Grand Canyon: A preferred getaway

Grand Canyon 019
Originally uploaded by srinidhilv.

Since early adolescence I had been awe struck by the sheer beauty and enigmatic presence of Grand Canyon. The frothing Colorado river beckoned me to raft on its waters and the deep ravines and remote crevasses along the Canyon has held some kind of mystery to me.
In 2007 when I landed in the US one of the first major destinations I visited was Grand Canyon.

When I saw the extreme level of commercialization and urbanization that have been put in place around the Grand Canyon, I was rather disappointed. I expected to find some Native Americans still attired in traditional clothes, riding horses and manning visitors. But things have changes quite a bit and I don't know whether it is for the better.

One way to look at it, with modern infrastructure, lot more people visit the place and the state and hundreds of people earn their living thanks to this. This provides access to the old, weak and challenged. But on the other side, considering the nature and the original inhabitants (Native Americans), the commercialization has pretty much uprooted them people and transformed the nature. I wonder what it will be like after 20 years.