Native American dedication ceremony at the Grand Canyon.

If you’re going to visit the Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona this summer make sure to stop by the Mather Point Amphitheater and Landmark Feature. The new area will allow people an opportunity to view the canyon from seats of native limestone. I highly recommend sunrise or sunset for all your mental picture needs — it’s breathtaking. Actual photos should be pretty cool then, too.

This above photo is from the dedication of said amphitheater and landmark feature, which honors the native peoples affiliated with the Grand Canyon National Park. Pictured is Diana Sue Uqualla of the Havasupai People.

This post is supposed to be a Wordless Wednesday entry, but I’m a talker.

Photo by Grand Canyon NPS via Flickr

Sunrise on Cadillac Mountain

The easternmost point on the continental US is West Quoddy Head, near the town of Lubec, Maine. If a person wanted the unique designation of seeing the sun rise in the United States before anyone else, that is where he or she would need to travel. While West Quoddy is a beautiful destination, has a lovely historic light house, and offers incredible views across the ocean, there is another spot in Maine that is actually more popular for sunrise enthusiasts. Read More »

Waking up blows. And no doubt, this is the last thing you want to do when you’re on holiday.

But, as we’ve talked about before – vacations are all about making us cool, yes? If you don’t come back with stories of drinking with the locals, boring tidbits on food preparation and a few sets of unfortunate coasters, then you haven’t really done your job, have you?

Oh yes – and pictures. In this day in age of social networking, if you’re not ‘tagging’ your own feet with the beach in the background, then your vacation credentials should be taken away all together.

Which brings me to my original point of waking up early…once.

For a sunrise, of course:

Now – a few things you need to do to prepare for said ‘rise’.

It’s cold. No matter where you are. See, the sun keeps things warm. So if it’s not visible, then you won’t be warm. So bring warm clothes. You roll your eyes and wonder if I’m just trying to meet word count (totally possible), but I’ve climbed* 2 volcanoes in the past year and have witnessed too many strangers cuddling (which, if you’re into, I can recommend a few bars in Berlin) out of poor preparation.

So bring a blanket or something.

And then charge the camera.

Get a coffee.

And have one day when you see both a rise and set.

‘Cause that’s the kind of thing friends back home love to hear about.