On our first night, we stayed outside of Kanab, Utah. Around dinner time, it started raining. That rain turned into a crazy thunderstorm that lasted all night long. Our tent held up great.
Good morning, day #2! It was bagels, bacon, and yogurt with granola for breakfast.
standing over the Colorado River
Andy has just a slight fear of heights when there is a very drastic drop. This is how he has to take photos...holding on.
We made it! Welcome to Grand Canyon National Park!
There were elk all over our campground.
It was sloppy joes and cheddar quinoa muffins for dinner!
Because who doesn't decorate their bikes with glow sticks?
We had egg muffins and yogurt with granola for breakfast on day #3. We needed a lot of energy for our day of hiking.
walking to the shuttle bus
We hiked 1.5 miles down and 1.5 miles back up on the Bright Angel Trail. The girls did awesome!
Can you see the Indian face?
working on their Junior Ranger books
We made it!
riding the shuttle bus back to camp
Later that afternoon, we decided to go for another hike (2.5 miles) to Ooh Aah Point.
Mules are used to transport people and supplies up and down the canyon.
photo courtesy of Abigail
After a long day of hiking, we decided to take it easy on day #4 and took a short ride to Williams, Arizona, right on Route 66. Not only was it the last town bypassed by Interstate 40, but it also has some resemblance to the movie Cars. After doing some research, we learned that film makers traveled all along Route 66, talking to locals and taking note of particularly notable features that were used in the movie.
These are a couple of the buildings that reminded us of the movie...
eating lunch by the train tracks
That afternoon, we did a little more exploring in Grand Canyon Village. The girls received their Junior Ranger badges and then we went to explore the geology museum.
photos courtesy of Abigail
We caught the sunset one evening. Gorgeous. It's hard for photos to capture the absolute beauty of this natural wonder of the world.
this girl...
As we were packing up camp on day #5, we had some morning visitors.
Abigail and Isabel (the bear) enjoying the views as we headed to our 2nd destination--Bryce Canyon National Park (which really isn't a canyon because it doesn't have a river running through it. It's more of a high plateau).
The Glen Canyon Dam separates Lake Powell from the Colorado River. It took 10 years to build and is the 4th tallest dam in the U.S. at 710 feet.
We decided to take an adventurous ride down a 46-mile dirt road.
It was fun to test out the Pilot and the scenery was pretty spectacular, as well.
After we checked into our cabin, we took a drive out to Bryce Point. (Since the temperatures would be pretty chilly we decided tent camping would not be the best choice.)
The girls had plenty of space to play.
On day #6, we hiked the Queen's Trail/Navajo Trail, about a 3 mile loop.
Can you see Queen Victoria?
lunch and Junior Ranger time
2 natural bridges
Right after that hike, we drove to the southern most point of Bryce Canyon and hiked Bristlecone Loop Trail.
Have you ever seen a 1,600 year old Bristlecone pine tree?
The weather was starting to change (and not for the better) just as we finished our hike.
On our way back to our cabin, we caught a short film about Bryce Canyon and the girls received their Junior Ranger pins for Bryce Canyon.
lounging and playing at our cabin
It started snowing around dinner time.
Even though it was freezing cold, we ventured out for one last look at the majestic sights of Bryce Canyon.
We didn't get the 5-10 inches expected overnight.
Day #7: our last breakfast before heading home
The girls did so awesome on our long car rides.
We had a pretty amazing spring break! It is always so much fun to explore new places with the girls and create unforgettable family memories. Exploring and hiking 1.5 miles down into the canyon got Andy and I thinking about backpacking to the canyon floor...
