Personal Narrative: My Trip To The Grand Canyon

Whenever I think about my family's trip to the Grand Canyon over the summer, I always wonder what it would have been like if I had not been too afraid to hike down the rim. When planning our annual vacation, my family decided that we would fly into Denver, Colorado, and slowly make our way to Las Vegas. The one stop along the way that I was looking forwards to the least was the Grand Canyon: I am more afraid of heights than anything else. Although I felt mentally prepared upon our arrival, I quickly decided that the Grand Canyon wasn't for me after a quick glance at the sheer, unprotected 3,000 foot drop.
On the morning we planned to arrive at the Grand Canyon I had three hours in the car to prepare myself for the scare I was sure to

experience. Upon our arrival I still felt rather safe, but this false sense of security did not last long as we were soon greeted by the rim of the Grand Canyon. When I saw that barriers between me and the steep crevice below were far and few in-between, I immediately thought something very bad was bound to happen. After being on the rim for only a few minutes my mom and sister decided to take a narrow trail down into the Canyon. Fortunately for me my dad--who is just as scared of heights as I am--did not feel comfortable walking down the trail either. While my mother, sister, and a few other family members were hiking the trail, my father and I made use of our time by exploring gift shops and reading books about all of the recorded accidents at the Grand Canyon. The scenarios mentioned in the book caused me to fear for my family members that were currently walking in the footsteps of someone of the unlucky tourists whose names were written in the book of accidents. After becoming tired of reading and window shopping, my father and I sat at the trail head and took in the scenery as we waited to see familiar faces appear on the trail directly below us. Once we were finally reunited with the rest of our family, they were ready to move on from exploring the Canyon and onto exploring the gift shops I had recently escaped from. After fleeing from the stores and tourist traps for a second time, I took one last look over the edge; and I knew that I was ready for the six hour drive to the craterless city of Las Vegas.
When I think about our vacation, I always think back to sitting at the trail head with my father waiting for the rest of our family. I just wonder about all the sights and experiences I missed because I was too scared to hike down into the Canyon. I have now decided that no view is worth my safety and even though I will never know what I missed; I always prefer to err on the side of caution.