Two hours of driving, with a 3,000 ft elevation gain and a 20 degree temperature drop, brought us from our campsite near Kanab to the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. I think we were expecting barren, dry rock everywhere, so we were surprised to be driving through thick pine forests and green meadows. Just inside the park entrance, we had our first bison encounter! We, along with several other cars, pulled off of the road to gawk at and photograph the woolly creatures, and to ooh and ahh at the fuzzy little buffalo calves.

We hiked a trail that led into the forest, followed by an extension out to a gorgeous panoramic view at the very edge of the canyon rim. Even as I stood on edge of the world there, I found it difficult to wrap my mind around the magnitude of the formation. I can’t help but feel a stirring in my soul when taking in such beautiful places. The experience left me feeling humbled, and incredibly grateful.

Looking north from Point Imperial over the vast Grand Canyon with layered rock walls and the desert floor stretching out
Looking north from Point Imperial.

View of the Grand Canyon from the North Rim with the Colorado River winding through the shadowed canyon below
Point Imperial

The Grand Canyon seen through juniper branches from the North Rim with red rock layers stretching into the distance

Looking down from the edge of the rim at the Grand Canyon with a rocky outcrop in the foreground

Charred stumps and fallen logs in a grassy meadow from the Outlet Fire in the Kaibab forest at dusk
The Outlet Fire scorched this part of the Kaibab forest back in 2000.

A small speckled eggshell fragment with a hole resting in an outstretched hand in black and white

Bison grazing on a meadow before a dense spruce forest on the North Rim of Grand Canyon in black and white

The Grand Canyon seen through green foliage with pink flowers blooming in the foreground on the North Rim

Wide view of the Grand Canyon from the North Rim with red rock buttes and mesas toward distant mountains

A juniper tree spreading its branches over a rocky outcrop overlooking the Grand Canyon on the North Rim

A peregrine falcon perched on a pine branch against a blue sky on a trail on the North Rim
Peregrine falcon on the trail!

Looking through a narrow gap between rock walls toward the Grand Canyon with white-flowering shrubs and a juniper

Forested cliffs of the Grand Canyon seen from the North Rim with green plateaus above steep red rock walls

Dried white flower heads growing low among rocks and shrubs on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon

A trail winding through a sunlit meadow and pine forest on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon

A tall charred tree trunk rising against a deep blue sky in the area burned by the Outlet Fire on the North Rim

A stem of red tubular wildflowers growing in a sunlit dry meadow on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon

A cluster of white wildflowers glowing in warm sunlight on a trail on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon

Two girls holding hands as they walk down stone steps at Point Imperial in Grand Canyon National Park
Lucy and this sweet girl were “best friends!” withing about 2 minutes of meeting at Point Imperial.