Day 26--June 28th--The Grand Canyon

We got up very early this morning because Tim had to be at work at 5:00.  We didn't wake up the kids, but we had to get last kisses and look at them while they slept before we left.  We had such a good time just being with them that we hated to leave.  But we knew we had to in order to keep to our schedule to be home on time.

The day welcomed us with a beautiful sky to look at as we drove from Tucson to Phoenix.

The ride to the Grand Canyon was very pleasant.  We stopped in Flagstaff for.... yep, a thrift store.  I bought a beautiful Nativity figurine. 

This is the third time I've seen the Grand Canyon and the second time Paul has seen it. It's always beautiful and awe inspiring.  The pictures in our album are just a 'taste' of what it's like.  And the pictures just can't capture all that your eye can see. 

We walked around part of the rim when we got here because our room at the El Tovar wasn't ready.  Then we decided to go ahead and hike down part of Bright Angel Trail.  We knew we couldn't do the whole thing.  It takes two days and staying overnight at the bottom to do that!  It's almost nine miles down to the bottom of this trail into the Grand Canyon. 

Paul says we hiked about a half mile down and back up.  I think it was at LEAST a mile and a half down and back up!  At least my feet think so!  Look closely at the pictures below and you can see parts of the trail.

Yep, we actually hiked down this thing!  It was GREAT!  By the time we got back up, we could check into our hotel.  It was a good thing, too.  We both needed showers BADLY!  In other words, we stunk!!
Even though it wasn't extremely hot here today and the wind was blowing nicely, we did a lot of sweating.  The Bright Angel Trail is the one the mules take when they carry people down into the canyon.

After we got our showers, we walked to the bus stop and started our ride/hike around the rim.  We rode the bus to each lookout, got out, walked down to the point of each lookout, took pictures, climbed back up to the road to catch the next bus to the next lookout.  The last stop was at Hermit's Rest.  We got a quick snack there and then walked all the way to the last lookout on the point. A sign on the old building there caught Paul's eye as we rested and ate our snack.  I was absolutely amazed and filled with thankfulness.  Here is what it says.                        

With all the campaigns going on in our nation to silence the voice of Christians, this speaks loudly to millions of visitors from every nation on the Earth that God is the creator of all the beauty their eyes are feasting on.

Then we rode the bus all the way back to the village stop.

We stopped at the Bright Angel Lodge for dinner and had a very nice leisurely meal.  We could see the sun go down over the canyon while we ate.

Such an absolutely beautiful day!

Night, all!  We're tired!