Almost to the Canyon

It's been a particularly rough day, for reasons I will not go into here. Lots of time to think while driving around northern Arizona. I was quite glad we didn't make it to the Grand Canyon proper; I was not in a good frame of mind.

We made it to the Little Colorado River Gorge, which was spectacular in its own right.. and was a very dangerous place for me to be. I was already sort of reeling in my own skin, half-numb... and on the edge of a several-thousand-foot drop. I found myself fighting the impulse to take a swan dive every time I saw the bottom of the gorge.

What broke me out of it? I took off my coat, gloves, and hat, let the bitter wind through my hair and placed my hands on the cracked, frozen earth... and noticed some French tourists posing for photos near the edge... and wow, what a beautiful smile it was.

With that smile, everything shifted -- The natural spectacle gained context. Children playing on the rocks. An elderly couple tightly gripping the guardrail as they climbed closer to the edge. Goofy self-portraits. And my standing back and seeing it all happen around me. Suddenly my photos stopped sucking.

We moved on from there shortly afterwards, backtracking to Wutpaki National Monument and finally a spectacular sunset in the shadow of Sunset Crater Volcano. (Photos will have to wait until I get back to Florida)

Back in the motel with a belly full of delicious Vietnamese noodle soup, the demons are returning. This is going to be a very rough night.

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