The Trip--Day Four

 By day four we needed a little down time. We slept in and then I went to the store to get groceries for the next couple days. Every else played games at the house. It was an emotional morning for me. I talked to Mom and heard the hard news that John would be entering hospice care that week. I had tears running down my face while I was shopping. I was truly able to feel all of that and then move back to family time and being completely present in what we had planned for the rest of the day. 

We planned just an afternoon excursion. We drove the Zion-Mt. Carmel highway that led to the Zion-Mt. Carmel Tunnel and the Canyon Overlook Trail. This is right outside of Zion National Park. The drive was beautiful in its own desert way.  

The trail that we hiked led to the top of that arch. We didn't realize that until we got to the end of the trail. Driving back down the scenic highway, it was fun to look up to where we were. 

At the trailhead, the kids read this sign--specifically the warning. Anna was not sure at all that this was a good idea. Josiah and Aliza were questioning my planning abilities. 

Zion was a very different kind of hot than Grand Canyon. It was in the 90s and it really sapped our energy quickly. We were not as high in elevation (like 2,000 ft) but I think we slacked on drinking water because this was a "short" hike and we were just out a couple hours. 

Most of the elevation gain was right at the beginning of the trail. 

The tunnel exit and road that we had just been on. 

*Some* of the cliffs had railing. 

*Most* of the time these 4 hiked ahead and waiting for Anna and I caught up. That means these 4 got breaks and Anna and I didn't because they were ready to go when we got to them. lol. 

Aliza and Josiah got to the bridge first. This may have been the one time they came back to me. Their first question was "Mom! Did you watch a video of this trail?" Yes, I had. "And you thought it was a good idea to bring us on it? There is a bridge. There is no way Anna is going across it." Secretly, Josiah and Aliza also not crazy about going across this bridge. 

Anna immediately froze and burst into tears. The other 3 kids went across. Jeremy convinced Anna to go across "elephant" style. Jeremy went first. She held on to Jeremy backpack handle. I held on to Anna's backpack and she was sandwiched between us. Anna made it!

Looking back at the bridge from farther down the trail. 

The view we were looking for. It was stunning. 

Aliza found a spot to just take it all in. 

Anna and Isaiah found shade instead. 

I made them take another picture together. 

Back to the house in time for supper! We had a townhouse in a vacation rental community. 

Isaiah could hardly wait to get to the pool.  

It was an ice cream and movie night. They watched Madagascar 3. I fell asleep before 10:00. 

The Trip--Day Three

 This morning we decided on a 9am departure time from the hotel. This was early for us for a "vacation" morning and halfway through the day for Jay and LeeAnne. Thankfully the weather was very favorable. Jay and LeeAnne would have started the hike we had planned at sunrise. Instead we got back to Grand Canyon about 10:00...used the restrooms...bought Isaiah a hat (totally worth it, he loves that hat!)...waited for the shuttle...rode the shuttle to the trailhead...some used the bathroom again....and THEN we started the hike. 

We each had a backpack with 3 bottles of water plus our filled water bottle and our lunch. The altitude at the top of Grand Canyon is 7,000 feet. Drinking twice as much water as you normally do is the best way to prevent altitude sickness. We all took that to heart and did lots of drinking and it really worked. We all drank a bottle of water before we even got to the park to front load. When I tapered off drinking yesterday evening at sunset, I had a headache when we got back to the car. Lesson learned.  

I'll sprinkle the story throughout the excessive amount of pictures I have here!

This South Kaibob Trail ultimately goes to the bottom of the canyon. We went to Ooh Ahh Point which is 1.9 miles round trip. I had watched videos about this trail so knew that there were rock walls on one side and cliffs on the other side of the trail. Anna is afraid of heights and I was not sure that she was going to be able to do this hike. I had my kindle and she had a book in her backpack just in case we needed to stay at the trailhead and wait for the others. 

 Aliza and Isaiah were buddies. They stayed in the front and Isaiah never complained. Anna and I were in the back. Anna held on to my hand. She was always on the inside of the trail. 

The first 1/4 mile of the trail was switchbacks where most of the descent happened. In this picture you can see 3 levels of switchbacks. 

Anna said, "I'm doing this for you, Mom. I know how much you want to do this trail." And she did. We all gave her lots of encouragement along the way. 

You can see some people at the bottom of this picture. That is the point where the trail mostly leveled out. 

The rest of the way we followed this line of rocks. 

Anna still held my hand, but she was willing to stop once in a while to take pictures. 

And then we made it...Ooh Aah Point!

We ate lunch on the rocks overlooking the Canyon. Who gets to do that??!! 

It was really special to do this hike with Jay and LeeAnne. They taught us how to pace ourselves as you'll see on the way back up the canyon. We stopped at every shady spot to take a drink and/or catch our breath. 

Anna felt more confident on the way up. There were some stretches where she didn't need my hand. 

We had to wait for the pack mules to pass! The mules carry supplies up and down the canyon. 

And when we got back to the switchbacks, we stopped at each turn!

We made it back to the top! 

I had to just take it all in for a few minutes before we left. That we were here. That we got to interact with this majestic creation that God gave us. That our children are all old enough to do a hike like this. That we are all healthy enough to do this hike. My heart was full of gratitude. 

It was mid afternoon when we got back to the car. No one was ready to say good bye to Jay and LeeAnne! Our adventures were calling us and we sest the GPS for Page, Arizona.

 At this point Aliza asked if I forgot what family I had planned this trip for! Our vacations usually include some down time and this one did not have much built in.  
 

We drove 2 hours through Navajo Nation to Page, Arizona. The beginning of our drive was through Grand Canyon National Park and we had some glimpses of the canyon along the way. 

I was supposed to drive this stretch, but this straight road about put me to sleep. Jeremy was not very impressed with me. lol.  

It was possible the longest, straightest drive of my life. 

In Page, we stopped at Horseshoe Bend. This was a 3/4 mile trail that would have been easy had we not already hiked earlier in the day. There was a lot of complaining and everyone was hungry. 

This is what we found at the end of the trail and it was worth it. 

We ate at the nearest restaurant. Everyone revived to a degree. Then we drove 2 more hours to Hurricane, Utah where we will spend the next 3 nights. It was another really long drive, but we made it. When we got in our Air bnb the kids were super excited to find a ping pong table in the garage. The energy level increased enough for some late night ping pong!