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By Jayne Clark, USA TODAY
What new can possibly be said about a place as old as time?
After all, Arizona's Grand Canyon has been the object of hundreds of books, thousands of photos and millions of awe-inspired gasps. Historical accounts report visitors dropping to their knees in wonder upon eyeing the monolithic chasm. It is at once an icon, a metaphor and a cliché, capable of warping perspective and sharpening imagination. Witness its selection as the eighth New Wonder of the World by voters in a USA TODAY/Good Morning America poll, edging out, in order, the Panama Canal; the Great Wall of China; Machu Picchu, Peru; the Saturn V rocket; the Taj Mahal, India; Victoria Falls, Zambia/Zimbabwe; and Venice, Italy. A panel of experts earlier this month named seven new global wonders. READ MORE: Life, and death, on the edge of the Grand Canyon For fresh perspectives on this wonder, we sought out eight individuals who know the canyon well. Their views are as varied as the topography: The river guide Christa Sadler, 44, has rafted the Colorado River for 20 years. She's also a paleontologist and editor of There's This River ... Grand Canyon Boatman Stories. A veteran of 80 river trips lasting up to 18 days, Sadler says her sense of wonder is continually re-energized by the reactions of her clients. "They are so blown away, and I get to be a facilitator of that. I'm a wonder vampire," she says. Her view: "One of the things that makes a river trip through the Grand Canyon so unusual is you have the ability to go for two or three weeks. You can really sink into the rhythm of the place. It becomes not just a fun river trip but a journey where you have an ability not to just be connected to the river but the whole canyon. Down there, life is so wonderfully simple." Favorite spot: Blacktail Canyon at Mile 120 on the river. "It has some of the most amazing acoustics. It feels like a church, but better." The ranch manager David Meyer, 40, has worked for 20 years in the national park for Xanterra, the concessionaire that operates the park's hotels and restaurants. His workplace for the past six years has been Phantom Ranch, an oasis 10 miles below the rim, where he lives among 17 other employees and three Park Service rangers. The ranch's 94 beds (in 1922 cabins and dormitories) often are fully booked a year ahead. His view: "We get people who check in and break out in tears and say, 'I cannot make it out of here.' You convince them that they can make it out (by hiking). It entails a lot of hugging and hand-holding. They do make it up, and, in the end, a lot of people will say, 'This is the best thing we've done in our lives.' It can be a life-transforming experience." Favorite spot: Skeleton Point on the Kaibab Trail. "When I hike out, that's where I stop for breakfast. I look out and feel like the luckiest man in the world." The geologist Wayne Ranney, 52, teaches geology, leads tours for the Grand Canyon Field Institute, and is a former backcountry ranger and the author of Carving Grand Canyon: Evidence, Theories and Mystery. After his first trip to the canyon in 1975, "I sat at a picnic table and said, 'I'm not going back.' There's this infectious way the canyon gets a hold of people," he says. His view: "The Grand Canyon is a world-class example of geologic history and erosion. Each layer, from 1.7 billion years old at the base to 270 million years at the rim, represent what Earth's surface once was." Favorite spot: "The one I'm at at the moment. There's that much of a pull after 32 years. The best views from the South Rim are on West Rim Drive— Maricopa, Hopi and Mohave give you views of the river." The writer Scott Thybony, 58, is the author of dozens of books and articles about the Grand Canyon. He also worked as a Colorado River guide in the 1970s. "Initially, I was attracted by the dramatic landscape and adventure of exploring," he says. "But what kept me coming back was the mystery. Part of that is the traditions of the Hopi and Navajo. And it's still a place where people disappear without a trace. (Several) times they've searched for one person and found the body of someone else they didn't even know was lost." His view: "When you're (approaching) it, you get hints, but the main event is screened by the ground. Then you get to the canyon and the ground is no longer propping up the sky and it seems to fall into the canyon and fills it with light. There's a sudden shift in perception; you're at the end of things looking into the sunken world. The scale is so vast, you're forced outside yourself. You're on the edge looking in, and it's humbling." Favorite spots: Thybony prefers remote places, but along the easily accessible South Rim, Havasupai Point offers sweeping vistas. Yavapai Point's observation station is a good bet in bad weather. The photographer In 30 years as a professional photographer, Gary Ladd, 59, estimates he has taken 38,000 photos of the canyon and hiked thousands of miles within its walls. His work is featured in 10 books, including Grand Canyon: Time Below the Rim. His view: "To get good photographs takes time. That means finding new places, waiting for the light. Going back next month when the trees are different. Going back next year when the rock fall has blended into the scenery. You cannot go out for two hours on the weekend and expect to have good photos at the end of the year." Favorite spot: For the casual photographer, Mather Point on the South Rim. "It's often spectacular and easy to get to." The search-and-rescue chief As chief of emergency services for the park, Ken Phillips, 47, orchestrates an average of 300 search-and-rescue operations annually. In a typical year, 10 to 12 people die at the canyon, many from heat stroke. But the causes are a laundry list of trouble ranging from falls to drownings. His view: "People overextend themselves on day hikes — they're going down and think they can go farther. But they have to get back up. And when people crawl out on a precipice to get a photo, they should know others have lost their lives in that same situation." (Read More: Life, and death, on the edge of the Grand Canyon) Favorite spot: Deer Creek Falls and Thunder River along the Colorado River. The Park Service ranger Stew Fritts, 69, has been stationed at the canyon since 1967. His first seven years were at the isolated North Rim, which, unlike the more populated South Rim, tends to attract "destination" rather than quick-stop visitors. His view: "I compare the canyon to meeting a beautiful woman. You're attracted to her physically at first. Then you get to know her, and the love gets deeper as you understand her better. The canyon doesn't change. Your perception of it does." Favorite spots: Desert View for sunrise; Mohave Point for sunset. The Native American Phyllis Kachinhongva, 47, is the fifth generation in her family to grow up on the South Rim, where her grandfather was employed at Verkamps curio shop across from El Tovar hotel. The canyon was her playground. She sold lemonade to thirsty hikers, posed for photos and routinely raced the 19 miles down to the Colorado River and back up in a single day. She has been an interpretive ranger for the past 21 years and shares Hopi creation stories and childhood memories with her audiences. Her view: "As kids, we played along the rim. It's a wonder we didn't fall in. People ask me if the canyon looks the same. I don't know, because it was always here. It was always home." Favorite spot: "Anywhere. Just looking over the rim makes me feel the spirituality." E-mail jeclark@usatoday.com
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USA TODAY and ABC News' Good Morning America teamed up to pick the seven New Wonders of the World. The new Seven Wonders of the World, chosen by our experts, are: Potala Palace/Jokhang Temple, Tibet; Jerusalem's Old City, Israel; polar ice caps; Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine Monument; the Internet; Maya pyramids, Central America; and Serengetti Plain, Tanzania
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