I'm 73, as I keep having to remind myself, and I'm scheduled to have a hip replacement in a couple weeks. So who knows when I'll have another chance to visit Grand Canyon? And so, here I am, planning to take photos at midday, sunset, and night. And, by the way, all the following photos were taken by me, with my Samsung Galaxy 23 cell phone. I italicize that because I am still so amazed at the unexpected direction photography has taken in my lifetime.

I did do a little light editing to make a few images more crisp, but only to make them match what I saw in person as closely as possible.

Being a Thursday, the park entrance wasn't very crowded.

I had intended to fork out $80 for a Parks Pass, but the ranger spotted my Navy cap on the seat beside me and offered to give the pass to me free if I had proof of my veteran status (besides the cap). I did, since it's on my driver's license. These passes are great; they're not only good for me, but anyone with me.

The South Rim of Grand Canyon is about a mile above sea level. So that means mainly pine forests, whose deep roots can maximize water extraction.

Once in the park and checked into Mather Campground, I headed for the Rim. I decided not to bother with Mather Point or the little village on the Rim. I'd been there so many times previously, it seemed unlikely I'd find anything new to photograph. Also, I'd have to park, take a shuttle bus, and then walk up a big flight of stairs—something I can't really manage these days.

The Canyon at Midday

So instead I decided to drive to nearby Pipe Creek Vista, quite uncrowded and with these spectacular views that are less photographed.

At that point, pretty exhausted, I went back to my car, and then the campground to nap, where I found crawling into my Tesla's rear compartment (where I have a custom-fit mattress) a lot harder than even just a few months ago.

The Canyon at Sunset

Two hours later, I was back to take sunset photos. The sky had been cloudless all day, which doesn't usually make for awesome sunsets. But it's Grand Canyon, and I'm here!

I determined to walk further than I had that afternoon, because I wanted to position myself for the sun to be setting on the edge of the Pipe Creek promontory.

I finally reached the viewpoint I wanted.

Well, almost. I had to sit and rest, but I had 10 minutes to go after I took this selfie for the sun to technically set.

The midday shots I took are colorful but late afternoon shots have more dramatic shadows. This cliff is lit by the gold of the setting sun.

And so here am I, at 73, two weeks shy of a hip replacement but by golly, I'm hiking Grand Canyon.

And the sun is setting.

These seriously ancient pines are literally splitting the rocks on the Rim.

The Canyon at Night

And then I came back to attempt a night shot with my cellphone. I tried to prop it entirely by rocks but couldn't find any that supported my vision. So, yeah, it's a little blurry. But the colors, which may have included a little aurora, are pretty enough for me to keep.

Back at the campsite, I tried another star photo and the aurora or whatever is still present. Flagstaff is a Dark Sky city (it has an observatory, the one in fact from which Pluto was discovered) so this isn't the glow from city lights. And the pattern is different from the previous photo, so I don't think it's a camera artifact.

So, who knows? If the hip replacement has the desired effect, on my next visit I may be able to hike to more obscure vantage points!