Mural musings

Today was such a great day! Heather and I went to the Grand Canyon today for the unveiling of the mural my friend Julie Greer painted at the Shrine of the Ages building. She was the artist-in-residence there, and this was the culmination of all of her hard work. It's a beautiful mural-a Native American grandmother and granddaughter standing at the edge of the Canyon, wrapped in blankets. The detail is marvelous, and there is a lot of meaning in the items around them, wildflowers, rocks, it was so cool to hear her explain it for us. The Shrine of the Ages is not in the main traffic-pattern of the tourist areas, but it's not far from the Marketplace Plaza, so if you plan a trip to the canyon, take time to stop by there too. Shrine of the Ages is the building used for orchestras, gatherings and church services, and she wanted to use that area as her canvas.

This is the first time I've been at the Grand Canyon in the winter, and with all the snow we've had this year, it is really beautiful! The weather was clear, and warmed up to the high 40's I think. It wasn't very crowded, so that was nice too. We were there last May for a wedding, and took the rim trail west along the canyon, it's an easy and beautiful hike, I want to go back and spend a little more time along there. I've talked David into a trip to the far western end of the canyon, where the local Tribe has built a walkway over the canyon with plexiglass, so when you walk out over the edge, there's nothing much between you and the bottom! I planned to go last summer, but had to put that on hold for a while. It's about 3-4 hours up there from here, and I want to feel good enough to really enjoy the trip. Plus I better have my heart in good shape before I stroll out onto the see-through walkway, don't want to shake it up again.