Come what may: Grand Canyon

Joseph and I had never been to the Grand Canyon and so we wanted to take a family trip there while we are living within driving distance. Joseph had his heart set on camping the whole week we were there. I was willing to go along with it but not thrilled about tent camping for 5 days after driving for 14 hours with 5 kids. I am so glad we did. Being out in nature as a family was perfect. The kids never tired of playing with the rocks, sticks and dirt. I enjoyed getting up with the sun and not ever really knowing what time it was.

Day one:
Since we were only planning on driving 4 hours to Bakersfield we didn't leave until noon. After packing up our Odyssey to the roof we pulled out. We made quick time to Bakersfield arriving at our good friends Ben and Vanubia's at around 5:30. It was so fun to reconnect with old friends and meet new friends. The kids played great and Vanubia prepared a delicious meal for us to enjoy together. We stayed up and talked and played games.

Day two:
After packing the kids in like sardines Joseph made a decision that we needed a car top carrier. We stopped by Sears and picked up a carrier, loaded it up with sleeping bags and gear and could finally breathe in the car. I had printed up some games from a website for the kids to play in the car. We stopped and got Blizzards when they all got Bingo. All of us got into finding how many different license plates we could see. Solomon got really excited when I told him I would give them each five dollars if they found Hawaii. We never found Hawaii but we did find all the states except Hawaii, Rhode Island and New Hampshire. We got to the National Park just in time to set up our tent, roast some hot dogs and marshmallows.
Day three:
It was COLD at night! It was in the 20's each night we were there. Luckily the kids just burrowed down into their sleeping bags and penny slept in her snowsuit and blankets. I think Joseph and I were the coldest. We planned on going to church at 1:00 so we had time to take a hike out and get our first glimpse of the Grand Canyon. It is amazing and beautiful! We went back to our campsite to get dressed for church. There is a branch that meets in the park. It was small having only about 12 people. It is for all the people who work and live in the park. The four brothers who were the only kids in primary were thrilled to have our kids there. It's kind of funny that our kids literally doubled the primary :) After church we walked along the rim to the geology museum for awhile before heading back to play at the campsite for the evening.

Day four:
The Ranger programs were phenomenal! We went on the Fossil hike. The kids loved learning about the fossils and I was amazed how many we were able to find. Jocelyn found 104 different fossils! We took naps in the afternoon and played.
Day five:
We went to a program on the california Condor, and a geology talk and walk. This is the day Joseph started plotting our family hike down into the Canyon. It is 12 miles down to the canyon floor. Every mile you go down it gets about 8 degrees hotter. We knew we wouldn't be able to make to all the way down (next time Joseph!).

Day six:
We got up early and got the Bright Angel Trail at 9:30 AM. It was overcast and cold so we had bundled up well. About a mile down into the canyon it started to snow. It was beautiful. When we got to the 1.5 mile rest house the ranger there asked us how far we were planning on going. We told him we planned on going to the next rest house. He kept advising against it. I started getting a little nervous but we started down. Joseph had a goal for us to make it to the next rest house so away we went. We made good time to the 3 mile rest house, the last point that has water and bathrooms. By this time it was 80 degrees and hot. There were signs everywhere warning about dehydration and telling stories of people who had run the Boston Marathon who died hiking down into the Grand Canyon. We made it to the 3 mile rest house and were ready to turn around. We ate our picnic lunch and headed back at 12:30.

The hard part about hiking into a canyon is that the downhill part is first. We were already tired but now we were hiking UP the canyon. The kids were troopers and there was minimal complaining. I am so glad since I was barely making it, Penny in a hiking back pack was heavy! I got huge bruises on my hip from the constant bouncing. Just so you don't think Joseph was hiking fancy free, he was carrying many liters of water, food, coats and supplies, honestly I had the easier load. When we finally made it back to the 1.5 mile house the Ranger was so excited to see us. Apparently he had been off duty a while before but didn't want to leave until we had gotten back. He said he had never seen a family with so many kids hike that far into the canyon. We finally made it back to the top around 6:40. We were exhausted but thrilled with our accomplishment.

1.5 mile rest house

Day 7:

Waking up this morning I could barely move! I have never been so sore in my life. We took it easy today. We went to the Native American Ruins had a picnic right on the rim and the kids fulfilled their requirements and were sworn in as offical Junior Rangers.

Day 8:

We left for Santa Ana to visit my sister Tatiana. Tati was so nice to let us stop by and visit for the day since she was in the middle of moving to her first house. We spent a lovely and relaxing day at the beach with her and her girls. We also got our family pictures taken on the beach which is something I always wanted to do.

Day 9:
Home again, Home again. The trip home went smoothly. Like I said Penny was an angel. Isaac had a rough time for about an hour but we finally worked through it.

Picture Recap...