Grand Canyon - South Rim

During our May vacation, we had the pleasure of visiting Grand Canyon in Arizona. I'd been there before (a long time ago), but Darin and the kids hadn't, so it was a great treat for the family. Everyone should visit the canyon at least once in their lifetime. It is amazing to experience the magnitude of this remarkable creation. It has such an amazing geologic, as well as cultural, history. When you see something this large and beautiful, you can't help but stand in awe of God and his creation.

It is amazing to think about how this canyon was formed. We attended a ranger talk, and he simplified the canyon's formation as D.U.D.E.:
D= Deposition (water from the ancestral Pacific Ocean shore moving back and forth leaving deposition from many kinds of rocks)
U= Uplift (volcanic eruption and plate tectonics pushing up the mountains)
D= Downcut (the Colorado River flowing through the area, carving away the land, cutting deeper and deeper)
E= Erosion (earthquakes, snow, ice, and rain continue to weaken the rock and carry fragments away)

The boys working on their Junior Ranger books.

Geology Museum

Overview of the canyon

Geology lesson, anyone?

They completed another Junior Ranger program.

Grand Canyon is definitely worth the trip. We studied earth science this year, so it was particularly pertinent to us. There is so much to get out of a visit here - geology, history, nature, exercise, and most importantly God's creation.