Teddy Roosevelt declared the Grand Canyon a National Monument in 1908. It became a National Park in 1919, and was named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1979.

Of the Canyon, Roosevelt said, "Let this great wonder of nature remain as it now is. You cannot improve on it. But what you can do is keep it for your children, your children's children, and all who come after you, as the one great sight every American should see."

It is, of course, a spectacular example of the power of erosion.

July and August being prime monsoon season, I recently spent a few days at the North Rim to photograph the storms rolling through. Fortunately, Mother Nature served up monsoon conditions with regularity.

The elevation at the North Rim is higher than that of its cousin to the south, and the area receives significantly more precipitation, so temperatures are lower and the vegetation is different (most notably, you'll find dense forests). Numerous side canyons have been created due to redirection of water from the southward tilt of the land. Not only does one have an excellent vantage point from the North Rim of storms moving across the canyon, but because it's more remote, it's much less crowded than the South Rim. Bonus!

Don't have a lightning trigger?

There are a variety of other ways to capture storms. As thunderheads form and skies begin to darken, interesting scenes - sometimes quickly changeable - are often created. Depending on how far you are away from the storm, once the rain moves into view you might capture panoramas that give a sense of its track across the horizon. Even as storms get closer and the sky flattens out, if you're lucky and it's dark and foreboding overhead, that'll likely give you something to work with in spite of the lack of definition.

Even though it's "off the beaten path," I highly recommend the North Rim. (As the crow flies, it's less than 25 miles from rim to rim. By car, however, it's 220 miles.) Be advised, though, that the roads are only open from May through October.