People Are Crazy

When Mike and I went to the Grand Canyon this fall, I was expecting the canyon to be safely gated so that no one feared falling over the edge. I was wrong. While there are some fences along the edge of the canyon, the vast majority of it is totally un-gated. Meaning you could run right off the edge and plummet to your death.

It's scary because in the Grand Canyon Village there are all these kids running around. And they are maybe 4 or 5 feet from the edge. It made my anxiety level go way, way up. I don't really have a fear of heights, but I have a very rational fear of falling from great heights. So, when I was at the canyon I was part awed and part nervous wreck.

I was usually a nervous wreck when I saw people doing things like this:

I realize that you don't have a lot of perspective on this photo and you might be thinking "Oh, that's a lovely couple standing at the edge of the canyon taking a photo." But, that is not what is going on here. These people actually climbed about 40 feet into the canyon to this treacherous rock formation to take a photo. And by climb, I mean they actually had to scale rock to get there. Without ropes. Carabiners be damned!

They weren't the only idiots out there doing this. Look at these people:

I really have no idea how they got down there. It's a sheer drop off from the top of the canyon wall to this rock. And, again, I don't think my photo gives you a good perspective of how far down they were. You also can't tell from this photo that one of them was wearing flip-flops.

Worse than getting down there, I had no idea how they were going to get back up. With no trail near them, the only way back was to literally climb up rock with your bare hands. What is wrong with these morons?!

Then there's these dopes:

What a nice place for a romantic sit-down. Just sitting and chatting and dangling our legs off of a canyon wall. No matter that if someone pushes me, I will fall 2,600 feet onto a hard canyon floor. Where is their sense of paranoia?! They must not have any enemies because all I'm seeing here is danger of someone giving me a big kick from behind.

And then there's this picture:

Here, right at the edge of the canyon wall is a purse, water bottle and small bag. There was no person anywhere around these belongings. I even peered over the edge and didn't see anyone climbing down. And it was nearing nightfall. So......... I mean, not to sound morbid, but I'm pretty sure they fell over. And are probably now dead.

I'm guessing that these yahoos thought that no one can die at the Grand Canyon. But, they are wrong. In the gift shops, I found a book called Death at the Grand Canyon and it was all about people falling over the edge or not taking enough water on hikes or getting stuck by lightning. And these people are all dying. So, it can happen to you. If you go to the Grand Canyon, please consider using one of the many trails that will lead you right down to the floor. And bring lots of water.