In The Meantime, Other Clouds
Had Been Coming From The East.
They sailed along serenely until they came
within what appeared to be a few hundred yards of me, and then suddenly
they veered to the north, crossed the Canyon, and joined the vast army of
clouds that lay in solemn quietude, waiting for the decisive battle of the
day.
I went away from the rim for an hour or so, and when I returned not a
trace of a cloud was to be seen.
A Beautiful Fog Effect. Another morning I saw the Grand Canyon as one hears
an exquisite poem, a soft strain of music on violin, 'cello or oboe, or
sung by the human voice. It was no longer terrifying and awe-inspiring; it
affected one as beautiful flowers do, as the blessing of an old man or
woman, as the half unconscious caress of a sleepy child whom you love. It
was poetry personified; the spirit of beauty revealed; the inner glory of
an artistic mystery unveiled.
There had been rain nearly all night, preceded by considerable wind. The
clouds had massed together across the Canyon on the Kaibab. Winds had
seemed to blow from every direction, but mainly from the southeast, and
there were a few "sunshiny showers" in the late afternoon. The rain began
after the sun had gone down, and it descended easily but steadily nearly
all night. At six o'clock in the morning, not a glimpse of the Canyon could
be had. It was completely buried, wrapped, enveloped in clouds. About nine
o'clock these began to move. The rain ceased, tiny patches of blue shone
through the clouds overhead, though east, west, north, south they were
still black and lowering. It was cold almost to chilliness after the warmth
of the preceding days, so there was no haste, no hurry, in the dispersion
of the cloud blankets that covered the rocky walls and plateaus below.
Slowly they began to rise, then to stretch out and become attenuated. Tiny
gusts of wind played with them, and tossed them hither and thither. Banks
of smoky gray lay over certain portions, but there was no regularity, no
evenness, either in the clouds themselves, or in their disposition. East
and west thick masses hid all vision; immediately at our feet the clouds
filled the lower canyons below the plateaus, with a glorious, fleecy,
silvery white, that tempted one to walk upon it into the realms of
fairyland and wonder. Fleeces of irregular shape, but a mile long and two
miles wide, slowly lifted themselves from a horizontal position to a
vertical one, thus converting themselves from blankets into curtains. Yet
behind and through them, - as a coy beauty half reveals, half conceals, her
charms, - so the walls and buttes, the pinnacles and buttresses, took on a
new and delicate beauty, a subtleness of charm and refinement that only
such a veiling could produce. Every moment the panorama changed. This was
veiled completely, that entirely uncovered, while other features were dimly
discernible, or so softened by the fleecy, attenuated clouds that they
seemed the airy fabrics of a child's dream of oriental splendor. Now as
filmy steam, then as densest vapor boiling up from a world-deep cauldron of
unearthly beauty, the moisture moved, here catching rapidly ascending
currents of air, there lazily floating with serenest ease. It was hard to
tear oneself away, and the mind still lingers and will often again recur to
it, as one of the many never to be forgotten experiences of this most
wonderful place.
CHAPTER XXX.The Grand Canyon For Pleasure, Rest And Recuperation
Unchanging Value of the Canyon. Many people think of the Grand Canyon as a
show place, which, once seen, does not need to be revisited. Never was
there a greater mistake, for its resources are inexhaustible, even though
one visit it annually for a lifetime. The business man invests in stocks
and bonds. A panic may wipe out their values and ruin follow in a
night-time. But a visit to the Grand Canyon is an investment that yields
interest manifold and compounded, as long as the faculty of memory remains.
Better still, there is no middleman in the deal. The ticker does not reel
off the changing values. You yourself are the banker, and the joys of
beholding and possessing are permanent.
Its Mental and Spiritual Influence. The first impressions, maybe, are
productive of physical and mental excitement. But when the traveler comes
into complete harmony with the Grand Canyon's sublime features, bodily rest
and mental tranquillity are sure to follow. Of course, we get out of Nature
what we bring to her mentally and spiritually, but of no other place can it
be truly said that the play of external forces has so sure a charm, so
direct an influence. A man big mentally cannot be satisfied (when away from
his work) with a place inferior to that with which he is habitually
acquainted. Thus many a man, wise and thoughtful in all the other relations
of his life, will go to some inferior place for his holiday, and return
home dissatisfied. He has chosen unwisely. He has associated with that
which is beneath him. Man's scenic environment and its influence over him
are as much a matter of scientific knowledge, as the influence of his
heredity or his food. A wise man, therefore, puts himself, at vacation
time, in relationship with that scenic environment which will best minister
to his welfare. Nature is God's provision for supplying man with his needed
rest and recuperation.
Its Restful and Strengthening Qualities. Some prefer the forests, others
the mountains, others the sea, others the plains, others the solitudes of
the desert. Among them all in power to recuperate man's exhausted energies,
the Grand Canyon stands supreme. "I come here again and again, because
nowhere else do I find such rest and strength," said one of the leading men
of California to me, in the rendezvous of El Tovar, only a short time ago.
My own life and experience is a proof of this statement.
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