Watching over the Canyon

Yesteryear, today and tomorrow people have gathered and will gather on the edge of the Grand Canyon. It's a big, colorful hole in the ground with a river at the bottom. It tells geological stories, it's the "stuff of legends" and it figures prominently in so many human stories.*

It's a great place to launch a new year.

Mary Colter designed the Watchtower to have an ancient feeling. Locally sourced stones were selected and positioned in homage to the ancient builders of the region. The round frame from the Elph-monocular combination gives this image a vintage look - sort of in keeping with Ms. Coulter's concept, I think. This view is from Lipan Point.

In this utterly contemporary shot, a cluster of eager souls awaits first light on the first morning of 2012 at Yaki Point. Vaughn is second from the left, in a yellow parka looking through his camera mounted on a tripod. On my computer, you can see the parka and the tripod and if you click the image to enlarge it, I'm sure you will see them, too, on the blog and Picasa.

That is what morning looks like at accessible viewpoints. Great camaraderie, but BYO coffee and carry the cup out with you, please.

*Over the Edge: Death in Grand Canyon is the huge bestseller in park gift shops, on display everywhere.