My Favorite Nephew Jason Takes Me Back To The Grand Canyon

Last week Spencer Jack's great grandma told me that Spencer Jack's dad, my Favorite Nephew Jason, was flying south to Phoenix to go on a roadtrip with Spencer Jack's grandpa, my Favorite Brother Jake, to the Grand Canyon.

Photo documentation of Jason at the Grand Canyon began arriving yesterday.

I looked at the picture of Jason pointing to the Grand Canyon and then looked to my left to see a  picture of myself at a different location on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.

That would be the picture to which I refer below.

I have not been to the Grand Canyon since 1994. Two visits in one year.

The first 1994 Grand Canyon visit took place on 1994's New Years Day. That visit was to the South Rim. It was freezing, with the Bright Angel Trail to the Colorado not hikeable due to a thick covering of ice.

Years prior to that 1994 Grand Canyon visit I hiked the Bright Angel Trail all the way to the Colorado. Brutal hike. Most hikes one goes up, then down. Hiking the Grand Canyon, the easy part, going down, comes first. And then the hard hike back to the top. The sun set before reaching the top.

Like I said. Brutal.

My second 1994 visit to the Grand Canyon was in October, to stay in a log cabin on the North Rim. A blizzard blew in overnight. It was a bit jarring to have gone from very warm houseboating on the Colorado River via Lake Powell, to a day later shivering in a blizzard.

We arrived at the Grand Canyon after the sun set. A third of my travel companions had never seen the Grand Canyon. We assumed it would be available to be seen in the morning. But in the morning the photo below shows all that could be seen of the Grand Canyon.

We were told that what we were not seeing was very rare. The North Rim closes in winter, due to too much snow. Usually the snow arrives after the park is closed for the season, hence us getting stuck in a blizzard being a rare treat. It was kind of fun, I have to admit.

I have never seen a warning sign in Arizona like this one below that Jason is showing us.

Of the critters on that list, when I've been in Arizona, I have only seen lizards and spiders, with those spiders being in the form of tarantulas.

I suspect Jason had himself a mighty fine time seeing the Grand Canyon. Jason is returning to Arizona in a month or two, with Spencer Jack. I suspect Spencer Jack is likely going to get to see the Grand Canyon on that visit.

If Jason was a bit shocked at how overly developed the South Rim is, I know I was, well, it's a couple hundred mile drive to get the nine miles to the North Rim, with the North Rim not overly developed. No multiple hotels. No mall. No HUGE crowds.