At the eastern edge of the Grand Canyon, well beyond the tourists who crowd along the South Rim, sagebrush desert stretches for miles, almost untouched except by wild horses or the livestock of Navajo herdsmen. Below, the turquoise water of the Little Colorado River flows into the larger and darker Colorado, their courses merging within the burnt sienna walls of the canyon. The confluence is considered sacred to some Native Americans—and awe-inspiring to others fortunate enough to visit the remote spot.

"Every time I go, I think about my place in the universe," says R. Lamar Whitmer, a Scottsdale, Arizona, developer. "When you look at God or the creator's handiwork, you can't help but feel special or that you are part