Velvet Depths of Morning
The first rays of morning sun stream into the clouds and reach into the depths to stir the velvet tones of lingering twilight from the vantage of Hopi Point, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona.
I awoke before my alarm as often happens when I retire still thinking about the sunrise adventure on the morrow. A 45-minute drive awaited, and I wanted to arrive well before official sunrise. I had never visited the Grand Canyon prior to this trip, and when I enquired with my grad school advisor where might prove enrapturing at the first light of day, he immediately recommended Hopi Point. He and his wife have both spent more time exploring the Canyon than the average person, so it seemed only right to follow through.
The trusty EuroVan, now old enough to purchase an adult beverage in the United States (plus a couple years), delivered me to the Hopi Point overlook when it was still quite dark. A number of tourists were there already, bunching up in a corner of the protective railing and gazing east where anticipation lay on the horizon, intertwined with a promising layer of clouds. I stepped over a low, protective wall and made my way toward the edge, where the brain stem and the self-protective endocrine system began to fire warning shots across the bow. I set up my tripod within about 20 inches of a rather abrupt transition in topography, and I began to pay careful attention to not moving my feet as I watched and waited with the camera.
The world can be so beautiful that it can almost feel impossible.
Velvet Depths of Morning
The first rays of morning sun stream into the clouds and reach into the depths to stir the velvet tones of lingering twilight from the vantage of Hopi Point, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona.
I awoke before my alarm as often happens when I retire still thinking about the sunrise adventure on the morrow. A 45-minute drive awaited, and I wanted to arrive well before official sunrise. I had never visited the Grand Canyon prior to this trip, and when I enquired with my grad school advisor where might prove enrapturing at the first light of day, he immediately recommended Hopi Point. He and his wife have both spent more time exploring the Canyon than the average person, so it seemed only right to follow through.
The trusty EuroVan, now old enough to purchase an adult beverage in the United States (plus a couple years), delivered me to the Hopi Point overlook when it was still quite dark. A number of tourists were there already, bunching up in a corner of the protective railing and gazing east where anticipation lay on the horizon, intertwined with a promising layer of clouds. I stepped over a low, protective wall and made my way toward the edge, where the brain stem and the self-protective endocrine system began to fire warning shots across the bow. I set up my tripod within about 20 inches of a rather abrupt transition in topography, and I began to pay careful attention to not moving my feet as I watched and waited with the camera.
The world can be so beautiful that it can almost feel impossible.