Travel Photographer - Dr. Jeff Harper Photo Blog

The morning of our Grand Canyon adventure began here . . .

The Grand Canyon (North Rim) barely visible in the distance. We stayed in Kanab, Utah and drove up to the canyon on a full day trip.

It was a very long climb up to the north rim. The road eventually flattened out in a series of high meadows.

We didn't see any bears here, but we stopped for coffee nearby and were told that there had been many sightings that day.

The National Park Service offers these cabins for rent at the lodge on the canyon rim.

Very sweet cabin. We stayed in one like this at the Grand Tetons National Park in Wyoming many years ago.

The park lodge is magnificent.

We had a surprisingly good brunch in the lodge cafe. Highly recommended, if a bit expensive. But, of course, we didn't come all this way for the brunch . . . . .

As far as canyons go, this one is definitely grand . . . as grand as a canyon can get.

The Grand Canyon is so immense it is difficult to capture the true size of the place. Yes, panoramas can give the scope of the image, but you would need to plaster that panorama on the side of a sports arena to really get the true awesomeness. A first peek of the canyon. The first overlook, just below the park lodge. Jaw dropping . . . .

Awe inspiring views at every turn.

There are many foot paths up on the ridges and rim of the canyon leading to different viewing overlooks.

It was a very pleasant day to be up at this altitude . . . much cooler than the 100f+ (40c+) we had seen in the valleys.

The overlooks were situated in very dramatic, and frightening locations. This very beautiful and friendly tourist posed for me. Sweet.

The path led us out to a precarious viewing point high above the canyon floor.

A wonderful walk. A new view.

I have, like most of us, seen many TV documentaries on the geology of the Grand Canyon. Each strata in the rocks representing millions of years. The age of the planet on display, like the rings of a tree.

Not all 'view points' are authorized. We saw several fools doing this kind of thing. Not recommended.

I love these framed views of the canyon. You can see the excessive smoke on the far horizon from the many wild fires in the western States. There was also a small lightening fire on one of the nearby ridges. It was extinguished by the end of the day.

The lightning fire can be seen in the middle left of this view. This is also a nice view point for observing the geological strata. Looks like a storm coming.

There were some very beautiful trees along the rim path. I love trees.

Lovely tree.

The North Rim of the Grand Canyon is closed from late Fall to late Spring because of the deep snow. This old tree shows snow weight damage.

Old tree. A New Yorker left his/her mark. Dumb.

Photographing the Grand Canyon is not as easy as one would think. The grand vistas can indeed be capture in several photos, but then what? The huge panoramas can end up all looking the same. Even moving a half mile one way and the other still yields pretty much the same perspective. I tried to add interest in the shots.

Such a pretty view of the canyon.

After a wonderful day spent at the North Rim, we headed back to our hotel . . . to plan the next day's adventure!