I'd have thought New York would be at the top of the list for the European tourists to visit or maybe San Francisco. Perhaps Disney World. But apparently the National Park Grand Canyon ranks right up to the top of the list. I've tried to figure out what the allure is. Certainly there's nothing like the National Park Grand Canyon anywhere in Europe. Nothing really compares to this mammoth crevice in the earth that cuts a swath for miles on end. I've traveled throughout the European Union and excluding the Eiffel Tower and the Coliseum in Rome I can't really think of anything that continuously draws in so many tourists each year like the National Park Grand Canyon.

I think that's the attraction right there. The thought of descending into the canyon and seeing the history of the world peeled back before your very eyes. Unless you've been there, you may not know of the ghost towns that still stand or the rumors of the lost gold mines. There are plenty of streams and rapids to be conquered in Europe, but white water rafting down the National Park Grand Canyon rapids is living life on the edge. Extreme emotions are waiting for someone to experience them. That is truly amazing.

I haven't even mentioned trekking. Or riding a mule into the National Park Grand Canyon via a dusty age old trail. Grand Canyon National Park lodging can run the gamut from a simple tent to a rustic bed-and-breakfast to a five-star hotel. It really depends on individual tastes. I think most travelers from afar feel the need to experience something completely different so they search out Grand Canyon National Park lodging that is not something they can find back home.

But those are just the commercial aspects. The park's history can fill volumes. There are a thousand stories waiting to be revealed in the National Park Grand Canyon. A visitor just needs to search them out. Stories of the lost gold mines and buried treasure number in the dozens if not more. Individuals who entered the Grand Canyon National Park and never found their way out again. The legends say their ghosts still exist. And on the stillest of starry nights, many a visitor has heard their macabre screams.

Incredible in this day and age, but the National Park Grand Canyon has remained a protected national treasure. You won't find any shopping malls popping up. No multi-cinema movie complex competing for space with the natural environment, which is so precious to the Grand Canyon National Park. The park's history can fill volumes. There are a thousand stories waiting to be revealed in the National Park Grand Canyon. A visitor just needs to search them out.

What visitors will find is an unspoiled expanse of Mother Nature that is yearning to be explored. The bright lights and big cities of the United States will always be a draw. But the Grand Canyon is in a class by itself. The canyon has existed for a thousand years. And long after the last big city has been reduced to rubble the grand canyon will still be there. Witnessing the passing of yet another age.