Grand Canyon

Wednesday 10/18: Clearly, I didn’t win the big bucks! But I definitely had fun playing. What a strange city, Las Vegas is. It is SO busy and interesting. In the daytime, however, it’s a little sad? I don’t know. It was just strange to see people gambling at 8am. I saw people playing with tens of thousands of dollars! It’s like a job. But, I got to relax and do some laundry. I did a lot of homework and then walked around the strip at night.

Thursday 10/19: It was a fantastic drive to the Grand Canyon. I drove through the Virgin River Canyon and it was magnificent! I’ve never been to the Grand Canyon, so I was SO excited. I couldn’t find any camping, who knew you had to book 6 months in advance? That’s crazy. I don’t know anyone who can plan that far in ahead! So, instead of going to the park, I headed towards the North Rim, North Kaibab National Forest. I booked a cabin for two nights in Big Springs and it was wonderful. Hours of dirt roads to get there, but it was perfect.

I arrived at the cabins and was greeted by Cathy who sent me to Crazy Jug to see the first view of the Grand Canyon. I drove for an hour on a dirt road, poor car. Then I got to the most wonderful view of the canyon. I was the only one up there! The North Rim doesn’t get much visiting and neither does the North Kaibab NF. It was SO cool to see the canyon by myself. I sat at the edge for a while and tried to imagine how it was even possible that something that crazy was formed from a river and wind. It’s also a lot greener than I imagined, with lots of aspens and pine trees all over. After Crazy Jug, I picked up a bunch of fire wood and built a wonderful fire in my stove in my cabin. I read Little Women. Y’all, why didn’t you tell me how wonderful that book is? I just finished it and am so sad it’s over. Anyway, it was a wonderful evening and a great night’s sleep.

Friday 10/20: I had a delicious cup of coffee and got set towards the Rainbow Rim trail in the North Kaibab. Cathy told me I could mountain bike on the rim of the canyon, through forests, to different overlooks. Now, I don’t mountain bike. So, I decided to just go for it and see what happens. If it got too crazy, I’d just turn around. I drove for about 2 hours on dirt roads to get out to North Timp lookout to start. I hopped on my bike and set out along the canyon rim. It was BEAUTIFUL. I got to ride through these fall aspens and could see the canyon and the bright blue sky. I was definitely in over my head, I learned pretty quickly how to mountain bike. I nearly took a couple spills, but I stayed on! It was about 14 miles of biking, which is more than I do

typically. I finally got to the Locust lookout and it was AMAZING. I ate my apple on the edge of the Grand Canyon. It was a beautiful fall day, a chilly breeze and a bright sunny day. After hanging out for a bit, I biked on back to the car through the forests and tried to make it quicker than when I left. After a roundabout way back to the cabin, I had some warm soup and a nice fire before bed.