Four photos

[M]y Instagram account has shown me I’m no photographer, but I thought I’d share the stories behind four of the pictures on my page.

1. Just sittin’ on a rock

My sister and brother-in-law took a trip across the country and up the West Coast a few years ago.

My parents decided to ride Route 66 for a while to meet them at the Grand Canyon, and I was somehow able to escape work at the newspaper long enough to tag along.

Most of the trip west, I had the idea the Grand Canyon seemed like just a big hole.

I was wrong.

I took a lot of pictures at the Grand Canyon, because I was just awed the whole time I was there, but this one is my favorite.

My family climbed an observation tower, but I decided not to go because it was crowded.

I went off by myself for a while, and I found a path to the edge. There were no other people around.

It was a peaceful. I sat on a rock, and I just watched the river cut through the canyon.

I’ve always liked the outdoors, but I think the way I enjoy the world around me changed then.

If you asked me where my favorite place I’ve been is, right now I’d say it’s on a rock at the edge of the Grand Canyon — which, by the way, does live up to its name.

2. Bird’s-eye sunrise

Shortly after my nieces were born, I took an early flight home from a visit north.

I’d seen sunrises before, on the water or on a walk, but until then I’d never seen one like this.

While I watched the sun come up, it occured to me there are benefits to early alarms and mornings in the clouds.

3. The Hornblower

The first night of my first trip to Michigan was less than ideal.

It was a snowy November night, and the heat went out.

My family did what any good Alabamaians would do when faced with no heat on a snowy November night in Michigan.

We piled into a van and drove to another country.

After a night in a Canadian hotel, we got several boxes of donut holes from Tim Horton’s and went to Niagra Falls.

The view of the falls was as spectacular as the roar of the water.

When I saw one of the Hornblower tour boats creep up close to the waterfall, I wanted to be on the next one.

I was vetoed because it was November in Canada, but the falls were well worth it on their own for a someone whose first trip outside of the United States happened because the heat went out.

4. Rain on the water

When Daddy was a boy, he and his brothers used to take Sunday-afternoon trips to Florida to ski on Lake Cassidy.

Daddy and I decided to take a drive one day and try to find the lake.

After we stopped to put oil in the truck and drove around lost for another hour because no man wants to ask for directions, we found the lake.

We didn’t take the boat, and it’s a good thing because a downpour started right after I took this picture.

We took the boat the next time.

We decided to go for a swim, and we both jumped into the water.

We haven’t been back since, but maybe next time we’ll go on a dry day when we can catch some fish.

We’ve already had to swim across the lake to catch the boat.