Grand Canyon

I like that Arizona doesn't "do" the daylight savings switch.  It was nice to get there and be on our regular time schedule.  We checked into our hotel in Flagstaff Sunday night for our two night stay.  There wasn't anything cheap closer than an hour away to the Grand Canyon, unless you wanted to camp.  Ryan did make a camping reservation for us way back in January near the Grand Canyon.  We watched the weather over February and half of March before deciding that perhaps camping wouldn't be the best plan.  We don't have gear for nights that freeze, and there is still a chance in April.  So we made hotel reservations instead.  Even though it was an hour plus drive each way, I was not sorry.  Especially at the end of our day at the Grand Canyon, and it got pretty cold and windy.  Camping would have been miserable for me.  Ryan and the twins, being warm blooded, probably would have faired ok.  I would have been a shivering, teeth-chattering popsicle.  

We parked in the first parking lot we found, which was by the general store.  We had everyone bring a backpack for carrying water and snacks, and sweatshirts when the need arose.  We even packed sunscreen and then forgot to use it.  Not our smartest move.  The Grand Canyon roads were undergoing construction, so we wandered a bit trying to find the buses.  We found the main station, admired the lines and then walked to the next bus stop.  It was going to be at least a 45 minute wait, and we were still fresh.  We had a much, much shorter line at the next stop, and hopped on the bus to Kaibab.  Some internet research alerted me to a manageable trail that goes below the rim of the canyon, and that was our first destination.  I guess only a fraction of visitors go below the rim.  Well, we drove over a thousand miles to get there, and by golly, we were going to get the most out of our experience.  

 The first part of the trail had some major switchbacks.

 We made it to the "Ooh Ahh" Point.  The walk wasn't so bad going in, but we knew it would be a "longer" hike getting back out.  Technically it's 1 mile there, and 1 mile back.  But I might say that it feel like .5 miles getting there, and 1.5 going back, if it's only a two mile trail.  :)

We took the bus back, and ate our picnic lunch at the tables in front of the General Store.  We ate a lot of sandwiches on this trip.  From here on out, it's just going to be a lot of photos of the different views of the Grand Canyon.  We went from one end of the canyon to the other on the bus system.  I can't remember where each photo was taken, but the views were all glorious.  

I have tried to compile pictures from our camera, Ryan's phone and my cell phone. 

About this time, we switched bus lines to go west.  The line to get on that bus was so long, and so slow.  We watched buses come and not stop.  Only every other bus would gather tourists at the junction, and buses came about every 15 minutes.  So.  Very.  Slowly.

 The girls started to get pretty tired at about this point.  I found them propping themselves up on railings and trees.

 We didn't get off at every stop, but we did see a lot of them.  As we headed toward evening, the wind picked up.

 We went all the way to the end of the line- Hermit's Rest.

 We walked quite a ways out, past the crowds and enjoyed quiet views.  And stacking rocks.

We got on the bus headed back to the main junction, and rested our poor, tired feet and legs.  Many of the rides we took had us squished between many standing people, but we found seats on the ride back. We were told many times to squish in more.  We thought we were packed in tightly, and the bus drivers would tell us we could fit at least 8 more people.  We are people, not sardines!  My arms got pretty tired of holding the bars across the top of the bus, and I felt bad sticking my backpack in the faces of my kids.  No matter which way I faced there were bodies everywhere, except on the blissful trip back.

We decided we were not going to stick around to watch the sun go down over the canyon.  We figured the crowds would get crazy on the buses again after sundown, and we were pretty pooped.  I got a picture of the sunset and the family, so we are going with "success."

No one wanted more sandwiches, so we decided on McDonalds in Williams, the town next to the Grand Canyon.  What would usually cost us about $20 of dollar menu items cost us $40.  Lame.