Arizona Trip Post #2: Grand Canyon

We got to spend a day and a half at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. When we got there around noon on the first day, we found out that we were going to overlap with our friends the Roses. (We knew that we would be at the Grand Canyon on the same day, but that morning we weren't sure if the timing would work out for us to meet.) We were able to meet up for just about fifteen minutes along the Rim Trail. It was so fun to see them there, even though we see them on a regular basis when we are at home.

Rachael took this picture of us - we were supposed to meet them at the Geology Museum, but they started to walk down the trail the opposite direction so as to meet up with us. Rachael pulled out her phone and snuck up on us so she could document our reaction!

I like to imagine that B's arms are outspread because he's saying something to A and Sam about the scale of the Grand Canyon.

After saying goodbye to the Roses, we continued to explore the Rim Trail. We walked over to Mather Point and then went to the Visitor's Center.

You can really get a sense of scale when looking at our small bodies next to the canyon.

The next morning it was a little bit drizzly, but not bad. I actually really loved walking around outside that morning, because after the rain the air smelled fresh and sweet from the scent of sagebrush. We started the morning going out to Desert View Tower. There were some amazing views of the Colorado River there!

Sam is holding up his medallion with a picture of the Desert Tower on it.

Just outside Desert Tower

We then went and visited some nearby pueblo ruins within the park. Sam also completed his Junior Ranger workbook, so we sought out a ranger so that Sam could officially become a Junior Ranger. Here he is taking the Junior Ranger pledge. I love that without any prompting he held up his Junior Ranger certificate to his chest while he took the pledge.

It began to rain more heavily after that point, the low clouds started to come into the canyon and block our view. We decided to back to the motel for a bit, and we spend the afternoon swimming there and attending an IMAX film about the Grand Canyon at the National Geographic theater nearby. Probably the most interesting thing I learned in the film was that John Wesley Powell, the main who first led a group to successfully navigate the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon by boat, was a one-armed veteran of the Civil War! Here is a quote by Powell that puts his risks and derring-do into a new perspective:

We have an unknown distance yet to run, an unknown river to explore. What falls there are, we know not; what rocks beset the channel, we know not; what walls ride over the river, we know not. Ah, well! we may conjecture many things.

After the movie ended, the rain had let up and we were able to go back to the park. The afternoon and evening light was really lovely, and we decided to hike the Bright Angel Trail. This hike may have been my favorite thing that we did in the park, since we were able to descend a little bit down the side of the canyon. We hiked down to the second tunnel, so the overall hike was a little over a mile and a half. This hike also was nice because Lucy fell asleep in the backpack, so I got to have some good one-on-one conversations with Sam. And the changing light due to the descending sun really enhanced the textures and colors of the canyon, so everything was just beautiful and peaceful.

We got really close to some of the deer that were eating alongside the trail. One was only about three feet away from me; I think it the closest that I have ever been to a deer in my life.

This is one of my favorite photos from the whole trip.

We made it to the second tunnel!

Sam was such a good hiker on this trip. He didn't really complain, but just kept walking and chatting. He later said he was motivated to just finish, so he could go have a cheeseburger for dinner, but I like to think that he enjoyed himself too!