The Grand Canyon

We got to the Grand Canyon on Thursday evening.  We really wanted to know if there were going to be any Halloween activities going on, so our first stop was the information lodge.  There are shuttles to take you everywhere, so we hopped on one.  It was awesome (unless you were Bean).

Right away we saw a herd of deer munching on grass on the side of the road.

And then a herd of Elk!

It turns out there weren't any Halloween events going on.  Bummer.  But we weren't going to let that get us down.  We went home and made cookies to help take the chill off of the 30 degree night ahead of us. 

The next day, we went to check out the canyon.

It was amazing.  Seriously, I wasn't all that excited about coming here, but I am so glad we did.  You are standing right on the edge of this amazing, deadly, beautiful, wonder of nature and you almost can't even take it seriously because it is so beautiful that it doesn't even look real.

But it was real enough to cause me some serious anxiety.  Judah and a giant canyon of deadly rocks are not the best combination.  The first thing he did was run to the edge and climb up the guard rail.  My voice was hoarse from yelling and my hand numb from squeezing his.

I mean, seriously?  (This actually looks a lot more dangerous than it actually was, obviously, but it sums up my anxiety).

It was right after I took this picture that I had to sit down and cry for a few minutes before I was able to go on.  The potential for tragedy was just too much for me.

So, in order to keep Judah away from the cliffs, I told him he could climb on all of the rocks that he wanted to on the left side of the path.  This led to a lot of injuries.  But injuries are better than death, right?  I happened to be taking a picture of him right as he fell on his little face.  This one caused the cheek injury you will see proof of later.

This next one is right after the head injury.

But we powered on...

And crossed paths with a real live wild tarantula! 

Then we walked some more and took a bazillion scenic pictures.

Then we went home for a rest.  After that, I had to go to the cafe to work.  Everyone came along.  Judah waited patiently for the bus to take up there.

And then played play dough with Sawyer while I posted to discussion threads.

On the way home, we saw a herd of bucks just grazing in the RV park (you can see them behind Judah if you click on the picture).

We went back to the canyon to check out the sunset.

The next morning, Judah had some bruises to show from the day before.

The wind was crazy on Saturday, and it was pretty chilly, so we bundled up before we hit another trail.  Everyone wanted to sit on the same rock as we waited for the bus to take us there.

Apparently the wind didn't bother the wildlife, because we saw another tarantula!

And then, later, another!

Judah loves "retrantulas".  We used them to talk about protection from predators--always learning!

Beans was a little less thrilled...and really pooped. 

Seriously, how outstanding is this?

 

That night, we headed to another trail for the sunset.  It was really chilly by then, so we really bundled up.  

Just in case you didn't know where we were...

The next morning (after a 29 degree night) we work up, I worked at the cafe, the kids played outside, and Mark cleaned the place up.  Then it was off to find some trick or treating fun!  

Goodbye Grand Canyon!  You were beautiful and terrifying.  Although I was so glad to have seen you, I have to say I will not miss being around you.  Mark says he wants to bring the kids back to hike down the canyon when they are a little older--I said maybe when they are twenty.