The North Rim main visitor center area presented some spectacular views of the Grand Canyon, but it was sad to learn that what I thought was haze was really smog from mines and cities to the west. Is western progress really that necessary?
I'm thankful for advances in medicine and other comforts such as a convenient transportation that lets us visit 4 National Parks in 3 days but the quality of the visit is also diminished by effects such as this. I've always been "Indian" at heart, love the beads, buckskin, moccasins, and their spiritual communion with nature. That reminds me that our guide in Juneau was of Tlingit descent and the relaxed but vigilant way she spotted the bald eagle on a distant tree seemed inherited to me. What would America have been like
if we had been more cooperative with the Indian way of life? Too late now. Thanks Teddy Roosevelt for keeping some of it preserved. When he established the Grand Canyon as a National Park he said, "leave it exactly as it is." Remember that '70's polution commercial where the Native American stands by a littered smoggy highway with a tear rolling down his face?
This is taken after a 15 mile drive down a peninsula to the east of the main visitor center.
My back which has been bothering me for about 2 years now was starting to hurt by the time we got to this part, but the hike to the end of window rock was worth it. This shot shows how windy it was up there. It was also cold!
