The Hazy Canyon

On most of my recent visits to the Grand Canyon the air quality has been bad to worse.  There are two major causes of this problem, controlled burn forest fires and coal burning generator plants up wind of the Canyon. On some days the haze is so thick, you will have difficulty seeing across the Canyon. Unfortunately, both these conditions exist during the heavy tourist season time in the summer. Not much can be done about forest fires. If the Forest Service did not conduct controlled burns, then we would have even more destructive uncontrolled burns.

But there is no reason, given our present technology, to put up with smoke pouring out of 300 foot smoke stacks. Personally, I am not against industrialization at all, but a 1000 acre solar facility does not pollute the sky over the Grand Canyon. In today's world, pollution is a choice not an inevitable consequence.

Into the depths

If you look carefully, you will see a tiny glimpse of the Colorado River at the bottom of the Canyon. For some reason, there are relatively few photos taken down into the Grand Canyon. Almost everyone familiar with the Canyon identifies with the iconic photo showing the flat horizon and the vast extent of the Canyon's crenelated side canyons. But this is the view you get as you walk into the Canyon, right near the top. As you descend the trail, soon the walls close in and your perspective changes and you are walking inside the Canyon and enter an entirely different world. Looking down from above, you cannot see the real Canyon of soaring stone walls and the huge fast running river. Most of the desert is a study in open spaces, The Canyon is a study in confinement and limits.

Looking forward to summer

We don't have distinct seasons here in the desert, just warm and hot. For example, deciduous trees begin to lose their leaves in November and don't finish until the new leaves come out beginning in January. Despite the lack of anything resembling seasons in a more temperate climate, there are subtle changes during the year. Even though the temperature doesn't drop that much, some of the plants go dormant. The big event of the year occurs in April, May and June when the local cactus begin to flower. This is a prickly pear flower, one of the most spectacular.

The long view

Sometimes we get so caught up in details we forget the long view. Only occasionally do we get a glimpse of the future but we can always step back and take a look at what we know and what we do in the context of the overall picture of our lives. I treasure the times I have begun to understand the longer view of life and how the puzzle of daily life fits perfectly into the pattern. That is probably why I keep coming back to the Grand Canyon. It is a perfect place to be reminded of the longer view of life. 

More Lithops

I like these little succulent lithops from Africa so much, I decided to put up another picture. They are also called living rocks for obvious reasons. They are small and have no spines or other protection, they rely entirely on being unobtrusive and blending into the background. Once a year, they come out of hiding and flower. They are are a pretty good model for life. 

A Prickly Perch

I would not advise standing on a cactus, especially a saguaro. Even if none of the spines managed to stick through your shoes, they have a tendency to work their way through the sole or leather or whatever eventually. I speak from experience. It is interesting to talk a walk in the desert with someone who did not grow up with cactus and the desert. They seem to pick up a lot more than those with experience. It is kind-of a reverse physical and direct spiritual experience. The less you know about the desert, the more cactus you tend to pick up. The more you know about the desert, the more beauty and enjoyment you get from walking.

A Natural Tunnel In the Rocks

The younger you are, the more impressive this rock formation appears. It has been there so long, that the sides of the tunnel are polished rock from the thousands of hands rubbing along the walls. Yes, it is just as impressive in person and yes, you can climb up on top if you have a mind to do so. It is located right in the middle of Phoenix, Arizona in South Mountain Park near the Fat Man's Pass. It is the entrance to Hidden Valley. There are a lot of places like this in Arizona.