offered only a
restroom facility and rationed cold running water.
I have been to Arizona before, in the high desert even. It
was one of my more thrilling adventures as I hunted mountain lion by horseback.
Even with the absence of a vast canyon created by millions of years of river
erosion, the landscape is breathtaking.
As I made my approach to seeing the canyon for the first
time, I cried. Yes, a grown man cried at the sight.
It is hard to put into words how big the canyon is. Simple
words such as the adjective I just used do not paint the picture correctly, and
even more descriptive words such as vast have no effect on what I saw. Perhaps
surreal can be used.
Looking down, looking across, looking around; I tried to
gather it all in. I guess it can be further explained that the canyon is
similar to the universe. There is just no way our minds can capture all of what
is there, and that makes it incomparable to anything we try to relate it to.
One saying is ‘you can’t see the forest for the
trees’, and the Grand Canyon is the exact opposite. It takes a special talent
in order to find the trees for the forest because of its enormity and
encompassing peripheral.
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