October 16th, 2026
A drive from Mexican Hat in a generally westward direction brought me to the Grand Canyon south rim. I pulled into a dispersed sight I had been at back in October of 2022, near the small town of Tusayan, Arizona. This is a good spot, close to the town, and about 1/2 mile south of the Grand Canyon National Park entrance station. I checked back in my records and found that I had arrived here on the exact same day as I had in 2022, but 4 years later. A lot has occurred since then, especially in miles traveled and in years aged.
I stayed at the trailer for my first 3 days, waiting for the weekend crowds to go home and taking time to re-aim solar panels to get my batteries back up. There have been a lot of days of overcast and rain lately, mostly due to remnants of hurricanes off the Pacific coast that have tracked inland across the Baja and southern California. Apparently El Nino is having fun.
It is now Monday morning and I left the trailer just before sunrise and drove into the park in order to catch any morning light on the canyon walls. I got a few good photographs before the sun was blocked by more clouds. When you are on vacation, you have limited time. Your chances of getting excellent lighting conditions are mostly minimal. But, when you are traveling constantly, the chances increase for unusual lighting to enhance photographic opportunities. This morning, I parked near the Visitor Center and walked out to the rim, just in time to catch a low sunrise refracting through a light misting rain that resulted in a rainbow.
The sunrise conditions did not last long, but I was able to get a few photos. I took many more photos than I saved, as many times I snapped the button on cameras that weren’t mine. I probably took 15 to 20 shots that were requested by couples or small groups of people, so that they could get everybody in their photo. I am always surprised by the fact that the people who ask me to take their photo are usually overseas visitors or immigrants to the United States. This mostly includes Indians and Chinese. They will turn around from a view, looking for somebody to snap a photo and will walk past a dozen other people before spotting me in the back and handing their cell phone to me. It is like I am wearing a t-shirt that says “I take Photos”. Or, possibly I don’t look like someone who will grab the phone and run. I am not sure. I ended up by spending 30 minutes conversing with 3 generations of Indian ladies, from Buffalo Grove, Illinois, Minneapolis, and New York City while admiring the view of a the rainbow highlighting the canyon walls.
It looks like there will not be a freeze for the next few nights, so I will stay here a bit until logistics force me to move and re-supply.
