Here we are, maybe 75 yards from an abyss in the earth a mile deep and up to 18 wide, and we still don't see any evidence of it. "Straight ahead, right down that path," I say.
Then, as you move closer, heart pumping a little faster, you catch a glimpse through the low-lying trees. And finally, there beyond the selfie-happy crowd at the overlook lies the main attraction, the Grand Canyon, in all its immensity and deafening stillness.
Photographs can't do justice to something so vast in scope and rich in detail. You just have to stand and stare. "It doesn't even look real," my son says.