As a writer I’m quite taken with descriptive phrases and as a tour bus driver throughout the Southwest I’ve heard quite a few.

The most popular stop on any Southwest tour is The Grand Canyon of Arizona and phrases of majestic marvel leap out of the mouths of enchanted visitors almost to a fault, none so compelling as those that leaped out of the mouths of babes. Actually one babe!

She appeared to be about four or five and the cutest little blond-haired girl you’d ever want to see, traveling with her grandparents, on a one-day trip from Las Vegas. I was the Bus Driver/Tour Guide. The trip took about six and half-hours including a lunch stop. When we arrived at Mather Point, (The first magnificent view), I walked along side her to a protruding pedestal and stood by as she gazed at the spectacle before her eyes. She stared at it for several moments, looking in every direction.

Finally, her grandmother asked, “Well, what do you think?”

“Rocks! All I see are Rocks! We rode all this way just to look at a bunch of Rocks?”