Saturday, July 21, 2018

Grand Canyon National Park


I've been looking forward to introducing Asher and Journey to the Grand Canyon for many years, even before they were born. Finally the time has come! Unfortunately I made the mistake of wanting to catch their reaction on video. That usually backfires as they intentionally give me a different reaction when being recorded, and this was no exception. I walked up to the edge and started the video while Daddy had them cover their seven year old eyes and approach me. On the count of three they dropped their hands and gave me... not the reaction I was expecting. Ugh! If I hadn't pressed record, they would have been gushing over the view. Oh well. They took a good look then turned and began a game of tag. Did I mention they're seven years old?



We decided to walk along the Rim Trail to see the canyon from different viewpoints.






Check out the crowd of people on top for scale!


Just before sunset, we went back to the RV to grab jackets and hot drinks. We were surprised to be joined by a few of these very large mule deer. The fur on their necks was something I've never seen before.

It's so overwhelming to sit and look out over a canyon that is 277 miles long, 18 miles wide and 1 mile deep!






Being there for sunset was exceptional! The sun reflected off the mountains and turned the earth red, the perfect time for photos, and there was no shortage of photographers and tripods.

Again you can see the tiny people on the light cliff in the middle.

We spent the night at the Flintstones RV Park which was a disappointment. It has a cute theme, however all of the women's showers were broken, so I had to shower in the men's room while people kept knocking on the door to use the restroom. The gift shop/ restaurant smells very strange and it's not something you can get used to. We had breakfast and I couldn't wait to get out of there.

Later that day we stopped for the night to visit friends in Kingman. Both families have built their own homes in the mountains there and we were excited to see them and catch up. Check out their view!


We had dinner together and in the morning before breakfast, I went for a short hike. I watched deer, quail and many other birds. Such a perfect morning enjoying their mountains, views and wildlife.




Next stop, Vegas!

Thursday, July 12, 2018

Petrified Forest National Park


The Petrified Forest is more than just gorgeous petrified wood, there are also very colorful badlands and fossils spread over 230 square miles.








Our first hike was thru Blue Mesa. What a cool hike!





Can't take the rocks, but you can take photos of them. So much variety of color and texture.






Crystal Forest was next, where we hiked to some beautiful pieces of petrified trees. We thought it was strange that this huge tree had been cut into pieces, and then we read it hadn't. The petrified wood becomes extremely heavy and brittle. Unsupported weight causes it to break into these pieces.


Beautiful pieces, but take only photos and leave the rocks for others to enjoy!








Last was the Giant Logs hike behind the visitor center. 
Here Asher is working on his Junior Ranger booklet so he could earn his badge.

This log is called "Old Faithful" and is almost 10 feet wide at the base!

The visitor center has some beautiful polished petrified wood pieces on display. 
This one weighs 800 lbs and took 10 hours to cut!


Next stop...... the Grand Canyon!