Grand Canyon National Park

We leisurely drove out to GCNP after leaving Hoover Dam - 4 hours driving, a half-hour of stops to pee (we're staying hydrated:). The drive was great. There were signs all over about elk and other animals crossing, so the kids tried to accumulate Adventure Points (a game we started on the Boston trip, November 2010 - points are awarded when new foods are tried, new things are observed, on hikes or other adventures in new places, basically anything out of the comfort zone - this is a great game and was totally Bill's brain child) by spotting animals. We never saw anything but cattle. And a couple of trains. I'd forgotten how you can see the whole train in some places out here, even if it's long, because of the flat treeless expanses. Very cool.

What we at first thought was haze in Las Vegas and through the desert seems almost certainly to be sand blown up by strong winds. We also saw several dust devils on our drive today, the kids thought those were neat. Once we got to the Grand Canyon, we were amazed by the winds. The very nice lady (from North Carolina) who checked us in said that the winds were gusting at 40-50mph. Whew! And it definitely is cooler up here in Arizona (than in the desert in Nevada)! We came straight to our rooms (adjoining again, yippee) and put on long pants and jackets. :)

Of course, no one was disappointed with the views here at the Canyon. Just gorgeous. I'm so thrilled that the kids can appreciate the beauty of what they're seeing. Mitch has thanked us twice today for making this trip happen. They seem to be having a great time, so far. And they are being great travelers, bless them.

We walked around the rim today, saw a condor, a fat squirrel (I'm betting we'll see lots of those tomorrow), lots of small birds, bats after sundown, cacti, and a neat display about the rock layers and their ages in the canyon. We also hit two gift shops, because the kids couldn't wait any longer to spend their money from Mimi and Papa - it's Day 2 of our trip. :) Samantha hasn't spent hers yet (she's got her eyes on a sweet Hopi doll that's in her price range, and I imagine tomorrow will not pass without her getting it). But, Mitch got a chipmunk stuffed animal and Josie got a necklace with a plastic-embedded four-leafed clover pendant and a tiny stuffed animal raccoon. Like I said, that money was burning a hole in their pockets.

We ate a very nice and filling dinner at Bright Angel Restaurant. I had a salad, steak, and baked potato. Bill had a salad and spaghetti and meatballs. Jo, Mitch, and Sammi had quesadillas, spaghetti, and a hamburger, respectively. Their activity booklets have coupons for a free ice cream, so I'm sure they'll get those tomorrow.

We came back to the room about 8:15, and have journaled/blogged and begun to wind down from our day, an awesome second day of our trip.