The Grand Canyon

We kicked off our day at the Grand Canyon with a little walk around the Visitors Center. Got a few National Parks Passport stamps and filled up our CamelBak (thanks, Ky!) before heading out on a walk along the South Rim.

We started at Mather Point and then walked about a mile to the Yavapai Geography Museum. Learned some cool stuff about the formation of the Grand Canyon, had a snack, and re-applied sunscreen! This desert sun is gonna be the death of me! (Not really, Dad. I'm being very diligent about the sunscreen. I promise.)

Next we walked another mile and a half or so along the "Million Year Trail", which gave us a sense of geologic time, and the "Trail of Time", on which every meter walked represents one million years of the Grand Canyon's geological history. Also, there were cool rocks and great views! Aaron wouldn't let me walk out on the narrow rock formations that jut out from the edge of the canyon (he says it's because he loves me) but he did venture pretty close to the edge for a few pictures.

We ended that walk at the Grand Canyon Village and treated ourselves with ice cream before heading over the the camp ground for quick nap in the shade. That night around sunset we wanted to venture down into the canyon. We picked a trail called South Kaibab because there was a stopping point called Ooh-Aah Point only a mile and a half down. We hoped the views from such a place would be worth the climb back UP to the canyon rim and we were right!

We made it back up!

The next morning we woke up early to get a head start on one of our longest drives. Almost 10 hours in the car to get to our campground just outside Yosemite. We got to our campground by driving through very windy mountain roads and immediately turned around to drive to a nearby resort that offered public showers. I've never been happier to pay $4 for 5 minutes of hot water in my life. Back to the campground for a quick meal/snack and into bed.  Being at Yosemite on a Saturday means you have to beat the crowds! More on that in the next post.