shes the voice
to whispers. No cathedral imposes stillness so complete. It is sacrilege
to speak, almost to move. And yet the Grand Canyon is a moving picture.
It changes every moment. Always shadows are disappearing here, appearing
there; shortening here, lengthening there. With every passing hour it
becomes a different thing. It is a sun-dial of monumental size.

In the early morning the light streams down the canyon from the east.
Certain promontories shoot miles into the picture, gleaming in vivid
color, backed by dark shadows. Certain palaces and temples stand in
magnificent relief. The inner gorge is brilliantly outlined in certain
places. As the day advances these prominences shift positions; some
fade; some disappear; still others spring into view.

As midday approaches the shadows fade; the promontories flatten; the
towering edifices move bodily backward and merge themselves in the
opposite rim. There is a period of several hours when the whole canyon
has become a solid wall; strata fail to match; eye and mind become
confused; comprehension is baffled by the tangle of disconnected bands
of color; the watcher is distressed by an oppressive sense of
helplessness.

It is when afternoon is well advanced that the magician sun begins his
most astonishing miracles in the canyon's depths. Out from the blazing
wall, one by one, step the mighty obelisks and palaces, defined by
ever-changing shadows. Unsuspected promontories emerge, undreamed-of
gulfs sink back in the perspective. The serpentine gorge appears here,
fades there, seems almost to move in the slow-changing shadows. I shall
not try even to suggest the soul-uplifting spectacle which culminates in
sunset.

Days may be spent upon the rim in many forms of pleasure; short camping
trips may be made to distant points.

The descent into the canyon is usually made from El Tovar down the
Bright Angel Trail, so called because it faces the splendid Bright Angel
Canyon of the north side, and by the newer Hermit Trail which starts a
few miles west. There are trails at Grand View, eight miles east, and at
Bass Camp, twenty-four miles west of El Tovar, which are seldom used
now. All go to the bottom of the Granite Gorge. The commonly used trails
may be travelled afoot by those physically able, and on mule-back by any
person of any age who enjoys ordinary health. The Bright Angel trip
returns the traveller to the rim at day's end. The Hermit Trail trip
camps him overnigh