Day Three - Grand Canyon Deux

Thursday, June 21st - Day 3 - it started very early as Lucas and I got up with the sun and tried to figure out the bussing system at the Grand Canyon. I missed our bus twice and Lucas I'm sure learned some new words for his burgeoning vocabulary. He was a stout little hiker though. We put him in our little carrier and he was quiet the whole hike. I had a little mirror so I could check on him and each time he was staring out into the canyon. He seems destined to be an outdoorsman of some type. Anyways he was a little star on the trip and not a person went by me that didn't have a comment on how cute he was. Meanwhile Sammie and Laura stayed at the hotel and waited out Laura's sickness - when I got back we were pool bound (mermaids and diving) and then went to see the IMAX movie about the Grand Canyon that was right around the corner from us. Sam and Lucas both enjoyed it greatly. We decided that we should have one more attempt at a hike with all of us - to see if we could get Sammie on the trail. With a little bit of bribery, smoke and mirrors, and few white lies, Sammie found herself about 1 mile away from our bus stop on one of the most beautiful viewpoints in the park (the shot with Sammie and Laura below). Some truly amazing vistas there and after the movie I think the enormity of it was sort of driven home to Sammie.

The trail back to the bus stop was rather interesting and kind of backfired on us. Sammie was a little trooper (a princess in hiking boots if there ever was one) but the trail essentially was hugging the cliff with major drop-offs. Needless to say Laura and I were ready to get off that trail and have a beer ASAP. The hike ended without any mishaps and we got some tremendous pictures of the canyon. We were passed on the trail by a young college student who was a ranger and Sammie tried to make her slow down so we could follow her. Pretty funny how Sammie was chatting her up. Then we had dinner at a cafe in the park that nearly ruined our entire experience for the day - very crowded and Lucas turned into a baby gorilla throwing everything that came near him. He is cute MOST of the time. Tomorrow we pack up and head out to Utah for camping at Dead horse Point State Park right outside of Moab. It should be about a 6 hour drive to get there.

The Grand Canyon was spectacular and I think even our kids gained an appreciation for it. My hike with Lucas was definitely the highlight. Even with all the packing and unpacking and trudging gear, so far, it has been more than worth it.

What we learned today: Lucas likes to hike. Lucas likes Teddy Grahams. Lucas likes food. Sammie likes to swim.

..til tomorrow...