Grand Canyon!

I can't believe how long it's been since my last blog post, I've really been slipping...I have vowed to get back on track in my blog world. About a week ago, my Mom and I returned from our road trip to the Grand Canyon! It's more vast and beautiful than I imagined. In the canyon, it's so quiet, you could hear a pin drop. Truly a magical place. We had an amazing time, but I think it ended up being more of an adventure than either of us expected!


First off, it was in the high 80's driving to Arizona through Texas and New Mexico - very dry and hot as heck. When we reached the Canyon, it basically snowed off and on the whole time we were there. My Mom and I were determined though, so we just wore many, many layers of clothing (some poor tourists were stuck in their short sleeves). Our first day, we went on a 3 mile hike into the canyon (um yeah, this basically felt like 6 miles when you combine the steep descent and climb with the high altitude).


At the completion of our hike - we did it! :)


The next day, we visited the "Watchtower" which is an awesome structure built on the canyon rim in the early 1900's. It has an observation deck and really cool Native American paintings on the walls and ceilings...




After that, we went on a 3 hour mule ride through the canyon forest. Okay, I was so excited to do this, but this was not quite what I was expecting! My mule had some major attitude and pretty much wanted to do her own thing (can't really blame her there). She also got spooked by the train that runs right past the mule barn, and almost dumped me in a ditch (this also spooked my Mom's mule which took off) - the guide told me that wasn't supposed to happen and he was happy that I held on, because he thought he was going to have to fill out an accident report...We also got caught in a snow blizzard, not pleasant for us or the mules. Here's a pic from before the snow came down, and although it doesn't look it, it's so cold, I'm wearing 6 layers of shirts and pants under my jeans:


Basically, my Mom and I were exhausted every night when we got back to the room! We were so happy that we did so much though. :) On the way home we drove on part of historic Route 66, and stayed at this retro motel. Cool sign, right? (my Mom snapped this photo with the moon)