The Grand Canyon

Hello everyone, yesterday we had a relaxed day in Williams (where we are staying) and went to Bearizona and to explore downtown. Bearizona is a drive-thru wildlife experience that also has a walk through zoo area, and we saw things like black bears, arctic wolves, bighorn sheep, jaguars, and bison. It was fun! There were also a few restaurants there and a coffee and gelato stand. A couple in our group who can tolerate dairy got gelato and confirmed that it was the best they had ever had...and better than Blue Bell ice cream! Others who can tolerate caffeine got coffee from the cute little coffee stand, and were surprised at the quality of it (my mom and I don't fit into either of the two groups :)). I think it's unique to find high quality yummy treats in a zoo. After leaving there, we went to downtown Williams and walked around and went in a few shops. A lot of them had Native American made goods and souvenirs, and we will probably go back there and get some souvenirs at the end of the week. Bryce already has chosen what he wants to get to take home, a handcrafted wooden flute...he had big ideas of getting it yesterday and playing it at the Grand Canyon today. I am not kidding at all, he was very serious about it...he lives in a movie and he is the main character. My mom said it was too early to get souvenirs though, so he won't be able to live out that dream. We had chili at the house once we got back and then watched American Idol (a weekly family event) before heading to bed exhausted again.

This morning we had a good breakfast while waiting for our Grand Canyon tour guide to get to the house. Her name was Molly and she arrived in a Ford van around 8:40 am. The drive to the Grand Canyon from our house was about an hour, and the tour started as soon as we left the driveway. Molly was very knowledgeable and had things to point out and history to explain all the way to the park. When we got to our first stop, we had yet to catch a glimpse of the canyon. It was a good first stop, because the parking lot was surrounded by trees so you really couldn't see the canyon until you walked right up to the fencing, and then you got the whole view all at once. I cannot describe the feeling of seeing it for the first time. Molly had told us right after we got out of the van that people have trouble processing the view and believing that what they are seeing is real, and I totally understand why. Thinking back on the day, I'm still not sure that I have processed it all. We walked up the sidewalk from the parking lot, the anticipation making our strides bigger and faster, and when we finally emerged from the trees at the platform, there was just silence. The feeling that hit me can be described as nothing less than a full force bombardment of wonder…a big ol’ unbelievable smack to the face. After I recovered my balance from the initial overwhelming first look, all I could say was  “wow.” My family had the same thoughts…sentences weren’t really forming, I just heard a lot of “wow,” “woah,” and “oh my goodness.” I will attach pictures, because, even though they do not do the place justice, they do more than my words can do. It was so huge and vast, yet there were so many little details. Everywhere you looked, there was something else to see. You can look at it from the rim as a whole big canyon, and the details blend together, and it is beautiful. But you can also look closely at each different cliff, at the bends of the Colorado river, the rocks balancing on one another on the side of the walls of the canyon, the birds soaring down below, the juniper trees growing all over, and each of those details is also breathtaking. That is what makes it so hard to process, because there’s no one thing to focus on…there are countless gorgeous things to look at.

 We had eight different stops that we made, and at each spot Molly brought out a scope that we used to see things in the canyon clearer and with more detail. It was really neat, and made it feel more real to be able to see what was down in the canyon. We got to see caves, different peaks and high points, rapids on the Colorado River, trails (some with people walking on them!), and more cool things. Seeing the different angles of vastness of the canyon at each spot, and especially seeing the bright blue Colorado River flowing through it, I just wanted to get down there. I wanted to see it all. If you know me well, you know that I have a HUGE love of cold, clear freshwater. Show me a river or a mountain lake and I’ve got to get to it. So, it is very difficult for me to see the beautiful Colorado and not be able to reach it. The only way you can get to it is by overnight hiking, which we have not planned for. We do hope to go back and do some kind of hiking another day this week. Now, if I were at 100% health, I would say “Let’s go!” and hike as far into the canyon as possible, regardless of our level of preparedness, because I so badly want to get down there. (Quick side note because I don’t want to make this all about me, but I don’t want anyone to be confused either! I’ve been sick for about a year now with what we found out was a bacterial gut infection that I was unaware of for months. I am trying to heal now, but am still having trouble. For that reason, I have not felt well enough to exercise in a long time, and my body has become very weak.) Because I make decisions with my head though, I don’t think it would be the best move to just go off on a hike unprepared and very out of shape 😊. My whole family likes to hike as well, so we are going to try to do an easy one when we go back. Most of the hikes in the canyon are intense and you have to be pretty prepared for them, but I definitely want to come back at some point later in life and spend several days exploring the bottom of the canyon. I just know there is SO much more to see!

Today at the canyon was definitely revealing of some personality traits of people in my family that we don’t always see. My mom was a nervous wreck the whole time, because she is afraid of heights and is aware of the many Grand Canyon deaths that have happened over the years. She observed the canyon from a further distance than the rest of us and had to look away several times when we got closer to the edge (it was still safe or I wouldn’t have gone) than she liked. Anabelle and Dad both like to get as close to the edge as possible and found a rocky ledge that dropped off that they wanted to take pictures on. I would not go out there with them, but I told them to be careful several times and took pictures as quickly as possible so that they would come back to safety. I don’t even know where Bryce was at this point, he went walking around on his own. Clayton was pretty adventurous at first, but then the wind picked up and he retreated to safety real quick. He and I are similar in that way, somewhere between my mom’s extreme cautiousness and my dad and Anabelle’s fearlessness.

I feel like I’ve said as much as I can about this day, but at the same time I don’t think I could ever say enough! I don’t want to lose your interest though, so I will wrap it up and show you some pictures. Long story short…The Grand Canyon is unlike anything I have ever seen, and it is overwhelmingly beautiful and creative. Here are some pictures 😊

Really glad Memaw and Papaw decided to join us :)

We almost lost Bryce haha