{"id":1043,"date":"2006-09-18T18:43:06","date_gmt":"2006-09-18T23:43:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tommangan.net\/?p=1043"},"modified":"2006-09-18T18:43:06","modified_gmt":"2006-09-18T23:43:06","slug":"theres-such-a-thing-as-too-big","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tommangan.net\/index.php\/2006\/09\/18\/theres-such-a-thing-as-too-big\/","title":{"rendered":"There’s such a thing as too<\/i> big"},"content":{"rendered":"

There’s really no point taking a camera to the Grand Canyon. The damn thing
\nis too big for the human brain to process; mere digital cameras have no chance.
\nYou take your snapshots knowing full well they cannot be reproduced at a resolution
\nthat conveys one five-hundredth of the vastness of that gash in the planet.\n<\/p>\n

I took pictures anyway because that’s what I do, but as you look over these
\npix, imagine them filling the largest wall in your home rather than a few pixels
\non your computer screen. <\/p>\n

We checked out the North Rim of the Grand Canyon because it’s only about a
\nhundred miles down the road from where we’re staying. If all you know about
\nthe canyon is the barren desert of the South Rim, the North will come as a major
\nsurprise. It’s situated on the edge of the Kaibab National Forest, which has
\nmore in common with the forests of Yellowstone than the sage brush and Joshua trees
\nof southern Utah. <\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

The meadows along the road to the park are gorgeous. The trees are predominantly
\npine. Elevation here is over 8500 feet, which may have something to do with
\nthe cooler temperatures and predominance of high-country plants. The weather
\nwas perfect — sunny, in the high 70s with mild breezes. There’s nothing "desert"
\nabout the place at this time of year. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Some of the non-pine species are showing their fall colors. <\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

The North Rim, looking out from Bright Angel Point. This is the must-see point
\nfrom the North Rim, and just a quarter-mile out from the visitor center. It
\ndoes look like all the pictures you’ve seen, but you have to stand here to appreciate
\nthe stupendous grandeur. <\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

I had better luck shooting certain features — rocks and trees, my favorite
\nthings — with the canyon walls as a backdrop.<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

Plenty of dead trees in addition to the live ones. Another North Rim surprise
\nis how much of the nearby canyon walls are covered with greenery. <\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

One dead tree is never enough. <\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

A young mule deer hangs out at a roadside scenic overlook. This beast is about
\nas wild as your grandma’s French poodle. <\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

A group of classic Packard owners was in the park for the day; I got stuck
\nbehind this one for several miles. Funny how much cooler they seem when you
\naren’t inhaling their exhaust fumes. <\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

Angel’s Window. <\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

I know, this is starting to turn in to a bad habit. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Make that a very<\/i> bad habit. <\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

Got some nice blue sky in this one. <\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

That’s the Colorado River just above right center. I know, it seems unequal
\nto the task of digging a ditch this big, but it had untold millions of years
\nto finish the job. <\/p>\n

So those are Monday’s highlights. Tuesday it’s either Bryce Canyon or Zion
\nNational Park, two can’t-miss locales. Stay tuned. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There’s really no point taking a camera to the Grand Canyon. The damn thing is too big for the human brain to process; mere digital cameras have no chance. You take your snapshots knowing full well they cannot be reproduced…<\/p>\n

Read more \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tommangan.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1043"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tommangan.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tommangan.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tommangan.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tommangan.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1043"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.tommangan.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1043\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tommangan.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1043"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tommangan.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1043"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tommangan.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1043"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}