In
July, I had the unique opportunity to spend 9 days in Arizona, 7 of which were
floating down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. I am grateful
to Canyon Ministries for the invitation, and to the trip leaders (including
Arizona River Runners!) for the absolutely outstanding experience. I'd
like to take the next little while to blog through the adventure.
Bite-sized chunks ... I hope you enjoy them. All of the posts are
transcribed from my hand-written journal that I kept while on the trip. I
tried to take time during lunch breaks, evening camps, and various other times
to record thoughts and impressions - I'm presenting them here in unaltered and
unvarnished fashion.
Monday, July 9, 2018,
9:44PM – Marble Canyon Lodge
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| South Rim |
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| South Rim View |
Long day! Up at 6AM.
Showered, dressed, packed, checked out.
Breakfast at 7. Then another
teaching session until about 9. Then we
loaded on bus for the 4-hour drive to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.
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| View from the South Rim |
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| South Rim View |
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| South Rim |
On the bus, we shared
brief testimonies, chatted, and ate lunch.
The drive up to the Canyon was fascinating.
We went through desert landscape that looked
a lot like Medicine Hat or Kamloops area.
Eventually we climbed about 1000 ft (350m?) up to the Canyon Rim.
That part was counter-intuitive to me.
The Canyon itself is so deep that I expect to
drive
down to the viewpoints.
Instead, the Rim is a vast plateau.
We were at the Desert View overlook, which
had stunning views both North and West, as the Colorado River has a stark 90
degree turn.
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| South Rim view |
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| At the South Rim |
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| The Team at Desert View |
There was an impromptu
geology lesson from Andrew Snelling (from AiG) on the formations we were
viewing – again, very interesting. On
the bus ride from the South Rim to Marble Canyon, I was able to ask several
questions about C14 and radiometric dating, and got very helpful answers. Andrew highlighted several problems with the RM
½ life dating methods that were quite pervasive.
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| Navajo Bridge |
Arrived at Marble Canyon
about 4:15. VERY rustic cabins, very
much in the middle of nowhere. Could not get the cell connected to Wifi
(there is no Wifi), but couldn’t even make or receive calls, because the
coverage is so spotty. Got to text a bit
with Vanessa, but that was it. It is
really starting to hit home just how isolated we are going to be, and just how
difficult it will be for me to be cut off from the love of my life for a full
week. And more tears come.
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| View from Navajo Bridge |
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| Navajo Bridge |
We had 90 minutes to
explore before supper. The Navajo
bridges spanning the Colorado River are about 200m down the road. We all went there, got some good pics. I bought a new hat with a good tie-down –
also good wicking to get wet and keep my head cool. I like it!
J
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| View out from Castle Rock |
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| Castle Rock - from a distance |
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| Halfway up Castle Rock |
I talked a few guys into
spelunking toward “Castle Rock” – a beautiful tall formation that looks
remarkably like a Scottish castle!
B.J.
and I walked all the way there and climbed halfway up.
The other three guys bailed partway.
Neat exploration.
Thankful for the spelunking buddy.
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| Panoramic View from Castle Rock |
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| Residue of the Climb up Castle Rock |
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| B.J. holding rocks up |
Learned in tonight’s
orientation that we’ll be sleeping on cots on ground tarps in sleeping
bags.
No tents.
Just us under the stars.
L This is going
to be very trying. Lord help me to be
out of my comfort zone, but to find rest and strength in You alone.
Exhausted.
Lonely. Need sleep.
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