Grand Canyon Bright Angel Trail Sunset

Bright Angel trail from the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park..with snow around in different areas for some contrast..What a wonderful time of year to be here...less people..perfect weather..there is a fire at the inn on the Rim..and you can get expresso drinks at the bar...free wi fi...reasonable prices..the restaurants stay open all year and late..the people are nice..what more could you want for a get away...Some of these natural treasures and gifts are forgotten destinations for vacationers, but they are missing the real beauty of the United States...if they don't see this area...especially in the spring, winter, and fall....summers are fine too if you are prepared for the heat! Each season has its own beauty!

 

It is similar to the beaches in Florida in that the each evening the sunsets are spectacular...along with the sunrises...the colors of the canyon being a little flatter during the midday, but can be shot then, too, if handled correctly with filters, GND, and polarizers! The Grand Canyon is on the edge of many converging land anomalies...high desert, mountains..the Colorado River...and plains....

 

The Desert Has a Voice (James Watkins)

 

The desert has a voice that calls

In dry, dirt dreams-

Warm, wind-washed wonders

In wingless, soulless flight.

 

Cold, moonlit masquerades

Through long level years,

Crying out with countless cares on deafened ears-

Drowned in measured, motor-muffled madness,

And child-chattered, purposeless flight.

 

Quietly, calmly calling-

Darkened, deepening desert-

Star-filled with stumbling stalkers

And wounded warriors in fevered nights.

 

Dreams-peaceful, persistent, dreams-

As wheeled sky turns

Eternal turning, evening eyes-

And thoughts of morning colored light.

 

Millennial seas-

Doomed and dusty years-

Row upon heaping row of years-

Tears-

Caked, covered

And desolate.

 

The desert has a voice-

That calls and halts

And peers with perfect perspective-

Stopping us in our way.

 

“I have seen blood-stained battles!

I have seen despot desires!

I have seen prophets come and go,

And ages pass with shallow…glancing blows!

I have seen civilizations crumble…

Tumbling, heavy-handed

Into pagan pasts!”

 

The desert has a voice-

And every grain of sand has a name-

Every wind-blown grain of sand.

And someone-somewhere-knows the names.

 

They have perfect place and purpose-

Rocks cry out! Rocks….sing!

Some soaring angelic scribe somewhere

Records the history of rocks, and sands, and deserts.

 

Drab, dull, drifting desert distances and plans.

Ragged, jagged, craggy-edged

Mountain spine explosions and

Dry, desert sand.

 

The desert has voice and future-

With lifted hill-high green valley-

And clear bright stream winding

To cool, crystalline sea.

 

They wait….silently…

Almost… forever waiting-

But I know the secret of deserts-

And –

Dreams.

 

James Watkins-April 2006

 

 

Done