grand canyon

We drove up to Williams Friday night and got a couple of hotel rooms so we could get an early start up to the canyon on Saturday morning. (I love Priceline bids for hotel rooms. We got rooms at Days Inn for a $50 bid. Love it!) The kids took advantage of the indoor swimming pool and jacuzzi and I was a party pooper and just went to bed.
We got an early start on the road in the morning, made a stop at the infamous Bedrock City, then up to the Grand Canyon. The National Parks offer free entry a few days each year. This is the second time I've been to the canyon this year and hit a free day both times. Yay!
We parked at the visitor's center then walked 2 1/2 miles on the path along the rim to the village and stopped for a delicious lunch. After lunch we took the shuttle back to the car.

I went to the canyon with people ages 16-24. You'd think I wouldn't have to warn anyone about the dangers of a canyon. But look at how many photos feature this little group off the path and veering toward their death at the canyon's edge. I felt like I needed some of those child leashes. I told them all ahead of time I had phobias that would cause me sleeplessness for days to come if they teetered on the edge. They didn't seem to care about my fitful nights of sleep.
Melanie thought the wildlife was adorable. I had to show her that the signage explains that her finger will get nipped off by the cute little squirrel.
The weather was absolutely perfect. I didn't know if we would need to pack jackets or not. As we were hiking along we realized it was almost too warm for even a sweatshirt.

It was a fun morning, but left us with a long 8 hour drive to Lehi, coupled with a daylight savings time change that also put us back an hour. I seem to have a mental challenge with time changes, I had planned on gaining, not losing an hour as we crossed into Utah. That was disappointing to realize I calculated wrong. It's certainly not the first time I've driven across a state line, but I always seem to get the time change wrong. We pulled in to my cousin's house at about 11 pm.

I am surprised how many people have lived in Arizona for years and have never visited the Grand Canyon. Now I can say I've taken all my kids to the Canyon (well, Brady was only 4 when he went, but still . . . we took him.) I'm checking it off my list of things a parent should do.