the summer sends its love to you

Last Friday through Wednesday my family and I went to the Grand Canyon for our summer vacation.  Here is a short account of what we did and lots of pictures to go along with it.  (I apologize if you have a slow computer.)
 
Friday:
And we're off!  In preparation for a long drive today, I took some dramamine so I was able to read some but mostly I slept because that drug puts me right to sleep.  We drove about seven hours to Mesquite, Nevada.  We stopped in Barstow at Quizno's for lunch -- just in case I hadn't had enough of it.  :)  Our stop was the Virgin River Casino and Hotel where we stayed for the night.  It was super-hot outside but my family tried to give me hypothermia with the air conditioning in our room.  Why can't there be a happy medium?  We ate at the "Chuckwagon Restaurant" and then went swimming in the pool.  By that time it had cooled off and was a bit windy and I got to go in the spa. 
 
Saturday:
This morning we had the breakfast buffet and after breakfast my mom I were waiting for my dad and Steven so we put a dollar in one of the penny machines (yes, I know it's illegal for me to gamble, but it was my mom's dollar, even though I was sitting in the seat.)  We didn't really know what we were doing but just kept pushing random buttons and the next thing we know we won twenty bucks!  Teach me to gamble.  We were pretty excited.  Then we drove another few hours through parts of Nevada and Utah (some of the rural parts were very pretty) and into Arizona, finally making it to the Grand Canyon.  We camped on the North Rim which is much nicer because it is less crowded.  10% of visitors visit North Rim while the other 90% visit the South Rim.  I think the South Rim is just more convenient.  Anyways, we set up our tent, which was really easy with four people and then went to the Visitor's center and the Lodge. 
Here is a picture of my dad and Steven at the campground:


This is the backside of the Lodge:


And a picture of us at the sign in front of the visitor's center:


We walked around a bit -- there is a nice big space with wooden benches where you can sit and enjoy the view into the canyon and there are also some nice overlook points.  Here are a couple pictures:








At 8pm we went to a ranger show which I wasn't paying a whole lot of attention to.  I think I had altitude sickness.  After that we went on a "night walk" where we walked along a path to a point that overlooks the Grand Canyon in the day, but at night it just looks like a big black spot of nothingness.  I was standing near the edge of the cliff, knowing that there was a hole 5,000 feet below me, but even with my flashlight all I saw was blackness.  But above me, there were so many stars!  More stars than I have ever seen, I think.  It was absolutely beautiful.  There was also an astronomer there with a telescope who showed us some neat nebulas and such.
 
Sunday:
I woke up at 7:30 and we went down to the Lodge for breakfast.  I had my favorite -- pancakes -- and we had a view of the red canyon walls through the large windows in the restaurant.  Then Steven went back to the car to take a nap (7:30 is way too early for him) while we went on the Bright Angel Trail.  It was the same trail that we took the night hike on, but much different in the day.  My mom was terrified of the steep drop-offs, but somehow made it all the way to the end -- yay, Mom!  The views were beautiful.  It was wonderfully sunny without being too hot (well, at least I didn't think it was too hot, but I seem to have a different thermostat than the rest of my family.)  Oh on the trail I saw a little girl that looked like Ashley when she was little.  Not that I was there, but I've seen pictures.  Then next thing I know her mom is yelling at her, "Ashley, get off that railing!"  It was Ashley the Second!  Here are some pictures from Bright Angel Trail:




My mom creeping slowly toward the edge while my dad laughed at her:


And she made it!


My dad taking a picture while my mom enjoys the view:




From there we went to Cape Royal.  It had two nice vista points, but Steven and I somehow got separated from our parents and were annoyed that we couldn't get in the car since I didn't feel good and Steven was hot.   We got some good pictures anyways:








Then we had a picnic lunch and a friendly deer tried to share our lunch too!  I was excited to be that close to the deer, but I had to scare her off after a while so that she didn't eat my lunch.




Near our picnic area was Point Imperial, yet another look-out point. 
Me and my mom:




The cause of all my altitude woes:




Then we went on Widforss Trail, named after some guy who painted pictures of the National Parks.  The mix of aspen and pine was beautiful.  I love the smell of the pine bark that smells like butterscotch. 
My brother, mom, and dad on the trail:


View through the trees to the canyon:


Then we came back to camp and took showers -- aren't we spoiled?  I'm not used to getting a shower when I camp and it was awfully nice.  Then my mom made ham and mashed potatoes on the camp stove and it was soooo good.  Food always tastes better when you have been hiking.  After dinner we went to the Lodge and watched the sun set over the Grand Canyon, the blue sky turning to hazy red then deep blue while the stars appeared.  It was a bit cold and windy and there were some clouds in the sky that prevented good star gazing, so we came back to camp and played pinochle (with lots of moths that were attracted to the fluorescent lantern.  I named one of them Albert.)
 
Monday: 
Today was our last full day here.  We once again had breakfast at the Lodge.  I think half of both the workers and the tourists either were speaking a different language or had accents.  It was interesting to listen to sometimes.  At 10:00 we went to a ranger's talk about the geology of the Grand Canyon that my mom thought was fascinating but it was too much like school for me and I forgot to pay attention.  Afterwards we went for a drive to see all the wildflowers that seem to grow only by the sides of the road.   There were lots of different kinds and lots of butterflies too.  Then we went for a short walk past a "lake" to a salt cabin, which I still am not sure what it is for.  Holding salt, I guess. 
The trail to the salt cabin (with grasses that felt like they had razor blades on them):


The beautifully green lake.  There really is water.  Just not that much of it.


Me and my mom in front of the salt cabin:


Me by a huge pine:


Then we came back to the campground for lunch and got ready for our hike down North Kaibab Trail.  The trail goes from rim to rim, but we only went 3.4 miles total.  The trail took us straight down into the canyon.   We had to share the trail with mules, which was kind of stinky.  Good thing Steven opted to stay at the campsite and read Harry Potter.  :)  The trail had some fantastic views.  On the way up it started to sprinkle a bit, but not for too long.  We finally made it back to the top and I took a shower to wash off the layer of red dirt that was stuck to my legs.
Pictures on Kaibab Trail:






Me on the trail:


This picture shows the white-ish dirt suddenly change into reddish dirt.  (If you ask my mom, she can probably tell you why since she was listening to the geology talk.)


Our destination was this tunnel before we got to turn around and head back up the trail. 


You can see the rain coming down on the far side of the canyon:

 
Tuesday:
Today we drove to Las Vegas to stay the night so our trip home wouldn't be all in one day.  We stayed at the Stratosphere.  Once the sun set, we went to the top of it, and it was so different looking down on the bright lights of Las Vegas than looking down into the Grand Canyon!  We had fun watching the rollercoasters on the top of the stratosphere above us.  Then my Dad and Steven and I wanted to see the Strip, so we took a trolley to the far end.  It took forever, but it was fun seeing all the hotels that we passed.  Then we got off at New York New York and walked by all (and into a lot) of all the hotels between the Excalibar and the Venetian.  My favorite was Paris.  I was hungry at midnight so Steven and I split a sandwich at Bally's, where my dad stays for his work convention every year.  Then we took at Taxi back to our hotel and went to bed around 1:30.