I’ve been reading a book. I’m about two-thirds of the way through it and have been enjoying it. It’s titled “A Walk in the Park” and has the subtitle of “The True Story of a Spectacular Misadventure in the Grand Canyon.” (Scribner 2024)

It’s a very detailed and engaging story. The beginning of the “blurb” for the book reads: “Two friends, zero preparation, one dream: a 750-mile odyssey, on foot, through the heart of America’s most magnificent national park and the grandest wilderness on earth.”

I’ve been to the Grand Canyon a few times in my life, but never on a dangerous adventure like this book talks about. Well, now that I have said that, I immediately take it back. I have had a dangerous adventure at the Grand Canyon.

I don’t remember it though. It’s a piece of family folklore. I was a toddler, at the time, on a family trip to the canyon.

At a view point area, I somehow got away from people and got myself on the canyon drop-off side of a protective safety fence. People were afraid to do anything that would prompt me to run away which might have had disastrous effects.

My parents were evidently alarmed and I suspect with good reason. After all, they’d invested good money into this troublesome kid and seeing that “go down the drain” of the Grand Canyon would be a sad ending. (I think it’s okay to joke about this – since we know there’s a happy ending.)

Fortunately, a tourist woman was there who knew what motivates children. She was quick on the draw with getting a piece of candy out of her purse. The candy was offered to me and I promptly toddled back around the barrier. I’ve been accepting candy from strangers ever since.

I guess I’m finally to the point here where I’m ready to make my point with this piece today. My reading of the Grand Canyon book has reminded me of a conversational device I use with people quite frequently. And I often use the Grand Canyon in this scenario.

It goes like this. In the course of conversation, I may tell someone about the last time we were at the Grand Canyon. We were at the South Rim and decided to have dinner at the historic El Tovar Hotel Restaurant.

When we got there the host asked, “Do you have reservations?” I replied with a joke answer, “Yes, we have reservations, but we’d like to eat here anyway.”

(I learned that joke from our old friend Bill Nehrenz, now passed on, who co-wrote this column with me in its earliest beginnings 30+ years ago. He loved that little restaurant joke.)

I found out that the joke was really on me. We really did need reservations at the El Tovar and they had no place to squeeze us in. But, we were recommended to the Arizona Room at Bright Angel Lodge. With our “tails between our legs” we moseyed down the walk on the rim to the lodge and had great steaks there.

So quite often in telling that story, or a similar one, someone will say to me, “I’ve never been to the Grand Canyon.” And my automatic reply has become, “You’re still young, you can go there if you really want to.”

And for almost everyone, I’ll give the same answer, regardless of their age – because I believe it’s true. Unless the health situation for an individual is really, really poor, someway, somehow, they can experience going somewhere that they determine to put on their “bucket list.”

This concept works for more than just the Grand Canyon obviously. Almost any destination could be substituted. You’ve never been to Disneyland? You’re still young, you can go, if you really want to.

You’ve never been to the Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City? You’re still young. You’ve never been to the Kennecott open pit mine in the Salt Lake Valley? (I have not been there. I’m still young and intend to visit… someday.)

This same principle holds true for other categories of experiences in life. You’ve never been to a Utah Jazz game? You’re still young. You’ve never been to country western concert or rock music concert? You’re still young. You’ve never ridden the Ferris wheel at the carnival. Well, you know.

Not long ago, I was in conversation with a Sanpete guy and I shared this idea that many of us need to have more experiences in life. And I brought up this “you’re still young, you can do it if you want to” notion. I used the Grand Canyon as my example, as I usually do.

I was surprised when this guy, a man of no small means, in his late 40s said, “I’ve never been to the Grand Canyon.” I said… well – you know what I said. He replied, “I guess I should get that on my list.” (To be fair, he’s been lots of places in his life – just not the Grand Canyon.)

So, there it is. If we want to do something badly enough, we can usually wrangle our way around to get it done. We might have to “beg, borrow or steal.” But if we’re motivated we can go places and do things that we may not have thought possible. Just get reservations if you want to eat at the El Tovar Hotel. — Merrill