I have been to paint several years at Grand Canyon during the tail end of monsoon season. While the monsoons may not be as frequent at that point, they can still be a force to reckon with, coming fast, hard, furious, and very wet! This particular year, the rainy spells far outdid the fair weather, and I was continually ducking under eaves or painting from a wide, covered hotel veranda. This day I was stuck in a little porch at the end of a community building which didn’t afford a lot of protection, but it did have a unique view facing the mule barn. The mules of Grand Canyon are a park icon, facilitating as they have for generations, the movement of people and cargo from rim to bottom. In September the desert plant called chamisa blooms profusely, and gives a show of sunshine, even on the gloomiest of days!