It’s exactly two years since, and yet here I am with no post to speak of to show for the grand experience of seeing the Grand Canyon—other than sharing a couple of pictures. So here I am, trying to relive the magic and recreate my experience in words.

The First Born was considering two options: Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Canyon. Which do you want to see this time? he asked before we left for his place in 2024.

It’s hard to choose between two equally wonderful places. I hemmed and hawed on this side of the phone and left it to him to make the choice. A couple of days later, he called back to say we would be going to the Grand Canyon.

“Yessssss!!!!!” I replied.

My excitement must have carried across the oceans and continents to reach his ears, for he asked me,

“Why, aren’t you interested in Yellowstone National Park?”

“Of course I am!” I was quick to defend. “But… but… I have always wanted to see the Grand Canyon!”

And that’s how I found myself taking a flight to Las Vegas in the company of the son, daughter-in-law and the L&M, and then driving down to the Yavapai Lodge in the Grand Canyon National Park.

It was evening when we reached. Though we started fairly early, on the way we stopped to see the Hoover Dam and also for lunch at a Thai place. The evening sun had already begun its descent from above, and it would take some time to travel lower and start painting the sky in various hues. So we went to our rooms, deposited our luggage, freshened up and got out again.

I soaked in the atmosphere of my surroundings as we started walking from the parking lot to the closest viewing area. There were many others going the same way, and still others returning after a day well spent. My excitement mounted as the destination got closer……and finally, there it was, spread out before me in all its grandeur.

My breath caught in my throat. It was all that I imagined and more. The slanting rays of the sun fell on some of the cliff faces, highlighting them, while others were relegated to mysterious shadows of varying intensity. And when the sky covered itself in the colours of sunset, the cliff faces reflected the same gloriousness back in different hues. Everything looked out of this world.

We stayed around till it was closing time. We now had to go back, have dinner and return for the sky show, where a park ranger identified the various constellations for us. Afterwards, it was time for a well-earned night’s rest in our rooms.

The story is not over yet.

The next morning, we went again—by ‘we’ I mean the son, daughter-in-law and myself, the L&M conveniently having got out of it with a “It’s all the same, isn’t it?”—to different viewpoints. Sometimes we took the frequently running round-trip buses to move from one point to the next; at other times, we walked and walked. It was indeed hot, and our hats and sunglasses came to our rescue. We also did not forget to hydrate ourselves.

So that was us till lunchtime. For later, there was the museum and other sights.

On the next day, just before driving back, we went back to take another last look—at least for me, it was the last—at the magnificent view. That’s when I came upon a couple of pied woodpeckers. And also the many artists doing watercolour paintings of the exquisite view of the rising sun falling on the rock faces and creating beautiful patterns of light and shadow.

I even exchanged pleasantries with one of the painters and took a picture of her with her permission, she having invited me to the exhibition that evening. Regretfully, I told her we were leaving just then.

“Maybe another time,” she said.

As I walked on, saying my goodbyes, I wished there could have been another time. But…. there are other places to see too, and I consider myself extremely lucky that I got this one chance to fulfil a dream.

[I have deliberately stayed away from giving details of the place that are readily available on the net, and instead stuck only to my personal feelings and experience of the place. Well, I could write more… about the food in the restaurant, the flowers peeping out from between rocks, the trees, the garden, how well everything is managed, how there is no glaring light anywhere so the sky can be experienced at night…and lots more. But it’s already a long post by now. So I am leaving it all to your imagination.]

©️Shail Mohan 2026