At The Backroads

Taken from the Scenic Desert View Drive, East Rim of Grand Canyon National Park

The picture above does not look very much anywhere near the area of Grand Canyon we know, right? At least, it is not the Grand Canyon we all are more familiar with but the flat plateau which has typical mountain scenery of broad meadows and pine forests.

I, for example, when I think of Grand Canyon, I think about the majestic rocks that are marvelously carved by the Colorado River.

Lipan Point, East Rim, Grand Canyon National Park

The carving of the Colorado River revealed the geological history of the canyon. When I think of Grand Canyon, I also think of the purple rocks, the reddish soil, the colorful sky at sunset and sunrise, the changing of colors of the rocks during the early morning or later afternoon light.

@ Sunrise, looking West from Yavapai Observation Point, Grand Canyon National Park

I think of a canyon so grand that it is hard ( at least for me)  to take all its grandness with my camera. However, one thing that fascinates and amazes me when I am at the Grand Canyon is the contrast of the colored rocks in the canyon and the thick forest of pines on the rim.

taken from Yavapai Observation Point, just looking in the opposite direction of the rim

The first time I was at Grand Canyon, I was consistently thinking “when will we get to the park?” Despite I was already inside the park. I just had no idea of the intricate and colorful landscape of the Grand Canyon that awaits me at the rim, which is just several steps from these thick forest of pines. Deers and elks may also be seen at the rim, they add bonus to the majestic vista provided by the canyon.

Grand Canyon Elk Feeding on Snow

The contrast between the greenery and the stark reddish rocks at the Grand Canyon is one of the many things that awes me. Though Grand Canyon is famous for the intricate and natural sculpting of colored rocks, but then, you won’t miss the greens and the woods either.