Grand Canyon Fly Over

This past weekend over fall break, I made a trek to Las Vegas. Fortunately for all of us, that is not the purpose of this blog, but rather, the fact that I had the unexpected privilage of flying over the Grand Canyon on my way. I had no idea that this was going to occur on my early morning flight, but I luckily woke up just in time to catch what I thought was just a little crack in the earth that I thought looked cool (as seen below). This is when I began taking photos, because I was unsure what this small crack would turn into, but I knew it would be good. 

As we continued on, the crack in the ground led to a huge canyon. Now, I have never been to the Grand Canyon, let alone any of the states that house the Grand Canyon, so I was unaware exactly what I was looking at. After a few minutes of staring in awe at this massive landmark, I turn to my friend next to me and go "do you think that might be the Grand Canyon?". Not even a minute later, the flight attendant announced to the plane that it indeed was the Grand Canyon. At this point, I could see miles of the natural park stretching across the flat land. It was remarkable to see this landmark for the first time from a birds eye view, but interestingly enough, all I could think about was Edward Abbey. I thought of his writing, and how in the writings, he wandered these canyons alone, and even at night, proclaiming that the moon shining over them was the most beautiful thing he has ever seen. 

Thinking of Abbey walking alone through the canyons also led me to think about how small we are as humans compared to these amazing landmarks and natural parks. I kept imagining how small a human would look standing on one of the cliffs and pictured we would look about the size of an ant if it were even possible to see a human from my height in the sky. This also led me to think about how unbelievable it is that we are such small beings compared to the vast masses of nature, yet we are capable of so much damage. 

It is my hope that the grand canyon remains "untouched" from the mark of humans, and that developments do not begin to appear along the edges of the canyons, but I do not have enough faith in mankind to feel confident that is not a possibility. This is because right as you pass over the canyon, you begin to emerge right into the city of Las Vegas, showing that even within the presence of great acts of nature, the touch of humans is not far behind.