December 12, 2014: Grand Canyon fills with cloud

A "total cloud inversion" is what they called it; and at first, the visitors to the Canyon were miffed that they didn't get to see, you know, a canyon, rather than the soup bowl this was yesterday. Until they were told it was a kind of rare event. Then they felt special.

But what's really cool is how the soup rose from the bottom up, as this time-lapse (15 to 1) video shows:



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That is totally awesome.

I saw it when I was there. I didn't realize it was rare.

The things you don't see when you're 2000 miles from something worth seeing...

Pre-internet you may have never seen that, unless it made the TV news or a magazine. The catch-22 is, you wouldn't have known what you were missing either.

Well, we've been there twice, last time I was about 10, maybe 12.

Ne'er seed it full o' clouds, though.

I've been there a few times and saw it with a layer of clouds below the south Rim but never filled up like that. It would be cool to see.

But consider the kid seeing the Grand Canyon on TV, in movies, travelogues, books and magazines. He develops an insatiable desire to see it, but family vacations are always at the beach. The desire grows into an obsession. Then his frat brothers say, "road trip", but he did the brown acid so they dumped him at a hospital and went without him. Just before he graduated his girlfriend announced her pregnancy so it was a scramble to find work, a place to live and get married, followed by a mortgage, dogs, cats, kids, and vacations at the beach in the in-laws condo. When finally the kids have taken everything of value and moved out, a concentrated saving spree with expired and dented food cans, and sitting in the dark a lot, there is enough money to make a modest trip to see from the South Rim Visitor's Center that glorious spectacle, nine miles wide and a mile deep. Money dictates only a one day stay and a cheap motel far from the park but at last the life long desire will be satiated and the biggie off the bucket list. You know what he saw, don't you. Now rare and cool it may be, but it's not the damn canyon.

That is similiar to what happened to my wife and I on our 40th wedding anniversery trip to Kauai. We went to see Waimea Canyon and actually saw Waimea rain/fog. Maybe next time. I hope. aloha.

Quote:

Originally Posted by blueboy56 That is similiar to what happened to my wife and I on our 40th wedding anniversery trip to Kauai. We went to see Waimea Canyon and actually saw Waimea rain/fog. Maybe next time. I hope. aloha.