We did it! After 5 hard and trying months, I can officially join the 5% of visitors to the Grand Canyon who actually venture below the rim. Did you know that? My AOA guide told me that of all the visitors to the Grand Canyon, only 5% actually go below the rim and the average time spent looking at the Canyon is 11 minutes. That's quite astonishing.
We started our journey early Wednesday morning with the trailer in tow, heading south and made it to Yermo by sunset. We were tempted to go a little further to Vegas, roll a couple dice, but with our luck we knew ultimately we'd end up with diddly-squat, j/k. :) The drive wasn't that bad at all, I stocked up on magazine for all of us to read (except Dad, or course!) and we made frequent pit stops, aka stops for "photo ops." Once we arrived in Yermo the reality of being in the desert finally set in. Before dinner Martha and I took a walk over to what seemed to be a military base and it proved to be a great location for pictures. The landscape was breathtaking, with lovely sandy dirt, blue skies, white puffy clouds, rolling sandy hills and tumble weeds blowing by. Unfortunately, Dad must have gotten some of that lovely sand in his eye somewhere along our journey because that evening he started experiencing pain in his right eye. After careful inspection and noticing some scratches I thought we should have him examined by a Dr., so we ended up spending the evening in the Barstow ER. It wasn't bad though, as far as ER visits go. In fact, it was the quickest ER visit I've ever had. He did in fact have a scratch, so they treated it and sent us on our way with some antibiotic drops.
On Thursday, luckily with Dad's eye feeling much better, we ended up making it all the way to the Grand Canyon. It was surprisingly cold, especially considering how nice it was in Yermo, and apparently it had snowed the night before. Who knew, snow in AZ in May? I guess I shouldn't be surprised by anything Mother Nature comes up with these days. Good thing we brought layers, the city has taught us well.
Friday, we finally got a chance to sleep in a cook a real breakfast. Mom's hashbrowns, yum yum! We took our time, had showers and moseyed on over to the rim of the Canyon in the afternoon. This was the first time Martha had ever seen it in person and it was so great to watch her reaction and experience this with her. We walked around the rim for an hour or so, but then got rained out and headed back to camp. That evening, after dinner, we surprised Dad with a cake for his birthday (and boy, was he surprised--his birthday wasn't for another 3 days!) and went to bed early in preparation for a very busy Saturday ahead of us.
I didn't sleep well at all that night, I kept tossing and turning. Filled with anxiety and excitement, Saturday morning couldn't come fast enough. I was relieved to finally be put of of my misery when my alarm went off at 5:30am. I got dressed, had breakfast and Dad drove me over to the hotel to meet up with my team. By 8:00 we were at the trail, headed down, down, down.
The views were breathtaking and the air was crisp. The walls of the canyon, having been shaded overnight, were freezing cold. After a couple of "pee-breaks" we made it to our final destination, the 3 Mile House, around 10. Martha also decided to hike this trail, but she started around 7 and hiked an additional 1.5 miles down and back up to the 3 mile house by the time we got there. We all found a spot away from the squirrels, had a much needed rest and some food, then headed back up. Going back up was much harder than going down, obviously. The sun was covering more of the canyon, the walls were no longer cold and a place to seek refuge and the elevation made it hard to catch one's breath. Our AOA guide was fantastic though, and made sure we took as many breaks as we needed. Around 2:30 we finally emerged from the canyon and I was greeted with warm hugs from Martha and my parents. I had done it! We then headed to the bar to commemorate our victory with a much needed drink. :) The next morning we met up with my team and headed back home on the plane.
These past 5 months have been a fantastic journey and constant reminder of how much suffering needs to end in this world. I am so proud to have been able to do this in your honor, Maria. We love you and miss you dearly.
xoxo
Stephanie
YAY!
ReplyDeleteWow, that is amazing. I would love to do this one day.
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