And this is the start of the “perseverance” in the title. As we moved around the south rim a bit, the clouds slowly climbed upward and gave us some spectacular views down into the valley. Then the clouds dropped quickly and gave us a nice snow storm. In between, I shot this part of the series.

The small junipers clinging on to the interesting rocks made for a nice foreground – it looks almost like a Japanese garden to me. The canyon behind/center gives me something to stare at – can I make out any details? – but the lines of the hills and the canyon itself keep drawing me back to the trees.

I wish I had sat with this just a little longer; I might have thought to nail the focus to the trees better, rather than hitting the rocks immediately in front of me. I think it still works this way, but I think it would have been more powerful with the trees sharply in focus (particularly the one dead center of the frame).