The Grand Canyon. It really is grand.

Our pull to The Grand Canyon was going to be another long one so we decided to stop at Petrified Forest National Park to break up the day. It continued to be sweltering and the Petrified Forest did not offer respite from the sweat and glare from the sun. Actually the park looked a lot like the Badlands in South Dakota, which until this trip I hadn't realized were pretty much everywhere... Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, South Dakota, and still to come, North Dakota. Still these were beautiful geologic formations and this time there were enormous petrified trees dotting the landscape, many looking like somebody had come in with a butter knife and cut them up into perfect sections. As we pulled through entrance station the ranger handed us our guide as usual. But this time with our map and info we got a brightly colored flyer that said, "Do you LOVE petrified wood? Do you want to take some home with you? It is unlawful to take some from the park, but we do sell it at the gift shop." Obviously this amused us greatly and we talked about our great love of petrified wood for days. 

"Wood, Jerry. Wood."

This really illustrates how the logs naturally broke into even pieces. 

Since it was so oppressive out we chose to walk the one trail that promised to have the most intact petrified logs. It did not disappoint. Trees littered the ground and a rainbow of colors presented themselves in the preserved logs. I could now see why they handed us the flyer about loving petrified wood. It really was stunning. But it was also so hot. We turbo-ed through the path and hopped back into the car to continue our trek toward The Grand Canyon. 

Samus mustering a smile in the heat. 

I think this photo nicely captures just how hot we were. 

Once again, the layover was not relaxing, but seemed to add to the stress and exhaustion of the drive. I blame the heat. Some hours later we finally arrived at the south entrance to the canyon, drove the labyrinth to our campground and then drove out of our campground to check in at another location since it was after hours. Fun. 

But, like in New Mexico, nature rewarded us for our long haul and inconvenience with a mother elk and her two yearling calves just yards away as we set up the camper. These were the first elk we would see, on the trip, but certainly not the last. That night we didn't venture to the canyon but planned to venture down to the rim the next morning. 

I'm not entirely sure how we thought we were going to pull off an extremely long drive and then wake at three the following morning or a strenuous hike into the canyon, but as Jason said, "we just would have done it." In any case the extreme heat advisory put the kibosh on those plans and we woke leisurely to take our first look at the majestic Grand Canyon. It is truly a wonder of nature and although I've sees hundreds of pictures and videos of the site, they pale in comparison to the absolutely grandeur of real life. As we walked the rim trail, we could see the South Kaibab trail to our right, which we would have been almost down had we chosen to hike. My heart ached, and I know Jason's did too. Had we made the right choice? Would we be able to come back some day and do the hike? Was it really that bad? Sorrow was not mingling with amazement as we took in the landscape and then headed back to the camper to ride out the heat in air conditioning. 

Brothers don't shake hands, brothers gotta hug. 

He's got a smile, but there's a whole lot of sadness in his eyes. 

That day we put together a 1,000 piece puzzle of all the national parks, meandered around the campground, and just hung out until it was cool enough to go back outside. We had decided that once the time came we would walk the two miles to our intended morning trailhead and go down just a little ways on the South Kaibab trail just to check things out. Turns out the "walk" to the trailhead was a pretty brutal two miles over fist sized rocks which we could feel tearing up our feet even through the thick soles of our hiking boots. Once we got to the actual trail the sailing was much smoother and we got an extraordinary taste of what our morning descent might have been like. Expect it was light out and we could actually see the canyon. Doing that bit in the dark would have been daunting to say the least.

Trying to decide what kind of soda to choose. This took no less than 10 minutes. When selections were finally made, the machine was sold out! A nice lady let us in the employee barracks and showed us another soda machine. After all that, Jason happened to mention that his Pepsi was expired. Lucas then refused to drink anymore of his Mountain Dew. I told him that he was NEVER having another soda again until he drank that Mountain Dew. We would take it everywhere with us because I knew that at some point he would want another one. He finally downed it the next day with the prospect of a McDonald's Sprite on the horizon. 

Jason's new chair broke so he sewed it back together and declared, "this thread is never going to hold me."

This is the moment the thread gave way, directly after Jason sat down. Could've done without that.

  We didn't go down very far as the switchbacks were incredibly steep and some of us were having issues with the height and stupidity of other hikers dangling off rocks for pictures. I won't name names. The walk back was even more torturous than we had remembered just the hour before. Feet and legs were sore and cramping, noses were bleeding, and a bathroom could not have come soon enough. And that was just me. Samus ended up carrying my pack the rest of the way to the camper as my complaining spread like a virus to others. At this point I couldn't imagine having sat around ALL day in 120 degree weather and had renewed faith in our decision to call the hike. News the next morning of a death on the trail only confirmed why we called things off. The heat, elevation, and exertion were no joke. 

The view from South Kaibab.

The second evening we headed to the Bright Angel trail which we would have hiked out of the following day. The sun was low in the sky and temperatures were still in the 90's. Everyone had a bottle of water and we were thankful for the shade the canyon walls provided. Initially we had hoped to hike to the 1.5 mile rest house, but amended our plan to turn around at the second tunnel. The views from this hike were astounding. I remarked to Jason that it was nice going down this route because had we been coming out on our third day, we would have missed all the beauty. By this point we had more than accepted our decision, but sadly were once again reminded of the dangers of the canyon when we passed a man who was in bad shape on the side of the trail with a park ranger. Although he looked fit and prepared, he appeared disoriented and lethargic, and remained on the rock ledge for the duration of both our descent and ascent. 

Happy to be on the trail. 

Equally happy to be on the trail. 

When we finally turned around at the second tunnel about nine tenths of a mile in and began climbing back out we were struck with how arduous the trail was. It took us considerably longer to get out than to come in (which we had expected, but were still surprised by). As we passed the struggling man on our way up, I heard the ranger get him to agree to an ambulance. One thing that never ceases to impress me is the dedication of park rangers. They have difficult jobs and long days dealing with all types of travelers. I am always grateful when I see one on the trails (or anywhere really) because I know that they are committed to both the guests and to the preservation of our parks.

Calling off our hike meant that we were left with an extra day and nothing more to do, so we decided to head to Mesa Verde a day early. As we left The Grand Canyon, she continued to amaze us with her vistas and beauty, Someday we will go back and complete our hike. 

        Thankfully we found an opening at a KOA just a few miles from our campsite for the following day. I got caught up on laundry and the boys went swimming. It was a little bit cooler here too which was more than welcome. 

Happy that the KOA had Wi-Fi (pronounced wĭ-fē in our family).