Ol’ Reliable

It was a very wintry day in the Midwest.  We had over a foot of snow on the ground and the temperature was below zero, with a bitter wind.  It was also Sunday, and my mother taught Sunday school, so we needed to get to church!  The Mercury station wagon we normally tooled around in […]

Bucket List

The whole concept of a bucket list makes me somewhat uncomfortable.  I mean, why am I contemplating my own death so soon in life that I’m making the to-do list I must get done before the day comes?  My mother would probably have said I was “tempting fate.” And what do I put on there?  […]

A Moment of Wind

As I stood at the rail, looking into the great chasm before me, I wondered about the impending sunset.  I was on the south rim of the Grand Canyon, facing west as the light in the sky dwindled.  It was the end of my last day there, and I wanted to capture a vivid sunset […]

Catching the Updrafts

The birds that inhabit the Grand Canyon are an interesting bunch.  I’m not talking about the visitors – they’re an interesting bunch, too – but I refer to the winged denizens of the Great Chasm.  Most common and notable are the ravens.  These big, black-feathered fliers love to snatch anything that falls to the ground, […]

Beautiful Destruction?

Beautiful Destruction? The Big Ditch.  The Monster Pit.  I’ve heard a number of odd terms applied to the Grand Canyon since I visited there.  It is absolutely breath-taking and mind-boggling in its enormity and variety.  I found one website that had more than fifty nicknames and Native American names for this amazing geology.[i] I have […]