Scott Thybony Commentaries

A young German reached the summit of Elaine Castle on October 11, 1982. He was engaged in an epic trek, determined to be the first person to hike the length of Grand Canyon on both sides of the river. Before starting out, Robert Benson had overstayed his visa and taken an American name from a tombstone. 

Commentator Scott Thybony began putting down roots in northern Arizona when he herded sheep for a Navajo family in the winter of 1972. That spring, he switched from a hogan to a tent on the South Rim and has continued to explore the Grand Canyon ever since. Scott Thybony reflects on the beginning of a lifelong love affair with the Canyon.

 A music teacher from New York state headed west in 1894 and fell in love with a canyon guide.  Ada Bass, I learned, became the first pioneer woman to raise a family at Grand Canyon.  Beyond that I knew little about her, so arranged to meet her great grandson to find out more.  “The Canyon holds a lure,” Robert Lauzon tells me.  “The beauty of the place caught the women.  They were struck by the magnificence, and by the roughness. ”

By Scott Thybony

Flagstaff, AZ – Some places can overwhelm the senses. They're too vast and too beautiful to absorb too often. Commentator Scott Thybony encountered this on a trip to Grand Canyon's remote Point Sublime.

By Scott Thybony

Flagstaff, AZ – People who travel to the Grand Canyon rarely regret turning their backs on the outer world and its endless stream of events. But they still pay attention to one event - sunrise at the rim. Before dawn they gather at Hopi Point, or Bright Angel Point on the north side, waiting expectantly with hushed voices. As commentator Scott Thybony describes, they see it through the lens of a camera, and through the eyes of a scientist.

Scott Thybony – People go missing in the Grand Canyon with unfortunate regularity. Just this week a kayaker died. Others lose their footing on a ledge, or run out of water -accidents of one sort or another. But when commentator Scott Thybony met tribal judge Delfred Leslie at the Hopi Cultural Center, he learned that traditional Hopi have a different take on those accidents.

By Scott Thybony

Flagstaff, AZ – The United States Mint recently issued a new coin honoring Grand Canyon National Park. The scene depicted on the quarter shows the greatest river of the West, sunk deep within its greatest canyon. Scott Thybony has this commentary.

By Scott Thybony

Flagstaff, AZ – HOST INTRO:

There's an old maxim in the West that when "the legend becomes fact, print the legend." Commentator Scott Thybony says several newspapers took that to heart when publishing stories about the Grand Canyon.