Flagstaff to the Grand Canyon
After a cozy night’s sleep in the driveway of Garett and Bri’s, they asked us in for some scrumptious pancakes, eggs and fruit, as if they hadn’t done enough 😉 We truly are being watched over as we welcome whatever, wherever and whomever is to enter our lives on this journey with open arms, hearts and smiles. We gratefully waved farewell as we got on the road destined for the Grand Canyon, but not before we stop at an auto parts shop to grab a new spare alternator belt. Entering the Grand Canyon National Park was like entering into a dream. The vastness of this natural beauty is unreal. On this trip I have been reading Barbra Kingsolver’s Pigs in Heaven, she describes her characters’ first impression of the park like this, “A small world tour, we are trying to see the Grand Canyon all the way around. Taylor doesn’t say that they got manic on junk food in the car, or that when they jumped out at the overlook exactly at sunset, Turtle took one look down and wet her pants. Taylor couldn’t blame her. It’s a lot to take in.” That is how I felt, not that I was gonna pee my pants, but that it is A LOT to take in. Mitch and I immediately agreed we must explore below the rim to get a well rounded feel of this gigantic crack gouged into our earth. Hiking down the Ooh Aah Trail was breath taking to say the least, it took us approximately double the amount of time to go down than it did back up the steep switch backs because we couldn’t resist the pull to stop and gaze out at every turn. After the hike we headed to Yaki Point to catch the sunset. We arrived over an hour early so we wouldn’t miss a thing. Leaving behind the fenced viewpoint area we wandered east along the rim till we found the most perfect rock jetting out over the canyon to sit and enjoy the view as the sun setting cast shadows across the canyon and colors into the sky, as if tucking us into bed for the night. Back at our campsite we enjoyed chickpea curry under the stars next to a fierce first campfire.
