Grand Canyon National Park

Somehow, Grand Canyon National Park was even more majestic than I could have imagined. The layers of rock, the soft purple hues - it was somewhere that made me feel infinitely small, but also a part of something so much bigger. 

We began the day with a drive to the visitor center, looking to pick up a map and choose one low-key hike and another more intense stroll so that everyone in the group would have the chance to hike together. We opted to do the rim trail, and then a short trek about 3 miles down and back up, into the Canyon itself. 

Honestly finding parking at the visitors center was an absolute battle. One of the girls saw an empty spot amidst the parking lot, and so she ran to it - arms outspread ready to fight anyone who tried to take the spot before we made our way over there. She literally had to defend the spot where she was standing! I guess "spot-saving" probably isn't the nicest thing we could have done, but it certainly saved us lots of time, and plenty of stress. Definitely get to the park as early as possible to avoid this dilemma. 

One cool thing about Grand Canyon National Park is that they have buses that can take you and your family from one end of the park to the other, and make all the trail heads easily accessible. We decided, however, that after we visited a few of the scenic views in the car, we were going to walk around the rim for a few miles in order to make our way to the canyon trail.  

The Rim Trail was busy. Definitely the easiest walk in the park, making it a great place for families, small children, and for anyone who may need to travel in a wheel-chair. It was a little busy, but the views were overwhelming in the best way possible. They were absolutely phenomenal. There's no other way to describe them.

An elderly man in the park told us that he'd worked there during the 1930s as part of the Civilian Conservation Corps, and two individuals who were there, and man who worked on building the trails and a woman who worked at the hotel, fell in love and they placed the heart shaped rock into the wall. 

The hike down into the canyon was the shortest hike we did the whole trip, and yet somehow it was the hardest. Going down a mile and a half was a breeze. We made great time, talking the whole way. Collectively we noted that everyone coming up looked exhausted. They were red faced, out of breath, and seemed to stop about every ten steps. Obviously the trip back up the canyon was inevitable, so we wondered if that would be us relatively soon in the future. 

All smiles heading into the canyon.

It was. Going up the canyon was completely exhausting. We hardly spoke the entire hike, and had to stop every five minutes. My backpack felt like the heaviest thing ever. It was only a mile and a half back to the rim, but it felt more like 5 miles.  

Luckily, we'd glimpsed some people eating ice cream back up at the top, and that motivated us to keep a steady pace. Once we made it we treated our selves to le glace with a view! The Grand Canyon is truly a wonder, and if you get the chance to see it, take it. 

Ice cream with a view! PC: Cambria Sawyer