Sandals on the Grand Canyon

How the striking of the great clock, whose hours are millions of years, reverberates out of the abyss of the past.

-John Burroughs

I visited the Grand Canyon South Rim for second time, and, as with the first time,  it took my breath away!

The mile deep canyon beckoned us to look down at her grandeur.  

Be careful, PaB.

All five thousand feet from the rim to the Colorado River below made 5-Star Scotty and PaB feel like they were on TOP of the world. (See them with their arms spread like wings, in the upper right corner of the photo.)

What river, you ask? 

The one MaK is pointing at.

PaB is an expert tree-climber. Do not try this at the Grand Canyon. 

DO NOT TRY THIS AT THE GRAND CANYON.

Besides, the photo is a camera trick.

The South Rim is very visitor friendly. The lookout points are located near enough to each other that you could walk from point to point. Granted, you'd be gasping for breath because of the thin air, but it's totally doable. Even in sandals.

 MaK got separated from us. She took a trail that lead down, down, DOWN. Her good sense told her to stay against the canyon wall, and go wherever the trail lead back up, up, UP. When PaB and I discovered that she had "hiked" for quite a distance, he wanted to do it. He wasn't going to let MaK take all the glory of having "hiked" the Bright Angel Trail. 

Kudos, PaB! In his loafers, no less. (MaK wore zories.)

I'm currently reading a book called Death in Grand Canyon. Did you know that many deaths from falling off the rim have been from photographers ignoring safety measures to get the perfect shot... 

 

... or crazy folks who put themselves in danger to have the most daring photo?

This outcropping is perched three hundred feet from the ledge below. I
crawled to get out there, and back. And I purposely left my hat and coat
rolled up in the bushes so that they don't get blown into the abyss.
Because my instinct wouldhave been to catch them in mid air if
either of them took flight in the wind.

 Yes, I reiterate, I wore sandals on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.
Which is not proper footwear for hiking the Bright Angel Trail, or any other trail for that matter.