Dream Trip 2009

Great Travel Moment

The Vermillion Cliffs are located west of Grand Canyon National Park. Many people think of the Grand Canyon as a distinct monument amidst the desert, a panorama carved out by the Colorado River familiar to us on postcards. In my early twenties I became enthralled with the expanse of canyons and plateaus that defied the photographic lens. The River and its intricate tributaries are majestic visible waterways, but mere glimpses into the vast water system that flows above and underground descending from mountains and bursting from artesian wells. The greater Colorado Plateau is a Grand Staircase, an exposed and ongoing geologic narrative. This region was itself once submerged in a salty abyss. It now provides amazing vistas though it also beckons us to explore its depth, to appreciate the movement of particulate matter: eroding rock that flows the course of the River out to the now receded Ocean.