CraigBILL

Toroweap - one of the best views in the Solar System! Mars has a deeper canyon but costs trillions of dollars to get a lander to. This an area of the Grand Canyon that I have longed to visit. It is not like your usual visit to the Grand Canyon... Toroweap is on the North side of the canyon where it narrows enough to corral the Colorado River beneath 3000 foot cliffs - and where the the larger of the canyon rapids lay below: Lava Falls. On the more familiar South side, you generally see a vast expanse of canyon terrace landscape - and usually you can't see the river at all. Toroweap, however, is more difficult to get to. You must take a 61 mile dirt road and arrive at a destination that is beautifully non-commercial. No gift shops, no rails and walkways, no hotels, no restaurants, and no lawyers. If you were so inclined, you could just walk right off the edge!

I wanted a little different shot of this overlook. What did that mean? It meant that I scaled down part of the cliffs where some other photographers refused not try - and advised that I should not go. That just made me think that there was a good photograph hiding. It was getting dark, but this was the time of day that I needed for this shot - sunset. I just hoped that the darkening climb back up would not make me regret the "portents of doom" from other on-lookers. Yeah, it scared the hell out of me.

"Dominion" is one of my favorite images of Toroweap as it shows the grand vista from a little below the cliffs instead of the usual on-top-rim-shots where most photographs are made. I especially like the looming cliffs on the right side of the image and then the blazing sun lit cliffs on the other. this photo-poetically captures and conveys the enormous feel of the entire experience.