Truly a Grand Grand Canyon

 Grand Canyon, South Rim

Oil on canvas, 10x10

"Grand" doesn't even begin to describe it. It is larger than Rhode Island. Yup, that's right. The Grand Canyon is 1,900 square miles; Rhode Island is 1,500. 

At the South Rim, near where I made this painting, the Canyon is a mile deep. 

The oldest rocks are 2,000 million years old, according to the National Parks Service. Along the course of the Colorado River, the Canyon is 277 miles long. 

You've seen photos, you've seen paintings, you've probably seen it in movies - but none of those begins to capture its amazing, astonishing, awesome beauty. 

If the only thing that comes from this trip is that I convince you to go see the Grand Canyon, the trip will have been a success. 

I stood at the rim, slack-jawed with wonder, and I stared and stared and stared and stared. It made me imagine the first Native Americans, camping and hunting in twilight along the river. It made me imagine the first white explorers to encounter it. It made me imagine the push and thrust of the Earth; the howling, twisting winds; the speed of the cutting river - the powers of the Earth that made this amazing place. 

It is that - it is so huge, so beautiful, so powerful that it transports you. And there is not much in this life that can do that. 

So go! Start making plans now! 

Here's my little painting in the giant landscape

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A hogan on the road from the Grand Canyon to the dinky town of Cameron.

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Look at the colors of the land! Amazing. 

I drove from the Grand Canyon to Monument Valley in an amazing dust storm. 

Elk sign and... elk! 

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These mules hike up and down the trails at the Grand Canyon every day.

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 The wind at the edge of the Grand Canyon has gnarled and stunted the trees there. 

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Tigers? 

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The hills on the way to Monument Valley were pink and yellow! 

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Dog of the Day

This serious-looking guy was working at the checkpoint near Tubac on the day I left to drive north. They look for illegal immigrants at the checkpoint, and, I imagine, drugs and who knows what else. I am not sure it's really legal  - but everyone stops, and this dog sniffs all the cars.