Grand Canyon

Our trip has gotten off to a great start! Rick did well on the flight down... we were able to get a row of three seats to ourselves, so he got to lay down the whole way. We got into Phoenix and immediately went to Fuddrucker's Burgers - home of the World's Greatest Hamburger. SO good!! The house we are staying in is incredible. Four bedrooms, three bathrooms, pool in the back, temperpedic mattresses - you name it, it's here! We are so comfortable. That's a good thing because it is 107 degrees outside! We spent the first night taking it easy, walking around Desert Ridge Marketplace, enjoying the evening warmth.

The next day, we left Rick at the house to relax and enjoy some "alone time" while the rest of us headed out for the highlight of the trip - hiking the Grand Canyon! We spent the night in this crazy little town on Route 66, Williams, AZ, and had dinner at this bizarre restaurant, Cruisers 66. Our waitress was hilarious (not really). She didn't really seem to care about much... Told us that someone else took one of our steaks (after waiting 45 min. for it), so she was going to go steal someone else's. She came back with a steak and told us they could kiss her butt for stealing it - interesting customer service here in Williams. Basically, Williams was just like Radiator Springs in Carburetor County (for all you CARS fans).

We woke up at 5 am the next morning to head out for the Grand Canyon. Click here to see all of my pictures! We took the shuttle bus to the trailhead for the South Kaibab trail, and took in the view. It was SO amazing.

This was us just before venturing out. My brother- and sister-in-law, Chris and Lisa, and my in-laws, Joanne and Jim, and I all headed out (well, Lisa and Chris were a little behind us since we forgot our permit in the car - oops!)

Shortly after 8 am, we started down the trail. This picture was taken about halfway down... In the middle of the picture, you can see the switchback trail on the side of the cliff. That was basically the entire way down. The dark crevasse in the middle right was where we were heading... the bottom.

After Lisa and Chris hauled butt down the Canyon, they caught up with us at the last rest stop before the bottom, but the last part was the most difficult part, in my opinion - and the hottest! Holy Cow! As soon as we reached the bottom, it jumped 20 degrees - we all almost passed out from heat exhaustion. It was unbelievable. I have never been so hot...




After four and a half hours of downhill hiking, we finally reached Bright Angel Campgrounds - our pit stop for the night. It was next to this beautiful little stream with a gorgeous view of the Canyon. Our campsite was right next to the creek, which poured into the Colorado River. We had dinner (top ramen and tuna from a packet - yyyyuuummm!) I immediately put my sore feet in the stream. It was SO warm and refreshing - just what I needed!















We finally got to sleep after a while, although Jim enjoyed staying up and watching the bats dive bomb our tents. I am SO glad I was asleep...


We woke up the next morning at 3 am - YES, I said 3 in the AM! We packed up, ate breakfast, and headed out for a long day hiking UP the canyon... By 4 am, we were on our way up the "hill". It was the MOST beautiful part of the hike. The first half was along the Colorado River, then up into the Canyon along streams and waterfalls with lush greenery the whole way - SO beautiful. I will post pictures of that later - didn't get any good ones. This was a dark picture of one of the streams we crossed... doesn't do it justice!


We stopped for lunch (at 7:30 am) in Indian Gardens - the half way mark. There were crazy squirrels everywhere. They were so bold - they would just walk up to you, jump up on your back pack, and start digging to find food. Little buggers.

Let me just say this... Hiking 9 miles uphill with a 35 lb pack strapped to the waist doesn't NOT help a full bladder - especially when there are only TWO designated bathrooms. Therefore, I am not embarrassed to say I had to become one with nature and go... I left my mark, you could say. :-)

After five more LONG hours of uphill hiking, and a few "unplanned" bathroom stops, we made it to the top. I, of course, shed some tears at my accomplishment. It was, by far, the most difficult physical thing I've done. I am SO proud to say I did it. This was the view we were greeted with:
I am so proud of all of us! We did the entire trip in 28 hours - 12 hours of hiking! All that, and no blisters - except I might loose my big toes nails - they took a beating going down... It was an amazing trip - one I will never forget. Thanks guys for the great time! I love being a part of your family. Oh, and thanks for helping me with the "pit stops"!