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One has but to fly over the Grand Canyon on a clear day to see a sight that is mind boggling. Many flights pass over it on their way to to the west coast and Las Vegas. One is struck by the reddish color and huge dimensions of the canyon with its high plateaus and rugged cliffs. You are faced with a view, that one could mistake, as the terrain of another world, perhaps Mars. But it isn't another world, just an unusual feature of our own. Teddy Roosevelt said "The Grand Canyon fills me with awe. It is beyond comparison--beyond description; absolutely unparalleled throughout the wide world .... Let this great wonder of nature remain as it now is. Do nothing to mar its grandeur, sublimity and loveliness. You cannot improve on it. But what you can do is to keep it for your children, your children's children, and all who come after you, as the one great sight which every American should see."

Web Cam shot taken on April 6, 2004 by the National Park Service

Mule rides along the rim have become very popular. They are not for the faint of heart since the mules walk close to the edge. You will also see people hiking along the trails The National Park Service likes to remind people that the park is in a remote area and that they should carry water in their car and extra car keys and make sure the car is in good running condition.

Trails

As strange as it sounds, the Grand Canyon has been inhabited by humans for at least the past 4,000 years. We know this because figurines have been found in the caves that date back to this time, they are called split twig figurines. Later on the ancient Puebloan people lived here and were the ancestors to the Hopi people. This period dates back to 200 B.C. The Havasupai people live in a corner of the canyon and nearby are the Navajo people. There is the Hualapai Reservation near the canyon and they are descendants of the Cerbat people and they came to this region about 1300 A.D. The Paiute people are also near the canyon. The Zuni people believe they came from the canyon but now live in New Mexico.

Different view of the canyon

"...the Grand Canyon...is the land of music. Mountains of music swell in the rivers, hills of music billow in the creeks, and meadows of music murmur in the rills that ripple over the rocks. Altogether it is a symphony of multitudinous melodies. All this is the music of waters." John Wesley Powell, 1895. Powell led the first successful expedition down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon.

The Grand Canyon is about 277 miles long and its maximum width is 18 miles while its minimum width is 600 yards. The depth of the canyon runs at an average of about one mile. If you stand on the South Rim you would be 7,000 feet above the canyon floor and on the North Rim you would be about 8,100 feet above the canyon floor. Within the park the deepest part of the Colorado River is about 85 feet and its average width is 300 feet.

There is much animal life in the park and tourists are warned that during certain times of the year the animals may get frisky.

In 1909 a strange article appeared in the Arizona Gazette. It states that a man named Kinkaid discovered an ancient city in the Grand Canyon that was of Oriental or Egyptian origin. He stated that the city was large enough to hold about 50,000 people. The Smithsonian was said to be involved because Professor S.A. Jordan from the Smithsonian was said to be with Kinkaid, but the Smithsonian denied involvement. Supposedly mummies and a large shrine were found with an idol sitting cross-legged. The idol was said to resemble Buddha. No one else has ever seen this city.