I'm in the ~95% totality area and about a 3 1/2 hour drive from the edge of it in southern central Illinois. I'd like to drive down to see it, but I'm not sure I'll be able to convince my wife to go. Kids are in school, so idk if the school will let us take the kids out for it, but I want to try.

That’s fair. I really like the style of what you’ve posted so far.

We will watch your career with great interest.

Do you have any other artwork posted anywhere?

Yup. Bright Angel follows down to the right through the valley and down to the river. The area with the trees and other growth is actually called Havasupai Gardens now to reflect the native people who used to live there (and now mostly live in an area further along in the canyon): https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/indian-garden-officially-renamed-to-havasupai-gardens.htm

Plateau Point is the very visible one up the middle and heads out to a great view of the lower canyon and river.

If you look closely you can see Tonto Trail to the right of the gardens kinda curving around the rise.

I was fortunate enough to be able to hike around there a few years ago. Went down South Kaibab to the tipoff, across Tonto Trail to Havasupai Gardens, out to and back from Plateau Point, then up Bright Angel.

Sure, it’s do-able if you’ve planned it that way and are in shape for it. The guy we were talking with was planning on starting the hike back at around sunset that night though. Idk what his definition of fast-hiking was though. They were faster than my group (we had one person around 70 and one around 78), but slower than another group who were jogging down.

> Both when hiking in and out (+9 miles each way, plus an unfathomable amount of vertical terrain) we were LAPPED by these ultra marathoners rim to rim to rimming the damn thing.

Did about 18 miles in the canyon a bit over a year ago (South Kaibab down to the tip-off, across Tonto trail then back up Bright Angel). There was a group of guys on our shuttle bus that morning doing R2R2R, but fast hiking it. I don’t understand that thought process though because nearly all the return trip would be after dark so you’d miss all the scenery.

If I was ever going to do that, I’d make arrangements to stay overnight at the north rim. Go south to north one day, stay overnight in the lodge, north back to south the next day.

I live in the little swath of west-central Illinois that gets pretty decent color change in the foliage. Not on the level of the Appalachian regions or New England, but still pretty decent.