Few sights in the world rival the first glimpse of the Grand Canyon National Park, a mile-deep chasm carved by the Colorado River. This UNESCO World Heritage Site preserves 278 miles of river corridor and the ancestral homelands of at least eleven tribes. Layers of red and gold rock record two billion years of Earth's geologic history, while viewpoints on the North and South rims offer vistas beyond imagination.

As the sun began to cast its golden hue across the vast desert expanse, I found myself standing at the rim of the Grand Canyon , humbled...