Pretty in Purple

This is one of my favorite views of Grand Canyon. The postcard caption doesn't give the exact location, but it does note that Grand Canyon National Park is UNESCO World Heritage, which is a rare occurrence for US postcards. Carol also noted the World Heritage status in her message.

I think this card is particularly attractive because of the purples. I'm quite fond of the color purple. But I also like the portrait orientation over landscape.

The Grand Canyon postage is part of a series called Celebrate the Century issued in the late 1990s. There were ten sheets, one for each decade of the 20th century, issued over a period of two years. Each sheet had 15 postage stamps that highlighted significant events, places, and people for the decade. This one commemorates Grand Canyon becoming a National Park. In 1998 the cost for Domestic Letter was 32¢. Next year that will be the Domestic Postcard rate. Sending a postcard anywhere in the US is still a bargain at 32¢, though.

Carol took this card with her on a visit to Grand Canyon last April. Every National Park in the US has a "passport" stamp for anyone to use. There are official National Park "passports" that have spots for the stamps and other collectable ephemera, but I prefer to use the stamp on postcards. I love it when I see others do the same. I have never had a Park Ranger tell me I couldn't use the stamp on postcards, even when the postcards haven't been purchase at the Park shop. Although, I always spend money in the Park shops. They usually have the prettiest postcards.