Wanderlust : The first time in Arizona

I’ve visited a few places in my lifetime, seen some splendid architectural beauties (alas, not the Taj Mahal, not yet, at least) and some of those places teeming with stories of geographical history and Nature’s play with paints.

 

But there is something to be said of places that you see for the first time, and no amount of photography can capture its wonders as you are enraptured and in awe. While my trip to the Grand Canyon can only be classified as a mere glimpse of the landscapes carved through space and time, it was enough to give me multiple jolts of existential questioning ringing through my brain. It was a short, but extremely fun road trip as we head east from Las Vegas towards the Grand Canyon, taking in the sights of the desert-highway, as any classic American road trip in a movie has, complete with sunsets silhouetting cacti and tumbleweed rolling along.

As the car headed up the winding road, we caught glimpses of the sheer depth of the canyon, marked by beautiful layers along the cliff walls – each one telling a story of a different time. It was a moment of peace as I sat one ledge peeking over the cliffs, to watch the sun set and the highlighted colours along the canyon changing from reds-oranges to -purplish-deep reds as the moonlight became the dominant source. Eerily silent, disrupted by only the crunching leaves as we walked, and the sound of our breaths, it was a marvelous sight to behold.  To come across such natural beauty and the sheer scale of everything, did make us ponder on the existential questions. While photos in no way do justice to being able to see the place, here’s just one view. It reminded me of this particular quote:

“A thought that stayed with me was that I had entered a private place in the earth. I had seen exposed nearly its oldest part.”

-Barry Lopez

And yet again, there is something magical to be said about experiencing the desert-night-sky, with its multitude of stars and the milky way.

 

Amidst all this, there is something much more invaluable. Memories and freindships. Experiences that can never be replaced or forgotten. So, here’s to the next.

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