That Feeling

Wow! How do you describe a day like today? I don't even know where to start but I guess like any story, I should start from the beginning. 

We started off the day bight and early in order to get to the Grand Canyon with plenty of time to spare. We drove along route 66, America's first cross country road. The route was a whole lot of nothing and yet, it was really something. However, suddenly there was a whole lot of traffic and we eventually came to a halt. We waited around for about an hour and a half and once we got through we saw the damage. It was absolutely shocking. Two cars were almost completely squashed. It must been a head on. There was helicopters, ambulances, cop cars, tow trucks and fire engines. I felt sick to the stomach as we drove by and couldn't help but thank God for keeping us safe.

After we got away from the crash we continued down route 66 where we stopped at an old place called Hackbury. It was really cool! It had heaps of old cars and the bathrooms were a laugh. The girls bathroom had two puppets just staring at you and the boys bathroom was completely covered with loads of dirty pictures. After that we stopped in Seligmen at a wacky burger joint and boy was it wacky. We all had a good laugh as they continued to fool us with practical jokes. Things like putting the door handle on the wrong side, giving us straw when we ask for a straw, pretending to squirt mustard on us, changing our names and changing the signs on the bathrooms. We then consumed some delicious burgers and got on the road and continued on to the Grand Canyon. When we arrived we were completely blown away. I wish someone captured the looks on our faces. Looks of utter amazement. All speechless. When I said that capturing a photo of the falls would do it no justice I never imagined the Grand Canyon would be even more.. well grand. I almost didn't take photos simply because I knew I just couldn't capture the moment but don't worry I still took photos anyway. I was trying to think of a word to describe the Canyon and all I could come up with was majestic. But then I realised there isn't one. Its about the moment. You will never truly see the Grand Canyon until you have experienced the smell, felt the fresh breeze, witnessed the array of contrasting colours and layered jagged edges, felt the hot sun beaming down, heard the sound of mother nature at its best, and experienced that feeling in your stomach as you stand right near the edge. Its sheer and pure beauty is overwhelming. It draws you in wide eyed and buzzing. From the moment you arrive your senses are overloaded and your filled with this feeling I can't quite explain. All I know is I hope everyone gets a chance to experience that feeling at least once in their life. 

In the Canyon we made our way to Yaki Point where Miki and I climbed and explored the magnificent look out and soon after we headed back to see the sunset. Worried we were going to miss out, we Sprinted back accidentally leaving Carol behind. We watched the sunset and it was absolutely breath taking, however we didn't have time to dwell on it as we now had to find Carol. The search had begun! I waited at the bus stop in case she showed up and before I knew it, it was cold, pitch black and the Canyon.. Completely isolated... Scared, I begun to look through my camera trying to remind myself that just a few minutes ago, the Canyon was a beautiful and accommodating place. At night however the Canyon is daunting and unpredictable. I was there for a good twenty minutes until the bus finally turned up again. They had found Carol, thank God!

I will never forget the beauty of the Grand Canyon. It's given me a new appreciation for life. Since I have been in America I have slowly discovered and unveiled a new sense of life. Each second is a gift and I never want to waste it. I want to make the most of life from now on and I vow to do just that.







I still haven't caught my breath and I hope I never do.