Our Journey to Forever: Spontaneous Grand Canyon

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Spontaneous Grand Canyon

On July 2nd, we were driving from Provo to St. George. We were discussing what to do on the 3rd, because we had nothing planned. We made a list of places to go. There was nothing new on the list: Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon, Mountain Meadow Massacre, Cedar City, Pine Valley. Everything on the list we had already done, but hey, we had a day left of vacation in Utah

So we woke up the next morning and got the day going. We got in the car deciding we'd start with Zion and see where that took us. So...on the road to Zion there's a sign that says Grand Canyon 140 miles. We both looked at each other and said, OKAY!!!! Instead of making a left we took a right. Now we didn't have a map with us, I didn't have anything from the internet and we were just flying spontaneous!!!! Very rarely do we make crazy adjustments to trips that I haven't thoroughly reasearched, mapped and planned. The few times we do...usually turn out pretty spectacular. Independence Pass is the best off the planned route we've ever taken!!!

So only relying on signs on the road, we made our way to the Grand Canyon. In January we had been to the Grand Canyon of the Pacific in Hawaii. I figured we should go to the one on the mainland. A few times I was afraid we'd made a wrong turn...even though we were following signs, but finally we made it to the lodge!!! It was pretty amazing!!! The sites. Now, we are old fuddy-duddies, so we didn't go on any adventurous hikes, nor are we the Brady Bunch, so we didn't ride down the canyon on a mule. We saw where you get the mules to ride down the canyon. Eddie and I are both afraid of heights. There's no way we're getting on an animal and riding down a little ledge to the bottom of this huge canyon!!!

The lodge has some great outlooks! You can go off of either side and walk out closer to the edge and take pictures. I opted to stay on the patio! Eddie decided to venture off and get some great photos!!! I should've had a camera with me to take pics of him! Oh my! It was quite funny. The side he opted to go on to take photos, jutted out into the canyon and although it does have safety rails and what not...you still are pretty much standing on a little piece of earth overlooking a giant, massive canyon that is WAY BELOW YOU!!! Watching him hold on to the railing for dear life and trying to take pictures with the other hand, was truly hilarious! A group of gray-hairs ventured out after him to the end of the overlook. It was circular so you could see in different directions, etc. He actually told them he was sorry if he grabbed any of them as he tried to go from one side to the other without letting go of the railings!!! I was far away watching the whole thing, but I could imagine his "lamaze breathing" to get through the experience. (That's how he was breathing the one time I got him to go on California Screamin' at California Adventure!)