River Rats Across the Pond
One thing I often tell people at the end of a rim tour or river trip is, “You’re now part of our Canyon Ministries family.” As you read this, you’re part of that family too. Recently, I returned from the United Kingdom after conducting a week-long biblical tour of London. This is something my wife and I typically organize every two years, offering an open invitation to people from around the world. Apart from all the sightseeing and adventure, during our London Christian Tour, we focus on three main
12 Stones at Separation Canyon
What an incredible season it’s been on the river! This year, I had the privilege of running both our first and last river trips. It has been amazing to see the many lives God has touched and the perspectives He has changed as people rafted through the Grand Canyon with us. God is amazing, and He always has unique ways of speaking to our hearts and drawing us to Himself on these trips. We believe the layers of the Grand Canyon serve as both a remnant and a remembrance.
Master Books Comes to the Grand Canyon
Recently I had the amazing opportunity to spend the day giving a tour to 21 members of the Pratt family. If you don’t know Randy and Kristen Pratt, you should. They and most of their family are involved in various ways in the publishing company Master Books, which published the books our founder, Tom Vail, helped put together. These include Grand Canyon, A Different View, and the True North Series guide books for Grand Canyon, Zion and Bryce Canyons, and Yellowstone and Grand Tetons. All four of these books are
SHARE IT in Sedona
We love seeing the various ways God works. A few days ago, I received an encouraging "SHARE IT" message from a couple of young ladies. After being on the Grand Canyon Sunset Tour with me one day, they took a jeep tour with a different company the next day in Sedona. While driving around Sedona, exploring the red rocks and learning about the history of the area, the guide began sharing about the geology. After pointing out marine and sea life fossils in the rocks, he mentioned that
The Great Unconformity in the Grand Canyon
The Great Unconformity, then, becomes a powerful visual representation of the type of geological event one would expect to see if there had been a worldwide flood as described in the Bible. One of the places we often explore on our Grand Canyon river trips is a fascinating little side canyon found at river mile 120 called Blacktail Canyon. Blacktail is a very narrow slot canyon, carved predominantly into the golden-brown latticed ledges of the Tapeats Sandstone, a formation known for its striking visual characteristics and its importance in
White As Snow
If you’ve seen some of our pictures from around here lately, you’ll undoubtedly know we were recently graced with a beautiful white veil of snow, which covered the landscape and transformed the desert into a western winter wonderland. Snow at the Grand Canyon is a sight to behold, and although you would never think it possible, somehow transforms this wonder of the world into even greater magnificence, like the glazed frosting on top of a giant layered cake. The beauty and majesty of our Creator never fails to amaze
Mighty in the Mundane
It was in this moment I stood and stared out at the canyon myself, and was reminded just how beautiful and amazing this place really was. We serve a truly mighty God. A God who is mighty in both the large and the little. A God who is mighty in the majestic, and the seemingly mundane. I was reminded of this on a recent rim tour. One of my favorite Grand Canyon rim tours to conduct are our daily Sunset Tours. These tours typically run four hours, and conclude with
Summer Monsoons at the Grand Canyon
We've just entered into my favorite time of the year around here
Finding Jewels in Junk – Captain John Hance
Grand Canyon’s First Official Tour Guide, Captain John Hance Some of my favorite moments at the Grand Canyon, whether guiding a rim tour or embarking on a river trip, are those spent learning and sharing “people stories.” These are tales of the adventurous men and women who came before us, explored this majestic place, and left their mark. We often refer to them as “ancestors”—those who came, lived, and shaped the legacy of this Grand Canyon. Among these ancestors, my all-time favorite is Captain John Hance—though “Captain” was a
Sharing the Wonders of God with a Local Grand Canyon Tour Company
Even a few minutes here and there, going the extra step in open friendliness to display the love of Christ, can go a long way in breaking the ice and barriers that may initially exist between people. Recently I had the amazing opportunity to give a presentation on the Biblical Creation perspective we teach each day here at the Grand Canyon, the same sort of teaching you’ll hear on any of our rim tours or river trips. The only difference was this was not to our guests on bus
