I’d never been to Arizona ever so our trip over there was momentous. Not only for exploring new territory but to have been able to tick off an item from my list that’s been lingering for far too long. I finally got to see the Grand Canyon as opposed to watching it on documentaries, reading about it on bucket lists, or hearing about it from other people – and I have to say that experiencing it in person makes everything else pale in comparison. 

We were already a couple of hours into our Arizona trip when we were alarmed by the spread of clouds on all sides as far as the eye could see – I began to blame myself for not looking at the forecast before we left Vegas. It started drizzling an hour before we reached our destination and by the time we arrived at the visitors center gray clouds were everywhere. The light vest I brought was totally inappropriate to the suddenly cold weather that whipped us as we stepped out of our vehicle, and I expected it to start pouring at any moment. As luck would have it, once we reached the viewing deck at Mather Point, the Arizona sky proved to be too big even for the incoming rain clouds that half of it was still filled with light and appeared even more dramatic than I anticipated. We still had time to snap away like crazy and to take in the majestic view before hail – yes, hail – fell, followed by a torrent of rain, for the next half hour. 

The first sight of the canyon was a hold-your-breath moment and the number of wows and oh-my-gods was far from understated. It may not have been the perfect sunset moment we wanted and planned on but the 4+ hours long drive ended up still being worth it. The Grand Canyon, through rain or hail, lived up to its name.