Memoir: Grand Canyon, Havasupai Falls, Angels, God, & the Western Desert_Joanne Z. Tan_Season 3, Episode 5

What does it take to reach a hidden Shangri-La deep in the Grand Canyon, and what unexpected discoveries can move us beyond the beauty of waterfalls into questions about humanity, nature, God, and mortality? In this poetic memoir, Joanne Z. Tan recounts her September 2026 journey 10 miles deep into the Grand Canyon to the blue water of the Havasupai Reservation, home of the Havasupai Tribe, followed by her long solitary drive through the vast Western desert. The journey began with the extraordinary turquoise-blue water of Havasu Creek and Havasupai Falls, including Havasu Falls, Mooney Falls, Beaver Falls, 50 Foot Falls, and Little Navajo Falls. But the waterfalls were only part of what she found there. - To read Part 1 as a blog, with photos  - To watch Part 1 as a 13-minute video, with more photos A Memoir of Angels and Humanity Descending the horror-inspiring vertical height to the bottom of Mooney Falls confronted Joanne with the limit of what she thought she could do alone. Then strangers became angels. Their encouragement, presence, and helping hands transformed a physically demanding wilderness adventure into something more humbling: an encounter with human kindness, vulnerability, courage, dependence, and the mysterious bonds that can form among strangers. The waterfalls were magical. What moved her even more was the kindest and purest of humanity. In nature, in the wilderness, random human connections and unforgettable experiences became a soaring melody created in the background of infinity. God sent angels to each other. A Poetic Journey Through the Western Desert After the Grand Canyon and Havasupai Falls came another journey: a thousand-mile drive through the Mojave Desert and Arizona’s immense open landscape. For hours, Joanne drove without music or an audiobook, allowing the barren desert, distant purple-blue mountains, and enormous sky to quietly speak to her. "The desert exposes its hairy chest to the sky; nothing hinders its reception of the celestial truth above," wrote Joanne Tan. In that majestic emptiness, Panis Angelicus played again and again in her heart. The heavenly music seemed to descend from the infinite sky and echo across the Western desert. Moved by the grandeur of the landscape, she wept. Nature, God, Ancient Earth, and Mortality This memoir became more than an adventure into the Grand Canyon or a journey to Havasupai Falls. It became a poetic encounter with nature and God, fear and courage, angels and humanity, ancient earth and human mortality. At the bottom of the Grand Canyon, hundreds of millions of years of geological history are visible in layers of rock. Against such ancient time, civilization and the noise of modern life suddenly become very small. We came from dust and we all return to dust. There is nothing more down-to-earth than going back to this ancient dust. This episode is a short summary of Joanne Z. Tan’s 16-page memoir about her September 2026 journey through the Grand Canyon, Havasupai, and the Western deserts. The complete stories, photographs, and videos will be published in upcoming newsletters. Subscribe to the free 10 Plus Brand newsletter: https://10plusbrand.com/newsletter-subscription/ About the Author Joanne Z. Tan Joanne Z. Tan wears many hats: writer, poet, photographic artist, photographer, painter, brand strategist, thought leadership coach, entrepreneur, interviewer, traveler, and wilderness backpacker. Across these different worlds runs a common thread: curiosity about people, nature, beauty, ideas, meaning, and the forces that connect them. Her memoir and literary writing draw from lived experience, travel, wilderness, observation, cultural perspective, spirituality, visual perception, and reflection. Her professional work explores branding, leadership, thought leadership, AI, and the evolving relationship between human intelligence and artificial intelligence. © Joanne Z. Tan, 2026. All rights reserved.