Visiting The Grand Canyon

Our kiddos promptly climbed up on the sign, leaving us alone on the ground. We didn't know how to pose without a bunch of children surrounding us. I laughed when I first saw this picture. We look a little lost without "the love" around us.

There it is, The Grand Canyon. After the great experience at Zion, I have to admit The Grand Canyon was a bit. . .hmm Griswaldish. You know the Chevy Chase Vacation movie? They drive forever, get out, look at the canyon. . .yep that's The Grand Canyon. Then get back in the car and drive away.

Don't get me wrong, it is beautiful and amazing. However, unless you have older children and time to go on a hiking or rafting adventure down into the canyon, it isn't as cool as climbing around the cliffs at Zion. The real difference is at Zion you are in the canyon, looking up. At The Grand Canyon you are at the top looking down. Both very beautiful, just different.

Here's a nerdy little tidbit. My husband calls me Cliffy (the mailman from Cheers) when I share these info bites. They call The Grand Canyon, Zion and Bryce Canyon the Triple Staircase. The fossils and sediment you find at the top of The Grand Canyon you will find at the bottom of Zion. The stuff at the top of Zion, you will find at the bottom of Bryce Canyon. Isn't that interesting?

Speaking of interesting. . .Of course finding beetles and other bugs was far more exciting for my kiddos. They were quite disappointed that there were no snakes or lizards. I love that. After dinner we went back to enjoy the sunset. The previous days of hiking had tuckered poor Bubby out. He was so tired he slept through the whole experience. Which was actually okay. It may have been a bit much trying to keep him from stressing his big brother out. You see, The General has a little thing about heights. He calls it TERRIFIED. I'm not sure how we overlooked this in planning our perfect trip. Alas, it was an excellent opportunity for growth. Who says I'm not using that MSW?

Ahh, the sunset. You know when you are at a place that is just so grand, you cannot capture the beauty in one photo? That is how the sunset at The Grand Canyon was. We kept clicking away, but with our camera we just couldn't capture the depth of the shadows. The various hues of blue, purple, red, orange and yellow. Then there is the fact that it is just so HUGE.

See what I mean??

Then we realized Bubby had the right idea. It was time to hit the hay. Good night.