The Grand Canyon

It has been a long time (26 years) since I last visited the Grand Canyon. A good friend of mine, Dave O., recently gave me a call from on the road. He had just stopped by the Grand Canyon. He was on a road trip back to Wisconsin with his son who had just graduated from the University of Oregon (Go Ducks!). I have been fortunate to have visited the Grand Canyon National Park three times. The first time was in 1987 with my sister Dona and brother Joe. I would return two more times in the early 90's. The last time was with my future wife Jenny (aka "Fozzie"). Each time there I ventured down the Bright Angel Trail. The hike going down is more strenuous than you might think. The change in temperature from top to even the halfway point down the trail can be remarkable. Hiking down the trail in March was particularly tricky with patches of wet ice crossing the path at various spots for at least a quarter of the way down from the trailhead at the top. I can see why the use of crampons during this time of year is advised. Despite the tricky conditions Foz and I made it down to the first overlook of the Colorado River. The close-up "selfie" photo in the gallery was taken with a somewhat bulky 35mm camera - not bad if I do say so myself!