Thursday, May 15, 2008

the grand canyon.

i was only back in phx for 3 days before bryan & i headed north for
the grand canyon. we've never hiked the canyon only witnessed it's
beauty from the top when we picked our amazing-adventure-seeking
-friends theresa & jeff (they are leaving for their year around the world
trip in a few months!!! you can follow their journey at that link!) up
from rafting it a year or so ago. it was on both of our lists of things to
do before we moved & now 3 years later we finally did it & it was friggin
hard work! i think next time i'm riding a mule down :)

we stayed the night at indian gardens so we had everything with us,
minus the tent (since bryan was there for work, testing air quality control
equipment they've got setup down there -we were able to stay in the state
employee cabin!) i had maybe 25 lbs & bryan had probably 35 lbs in our packs.
our shoulders hurt for 2 weeks after the trip & my legs were in a constant
state of clinching for at least the next 5 days. i looked ridiculous walking around!

here's some of my favorites!

three mile marker :)
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i call this one 'oh holy switch backs'
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the flowers were gorgeous!
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pretty mule!
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while bryan & his co-worker, andy, were testing the equipment i found a little tree to
sit under. i shared it with two baby deer & their mama. they let me sit 15 feet away
from them, like it was no big deal.
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some of the other critters.
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more flowers :) it amazes me that cacti have blooms let alone beautiful ones like this.
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bryan has always wanted to figure out how to take a picture when the water turns
foamy-sh from dragging the shutter. so we messed around with it until we got some
decent shots. i could get all technical with you, but eh. boring.
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after we put our things in the cabin we hiked the next 2.5 miles to the river. hiking
towards water is so much more exciting for me than just hiking. we were really tired
& sore but i'm so glad we pushed on because it was beautiful.
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the view from the bottom.
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relaxing & loving it.
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bryan started our gourmet mountain house meal, which wasn't so great. stay away from
chicken teriyaki -nothing special there.
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ah. check one off the personal list! which makes me wonder why wasn't this on my 101
list?

definitely a trip worth making if you haven't already :)

1 comment:

  1. Those pics bring back some good memories. I think everyone should definitely venture down into the Canyon. It's such a different experience from the top and it's so gorgeous. Can't wait to see you guys soon!

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