I'll admit that I've always been a passionate person. I become obsessed with things very easily—music, movies, places, hobbies. As soon as I fall into something, it takes a lot for me to come out.
When I first rafted the Grand Canyon, it sparked something in me. Our guides could tell that I caught the river bug. I saw the entirety of the big ditch's bottom, and was amazed by every corner, pocket, side canyon, tributary, eddy, cliff, and rapid. But I had never seen the top of the Grandest place on Earth. Which isn't an unusual phenomenon for me. It took two visits of San Francisco for me to see the Golden Gate Bridge, three visits to Los Angeles to see the Hollywood sign. I guess I'm not the most observant person... but I knew that I would get super emotional when I saw the enormity of the Canyon for the first time.
My mom and I decided to make a road trip out of my second time through the Canyon. We had camped in Bears Ears one night and explored a few Native American ruins, then drove to the North Rim and found a campsite on a Forest Service Road. We drove another 30 minutes from our campsite to the North Rim.
I love National Parks because you always seem to be driving and driving, wondering how anything incredible could be so far away, and you become impatient, wondering where "it" is, driving aimlessly through a desert or forest. Where the hell is it? And then BOOM, it's right in front of you. It's like you didn't know what you were getting yourself into.
We entered the gates at the North Rim and drove a few more miles through forest to the parking area at the headquarters. We could tell it was near the edge because through the trees was open air. We walked through a maze of cabins.
I remember there were people all around us, like cattle all trying to get to the same destination—the edge of a cliff. But once I stepped through the last of the trees, the world seemed to open up in front of me. It was incredible. Magical. Like nothing I'd ever seen before. Unimaginable. Tears came to my eyes. I'm not kidding. I stood there, in a maze of people, with nothing before me but openness and a fire of curiosity as to how something so amazing has been here. All this time, and I hadn't seen it until then. The people were gone. It was just me. On the edge of the Earth.
About a week later, I was in it, the great big ditch. And I had packed up my cot and dry bag and was making my way to the kitchen for breakfast before a big day of fishing. Chango approached me and said, "Okay K-hal, tell me something that's going to make my day."
"That's a lot of pressure!"
"It doesn't have to be long, it can be anything!"
"Uh okay.... well when I saw the Grand Canyon for the first time a few days ago, I cried. I was in shock."
Chango smiled. "You just made my day."