Camping

Two weeks ago we finally committed to a camping trip. Eric's company took a week off this week for "shutdown" and so we had a mandatory vacation on our hands. What to do with the time.... home projects... yuck... especially when it's 110 outside. Lake Powell... way too expensive for gas. We'd been waffling about going camping for weeks, but I finally got online to see what kind of spot I could get and I was shocked to see that there were still a few spots open at Mather Campground in Grand Canyon National Park. We booked for 4 nights... one of the longest camping trips we've taken by ourselves in a few years. We prefer camping with extended family or friends, but we were going solo on this one. I was worried that we'd have a hard time keeping our kids entertained for so many days at a place like the Grand Canyon. It's beautiful and all, but kids get bored with this kind of thing so quickly!

Monday was our pack up and travel day. We didn't get on the road until 11:30 a.m. By the time we stopped for lunch and sat through a 15-20 minute delay for roadwork, we didn't arrive until 4:45ish. Luckily, we still had 3 hours of daylight to set up camp and cook dinner.

Tuesday was our first day to explore. We've been to Grand Canyon only once before. It was with Jeff and Molly's family and we had less than a full day to see the sights. It was also in October and FREEZING! We ended up going straight to the "general store" and buying beanie hats and mittens for people who didn't have any... it was that cold. This was the opposite. It was near 90 degrees every day and normally we would find that "cool", but at 7000 feet, that feels warmer than it should! On Tuesday, we explored the Eastern Half of the South Rim Area, spending most of the day riding around on free shuttles or walking.

Of course, Brayden figured out that it was easier to ride on Dad's shoulders... which he did most of the week. This kid knows how to work the system....

Wednesday: We were going to take the kids on a short hike down the Bright Angel Trail, but with Brayden refusing to walk and Ian less than enthused about it, we decided to pass. Instead we rode shuttles out to the Western portion of the South Rim and took millions of photos. Then we went to Tusayan and watched the IMAX movie about the Grand Canyon and had dinner at Wendy's. When we got back to camp, we hopped another shuttle and went out to Yavapai Point to watch the Sunset. It was incredible!

Cute couple posing for a photo, but check out those teenage boys out on the rock outcropping... not sure how they made it out there, but it's definately prime real estate for watching the sun set.

Thursday: We took a car ride out to the Eastern Entrance of the Grand Canyon. It's a 25 mile drive. At the Desert View Visitor Center there is a stone watch tower that you can climb to the top of and look out over the canyon.

After several stops at different view points... this is how everyone felt... tired and grumpy!This squirrel had no fear of us and even tried to nibble off the end of Taylor's shoe. For the record, we were NOT trying to feed him.

Friday: Home!!! We had the most cooperative kids this morning packing up camp. Usually, they play or sit in the car and wait while we work by ourselves to clean up and take down camp. This trip they finally understood that the more they helped, the sooner we'd be off. We had breakfast at 7:30 this morning and were on the road by 9:30. One quick stop for gas, soda and the potty and we were home at 1:55. We had a contest to see who could guess our arrival time the best... my guess was 2:00. Ian guessed 1:57. He won!

Last but not least, I'm wearing myself out trying to get all the laundry done after coming home. The joys of coming home from camping... laundry, laundry and MORE laundry!Stay tuned... tomorrow I'll post the best of the best "scenery" shots from our trip!