Memorial Day weekend started off normal we went to a little place in Phoenix called Hole in the Rock park. Just a little climb to see a beautiful view of a desert oasis. But the real adventure began on Sunday. We got in the car and went for a drive. I have been asking to go to the Grand Canyon for a while now, after all we are living in the "Grand Canyon state"! We both had gone when we were kids and I think both of us had that Griswald family moment of driving to the wondrous canyon taking one look at it and then piling back into the car. Maybe that's how my kids will remember it, I don't know, but we did do a part of the Kaibab trail hike. We stopped at "ooh ahh" point so most of the way down we listened to Porter say "ooh ahh" in his not so quiet man voice. Preston was too distracted by finding rocks that looked like certain shapes, including s pizza rock, to notice his brothers rambling. It was a switch back hike most of the way with a very steep and intimidating drop off. Matt was a little skiddish but for good reason. He made it very clear that if the boys let go of our hands they would fall to their death (we are great parents). We made it to ooh ahh point and were immediately surrounded by fearless squirrels looking for an easy meal. On the way back up, Porter had a new word to announce- turd. Mule droppings had covered some parts of the pathway so Porter felt it necessary to make sure anyone in the entire canyon was aware of it. Don't worry we had a long talk about what words are appropriate to say after that embarrassing experience. It was a good distraction for the hike up. And both boys did an amazing job both ways. In past hiking excursions someone usually needs to be carried out but these boys proved themselves and did it like true champs. I hope they will remember the Grand Canyon a little better than I had.
On Monday we drove from Flagstaff to Sedona. The drive through Oak Canyon was beautiful. You went from forests of pine trees to beautiful leafy trees to natural red rock sculptures. The scenery was breathtaking. We did a small hike up cathedral rock. The boys really liked this because they we climbing over big rocks and didn't have to hold our hands so tight. We made it a little over halfway up before we decided to turn around. Our mountain goat children could have probably kept going but it was getting a little tricky trying to maneuver them up the steep rocks.
Jerome was our last stop. We had heard that it was an old mining ghost town, we toured the old mansion owned by the mine owners and learned about mining ore and copper. But the town itself was just a silly tourist trap. I can now say I know what natural copper looks like. So, i guess it gets points for being educational. The boys still had fun, especially when we found a little park to play at to help them get all that crazy energy out before the ride home.
The Little Colorado Gorge - I thought this was equally as remarkable as the Grand Canyon. It just looks so interesting to me.
The Watchtower. We entered from the East Rim and drove our way to the South Rim.
This rock is known as the Sitting Duck. Do you see it?
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| The hike back up. All those little dots are people making their way up. |
Driving back to Flagstaff for the night after our excursion.
The drive through Oak Canyon
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