The Grand Canyon!

We arrived at the Grand Canyon and the 25 dollar entrance fee was covered with our National Parks Pass. So far we have saved 57 dollars using the pass which cost 80 dollars. So we are still in the hole but by the end of the trip we are both certain it will more than pay for itself. A few minutes after we entered the park we already saw grazing wildlife, There were two mule deers right off the side of the road. We made it to Mather’s point just in time to watch the sun set behind the walls of the Grand Canyon. This was a spectacular first impression of the Grand Canyon. It is so very big. I don’t think any words can do the enormity and the complexity of it justice. We tried to come up with a saying that went something like… Saying the Grand Canyon is big is like saying Everest is tall. Or saying the Grand Canyon is big is like saying the Ocean is blue. Or saying the Grand Canyon is big is like saying ice cream is good on a hot day. Nothing we could come up with seemed to fit so I think you have to just go out there and see it for yourself or you will never get it. The Grand Canyon is big. It isn’t just that it is big that makes it grand. Sure it stretches for as far as you can see and is a mile deep, but there are pillars or rock jutting out everywhere you look as well. It is not simply a gaping hole in the Earth but you can see where the river once flowed through and where it changed course. You can also see where either the river split or other water sources met up with the Colorado. We walked along the rim hike and there were some mighty views. In some places you could see the Colorado River so far down and dwarfed by the walls of the canyon rising high and wide on either side. We set up camp at Mather Campground. We reserved a pretty nice spot at the edge of a loop. So although there were hundreds of other people there we were not bothered by them. The site was pretty big and had trees on three sides. We made a fresh fruit salad with honey and yogurt and the rest of the fruit we had from the fruit stand. Along with guacamole and tortillas as well as sandwiches we ad quite the feast. We were both pretty tired from driving all day. It is funny how driving can wear you out more than hiking sometimes. We decided to go to bed early and wake up early. We woke up at a little after six to take much-anticipated showers and do laundry. The showers were pay showers. I discovered I can shave poorly and wash my hair and face in about five minutes. Afterwards we treated ourselves to a hearty lunch involving eggs and bacon and went to the Canyon Rim. There are some lovely views as I mentioned above from the south rim. During the day they are much clearer. Rather than looking blue in the distance the rock is red and brown. The rock faces are much clearer under the sun and it looks much harsher than it had at sunset. While we were walking it was hard for me to look into the canyon. I felt like I would fall in even if I was safe feet from the edge. I had to stop and then look in order to keep my stomach from dropping. We both wished we had stayed here for another night. I am a little bummed that we did not get a chance to hike into the canyon. We will have to save that for another trip. Brad did walk out onto a ledge that is actually safer than it looks. He got an intense view from this angle, especially looking down. I stayed at higher ground so I could get pictures of him. It looks neat because it looked like he was the only person there. While we were walking along the rim Brad looked at me and asked, "How much Jell-O do you think it would take to fill this canyon." I had no response aside from laughter. I think that is probably the cutest thing he could have said in that moment. It was the last thing I expected to hear him say, so maybe that is why it was so funny. Brad reflected on seeing the Grand Canyon as a child and although he remembers it he said he didn’t really appreciate it as a child. Before we arrived he thought we would just want to look at it and move on. Once we were actually standing there looking at the layered canyon he wished we were staying for a week. There were a lot of people there, but we were there adding to the crowd so I can not fairly complain about that. Whining kids are pretty obnoxious though. There were a bunch of fat whiny kids. We decided we believe in discipline (to an extent) and exercise. You guessed it most the fat whinnies were American. The foreign kids were pretty thin and cute for the most part. I hope I didn’t offend anyone just know, It is just what I saw. To be fair the foreign people my age were a bit thinner and more stylish than myself, so there. I hate to think I was like that as a child, especially at places like this but I am sure I had my moments. Here is where we apologize to our parents. Sorry. Before we left we went to the onsite library and sat in the courtyard. There were flowering cacti. I tried to get a good picture of them but it was hard to capture both the color of the flower and the cactus itself due to the placement of the flower. I wanted to get a picture for Jessica, because it looks like a flower she would like. I thought about Jessica a lot today. Probably because it was her birthday yesterday. Mostly because I love and miss her always. I wish we had done something like this together. We need to start going on vacations together if we both can. We have been talking about our families a lot. When we come across places we like we wish you were all here. We decided the camp site at the Grand Canyon was big enough for us all, even Grace! Reluctantly we left the Grand Canyon to drive in the direction of monument valley. As we were leaving Brad looked back and said, "too soon, too soon."