There's a Reason They Call it GRAND!

We spent the last 4 days/3 nights in the Grand Canyon. Most of you may have already gone and know what it's like, but it isn't anything you can explain as it is so "GRAND" that it literally takes your breath away. From the Southern entrance, you start to see the ground breaking up (first picture) and then once you get inside of the park, it is just amazing.

We got a campsite right in the Grand Canyon Village, which has everything from a big grocery store to restaurants and lodges. The campsite was very nice and we had our share of mule deer, ravens (that liked to mock the dog's bark), and rabbits within feet of us in our site. For any of you planning a trip here, get reservations at any of the lodges 12-13 months in advance as they were packed! Even reserve campsites that early as Matt had to "sweet talk" the ranger into giving us a spot. This place was definitely an advertisement for http://www.cruiseamerica.com/ campers as we saw hundreds of them. Lots of Europeans out here this year - probably due to the fact that their Euro is worth 50% more than our dollar!

On the first day, Matt decided to try his hiking skills out and hike down the Bright Angel Trail and it took him 4 hours to go down and up. He got about 1/2 down the canyon and then came back and said it was strenuous, but worth it. He passed many of the mules - you can rent to go down if you can't/won't walk it - and many of the other visitors that thought it may be easier than it looked. After all, going down is usually easy, but it's the hike up that really gets to people! Bailey and I stayed back and did laundry. Not sure who did more work that day. :)

That night I went to a seminar given by a ranger in regards to the California Condors that were almost extinct, but with the help of the National Parks, zoos, and many people-that-cared, they now have 63 birds living in the Grand Canyon. There are only about 200 left entirely and they were down to a handful in the 1980's, so it is a real success story. They contribute most of the deaths of these rare birds to lead poisoning. Lead bullets used to shoot deer in these areas were the reason, so most of Arizona and California hunters now use non-lead bullets. If you're reading this, do know that even if YOU were to eat meat from wild game that was shot by lead bullets the chances of you ingesting it is around 90%. Maybe for the sake of any animal eating a carcass or your own family, it would be in your best interest to change over to another type of bullet. Anyway, off my soap box about that, I had a goal to find myself a condor! Yesterday, no luck. Matt, Bailey, and I hiked around the rim trail and didn't see any. We did however catch the sunset which was wonderful even though clouds engulfed the sky that night. This morning, our last morning, I got up and headed out on my own. Sat for an hour and finally got to see what I was searching for - there was #72 (they are all numbered as they are keeping a close eye on them, of course). He sat there and allowed me to get some great pictures. I have about 40 pictures of him, but will share the best 2 with you. He's a little piece of history and deserves his picture on this blog.

NOTE: We were told by many people to head to the North Rim, but it's about 250 miles from South rim and isn't open until mid-May. We may make it down there, but not sure. Also, I was totally going to go out on that glass walkway (or whatever it's called) but it isn't in the park and is another 200 miles to the West of the South entrance. Good thing, as it would've been $75 for me to do it and it will have to wait until I'm rich from winning the lottery. ;)

Today we drove North and are on the border of Arizona and Utah. We're on Lake Powell in Glen Canyon National Park. Outside it is lightning in the distance and we hope to see some rain. It hasn't rained since we left Oregon and there's always that nice, clean smell the morning after a good rain storm so we're kind of hoping it does. We'll be here for a few days and then up to Zion National Park and then over to Moab. May be a while before I post again. Hope all is well is you!!! We think of our friends and family often and enjoy emails, texts, and messages from you all. Good night.