When is 5 o'clock in the morning not really 5 o'clock?
When your wife wants to get up to see the sunrise at the Grand Canyon!
It was actually 4 o'clock. The sun wasn't scheduled to make its appearance until about 6 a.m.
She just didn't know how to set the alarm on her cell phone or either she forgot about the time change. I don't know.
Recollection has it on the fateful morning, at our site in Mather Campground, we were up and running shortly after the alarm went off. My wive always likes to be early.
We cranked up our trusty van and headed over to the rim.
It was dark. No light in sight. And no other crazy people like us anywhere to be found.
It was easy to find a parking spot. And it was also easy to find a spot to stand at the rim where one could see the first rays unencumbered.
I told her to secure her location. The warning was because if anyone else was going to show up, they would take the best spot.
She positioned herself, wrapped up in her blanket with camera at hand.
l wandered around. The sun coming up over the rim may be pretty, but it was not my kind of shot. I wanted to have people in my photo.
Time dragged on and she held her position. One by one and in twos or more, people started showing up. I guess they figured getting there between 5 and 6 was good enough.
More and more people arrive. There was a big crowd. And my advice to my wife paid off. She maintained her front-row position and became surrounded by strangers turned friends who exhibited their exhiliration at being there at daybreak.
What is it about a sunrise?
Back home, most of these people would still be snuggled in their beds. It was the same sun.
But it was the Grand Canyon. And the gathering was grand. And the sunrise was grand.
Another experience that makes us a part of something way bigger than what we are.
And that itself is a grand feeling!
Next post: Sunday, Sept. 5, 2010 (hopefully before midnight)
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