6.24.09

Well we made it out of Vegas and through the traffic in Hoover Dam to arrive in the Grand Canyon. I quickly learned that the dam doesn’t actually have a waterfall like I thought but nonetheless, it was still huge and incredible how they could build such a thing. We had these coupons from the hotel in Vegas for Sabarro’s so before we left we grabbed a slice of pizza to take and eat at the dam for lunch. We didn’t stay long as we were excited to get to the Grand Canyon and besides there were so many people it was almost overwhelming. Anyways, we made our drive over to the canyon coming through the little towns of Williams and Tusayna. We were really surprised to see all the trees out here; we were both expecting nothing but desert so it was quite a nice surprise. After checking in and setting up camp, we drove over to the rim to check out the sunset before it was too late and it was beautiful! Then we headed over to the little village store and spent quite some time browsing around; they just had so many cool things and lots of food! We even ended up getting some premade salads at the deli because we really just wanted something fresh and healthy. We also bought some firewood because it surprisingly gets pretty cool at nights and it just makes for a better camping experience, especially since we have the stuff to make smores! We woke up in the morning to head off to Hermit’s Rest to begin the Rim Trail. After a long bus ride, we made it to our destination to begin the 8-9 mile hike back to the Bright Angel Lodge; and no we are not staying there but we wanted to check it out. It was a long, hot, beautiful hike right along the rim the entire way and it was pretty much flat, something we weren’t used to but definitely appreciated it. The canyons are so deep and so wide it’s hard to get a picture that even grasps a smidgen of what it looks like in person. It’s really amazing, something that takes your breath away but I have to admit we are still bigger fans of Yosemite as there is just more to do. But don’t get me wrong, the Grand Canyon is still incredible and better in Yosemite in the fact of how marvelous, huge and incredible the canyon is itself; it has more of an initial wow factor! After the hike, we made our way out of the park to the little town of Tusayna so we could find some wifi so Steveo could finish and submit his homework for the night. He had quite a bit to do so I just walked around to the different shops, stopped for coffee and read, picked up a souvenir gift for my mom, dad and Shelby and finished off with a frosty at Wendy’s since we had a long hike. Since I missed Shelby’s birthday party, I just had to get her this book after I spotted it; it’s called, ‘Do Princesses Wear Hiking Boots?’ As for now, well I’m just updating the blog and touching up pictures as Steveo carves his walking stick he’s been working on for awhile. We’ll probably start a fire here in a little while to relax for the night and make our smores, then it’s off to do some more sightseeing in the morning. Can’t wait to see you all, I’m getting anxious since I know it’s just around the corner :)