For the fifth year in a row, I was privileged to visit the largest memorial in the world. Because it stretches across the planet for roughly 280 miles, this scar-shaped “Monument to Catastrophe” can actually be seen from space! Standing at the edge of the Grand Canyon you get a real sense of grandeur. Walking the pathway to the edge of the canyon, you are transfixed with the vastness of the chasm. Suddenly you consider how insignificant you are on this planet that we call home.
Every year a staggering five million people flock to Arizona to view the majestic canyon. Sadly, every year five million people are brainwashed by signs scattered throughout the park. These signs tout a secular worldview called “naturalism” which suggests that the canyon was formed slowly over millions of years of erosion. Despite plenty of evidence to the contrary, billions of people have fallen for this deception. So it is a real pleasure to join Russ Miller each year and lead a group tour to the canyon as we consider how this breathtaking monument is merely the result of a global flood and a sobering reminder of God’s judgment.
Below is a detailed account from a precious lady who got “On the Bus with Russ” for this year’s Grand Canyon Rim and Raft Tour. Start planning now to join us June 7-10, 2018 for your trip of a lifetime!
For God’s Glory,
Grand Canyon Trip 2017
By Rebecca Gring (Age: 80)
Wow! Praise GOD! Thank you, Lord Jesus! Yippee! Hallelujah! A wild dream comes true. Some of our children got together and sent my husband and I with Eric Hovind and Russ Miller to the Grand Canyon this year.
Friday, May 26th
We arrive in Phoenix, AZ. and are picked up at the airport. The bus heads to Drury Inn. On the way we meet some other happy people headed to the same tour. We were tied in right away.
A nice supper at Drury Inn finds us meeting some wonderful people. Russ and Eric seem so young and enthusiastic (admittedly we are in our 80’s). More joy is ours as we meet with some of the most important people from across the U.S. They are not renown but important because they are trying to do the will of our Lord. We talk and listen a lot and sleep little because of the anticipation. We are so joyful to have met these people.
Saturday, May 27th
Morning comes early and we board the tour bus headed for the Grand Canyon. Our driver is very polite and patient. The terrain is fascinating with little shrubs and saguaro cactus with their beautiful green arms reaching heavenward seeming to be praising their Maker. There are little trailer houses and small wooden houses along the way. They seem to all have solar panels. I presume they are Navajo people. Russ plays a video overflowing with information. He and Eric take turns telling and showing us so much information.
The terrain changes to mainly lava flow material. Even the mountains appear to be made of basalt… We see San Francisco Peak with snow on top. Russ points out Vermilion Cliffs as we go a step higher. Soon we see short pines. They slowly grow taller and taller as we go higher. Soon Red Butte is pointed out to us. The top is higher than the highest part of the Grand Canyon. I am puzzled. We are told we will see Cedar Butte which is 65 miles North of the Grand Canyon. These buttes remained in the area after many square miles of sediment were washed out. We are beginning to get the big picture as we notice again San Francisco mountain Peaks. There is still snow. They are basalt intrusions (volcanoes come to my mind). We are now entering Tuscan.
We hear about the Antecedent River Theory: how the Colorado River eroded the Grand Canyon. I remember living in the 1940’s and 50’s and looking at photos. I could never accept that the tiny river could cut the huge Grand Canyon. The ancient Colorado River theory had changed and even been debunked in the 1960’s. Older secular geology cannot be proven anywhere. There is no geological column anywhere here.
There are a lot of squirrels and elk. We are advised to give them room and not pet or feed them. Our bus stops. We are here. As we go up the little hill from the bus, I can feel some effects of the 7200 ft. altitude. As we come up the little rise and see the Grand Canyon for the first time, it is overwhelming. There we eat lunch.
We walk the 2.8 mile trek of the rim. People are very kind. We stop often to hear marvelous explanations from Russ and Eric and see glorious things. There are a few “spotting” telescope to see particular things. I thought this was all hard rock but it is a glorious combination of base rocks, igneous rock and tons and tons of lava rock, many colors. I can see how slippery it would be, having been inside a quiet volcano one time. The Canyon is 17 to 18 miles wide, about a mile deep and over 200 miles long.
At the end of our trek we are offered ice cream. We are too tired for that. Water is better. But then, my husband and I are the “old dudes” here. We board our bus and travel around the Canyon to the North to get a good look at Cedar Butte. (We see thousands of miniature Grand Canyons, but, of course, none have rivers.) I am too tired to climb the little tower to view the butte better. My dear husband is now holding my hand to keep me going. All the others happily climb the tower.
We drive down to Cameron to the Cameron Trading Post. It is so interesting. I would like to climb all over the boulders and basalt there but am too tired. All seems to be run by Navajos who are very kind and polite and a lot of fun. I wonder how many of them are Christians.
We eat a pleasant supper and go to our rooms, brush our teeth and fall into bed.
Sunday, May 28th
After breakfast we load our bus and head out for our Horseshoe Bend rafting trip. We have “church” on the bus.. It is the first time we have actually worn shorts and tee shirts to “church” (ha ha). In Page, AZ we see “church row.” A generous contractor poured slabs free for a “row” of churches. Interesting!
Now we board another little park bus and head to Glen Canyon Dam. There are a lot of small buttes made mostly of crumbly basalt. I have the feeling of being totally surrounded by the remains of intense volcanic activity for miles around.
We enter a long tunnel. There are lights often in the wall. We end up at Glen Canyon Dam. The word, “glen,” is Scottish for Canyon. It was named in 1870 by a Scot and in 1889 people tried to find gold here. Not! Many American Indians lived here, especially Pueblo. The hydroelectric plant can generate 1350 megawatts of electricity but there is never enough water in the river to do that. This river comes from the snowy mountains of Colorado at about 14000 feet. As it passes through Moab, Utah it is only 4200 feet. How then could it have climbed uphill to 7200 feet to carve out the Grand Canyon??? (Pardon me for pressing the point but I laugh and call this silly science.)
There are several birds and fish. The river is very clear. We see an osprey. The trip around Horseshoe Bend is pure pleasure. We take many photos of the 1000 ft. walls and the many rocks. People on top are barely visible. A few other people are boating and fishing. We see Desert Varnish (a manganese cover) on some rock. There are Maidenhair Ferns and many other plants. We also see many slot canyons. We are told there are about 7 inches of rain a year, mostly in July and August and often flash floods. Water also seeps out of the limestone rock from Lake Powell.
We make a comfort stop. There is a little beach. Many of the young people jump into the river for a little swim. They do not stay long. The water is 47* F. I go in almost to my waist but I think the sand is not silica because I sink in. When I get cold enough I head back to the raft. The sun is quite warm. We round the bend and head for Lee’s Ferry, still enjoying the great beauty of it all. We board the bus and head back to Phoenix, learning even more as we travel. We stop by Poison Rock for pictures. It is a large rock set on a stubby large rock and appearing like a giant mushroom. They call it Poison Rock because one drop would kill you (ha ha?). I do not know of anyone here who is anxious to leave. One family who drove in plans to go back to Grand Canyon the next day. We are envious of them, but our dear children have the burden of milking our goats and tending our chickens and garden. So after a great supper and even better fellowship and a creation movie we head to our rooms.
Monday, May 29th
More goodbyes in the morning and with a sweet sorrow, we head to the airport and home. Praise God for such joy in His presence! ~Rebecca Gring
