Sometimes.. you just have to say “eff it…I’m outta here”! Thursday was one of those days. I had three VERY..good “excuses” to pack up and get out of dodge!
Side bar… Anyone know where Dodge is? And why do so many people want to get out of it?..please share..inquiring minds want to know..Thanks 😉
Anyway…three excuses:
1. I had never been to the Grand Canyon
2. The Jason and I had friends from Switzerland headed to the GC so we would meet there
3. Holy crap..we just REALLY needed to get into some nature…
The drive was great ~ but I couldn’t help but think ~ how sad is it that one of the seven natural wonders of the world…yes..the WORLD..is only a three and a half hour drive away from where I live and I had never been there??
Ah well..what’s done is done and I can now say..I have been to the Grand Canyon 🙂
You really have to be in the mindset to appreciate the goodness. I mean, if you just look at it..sure you will be impressed but you will also kind of think..hmm, big hole in the ground..NEXT.
Now, if you really stop and think about exactly how this gigantic structure was carved into the earth..you can’t help but be amazed. Click on the word carved (if you’re interested) and it will take you to a little write up as to how it was done..like I said..amazing..
First stop..Meet up with the friends at the campsite. GREAT..campsite by the way so don’t ruin it people..it’s quiet, 1st come 1st serve and cheap.
This was our sleeping quarters for the night. Thankfully it did not snow because the tarp that covers the tent, was not in the tent bag 
I set up 3 sleeping bags and our comforter in hopes we would be warm for the night.
Then it was time to relax, catch up with our friends and decide what to do until dark.
We decided to head on down to the Grand Canyon Village so we loaded up into the car and sped off. Well, not really sped off, the speed limit is an almost impossible 30 miles per hour.
We made a couple of pit stops along the way for pictures and ooo’s and ahhh’s
The next pit stop we made put a bit of a damper on the day. I was not paying attention (I know…shocking right?) and then I realized at the last minute that everyone wanted to stop at a particular spot. Once I realized, I turned around and headed back to the parking spaces, there was one available immediately so I snagged it.
Walking to the lookout point, Carmen and I noticed a couple of silly tourists, late teens maybe early twenties, happily jogging in the other direction. A little curious but we maintained our route to take some pictures. After a few minutes we all heard a horrifying sound.
The sound of screeching tires and metal upon metal in the midst of a car crash. Shortly after we heard the blood curdling screams of a little girl. The Jason had already – literally the instant the impact was heard – ran towards the wreckage. Carmen and I had ran that way as well – worried the hiss of the parked Honda mini van may blow up and seriously injure Jason AND the two silly teenage tourists who happened to be retrieving something out of that Honda mini van when the tour bus crashed into and completely changed their life courses.
Thankfully, as horrible as this was, the outcome could have been so much worse. The ambulance and park rangers arrived at the scene so promptly. SO much faster than even in the city..I was impressed.
They took the the teens away, the blood curdling screams of the girl were (praise sweet tiny baby Jesus) were only because she was absolutely horrified as to what had just happened.
We were stuck for a little bit..Torn between watching the cleanup an looking at the Grand Canyon. It was a little awkward. Kind of like Ricky Bobby in an interview .. ” I don’t know what to do with my hands ”
If you look at the GC and continue to just carry on with your life..you’re insensitive. If you watch the cleanup..you’re morbid.
So yea, I hope everyone is OK.
We continued on our path to the Village (with a renewed outlook on life) once the green light was given by the authorities.
The village was not impressive..way too many people, no place to park so we found a place to eat (with not so great food) and then headed back to camp.
The road wasn’t quit cleared yet from the accident so we went to the Mather Point Lookout to pass some time. We had actually stopped into this place on accident earlier in search of the village but left promptly…we should have stayed. We would have avoided seeing the accident and would have completely enjoyed ourselves.
What we don’t know doesn’t hurt us, right? Eh, well on the other side of the coin..everything happens for a reason soooo maybe we all needed some sort of enlightenment..
ANYWAY….
Caution near Edge!!!! EEEEEEEKKKKKK.. It is overwhelming looking at the GC..sometimes it made me queasy.
Here we were able to hike a bit down onto a platform”ish” rock formation.
We rallied but admittedly were a teensy bit skeptical about the decent…
Don’t mind my afro..
So, Jason took this picture of our friends and I did not even notice until JUST NOW…LOOK..just LOOK at how close the girl in the background is to the EDGE of the cliff!!!! Unreal..
Jason…nor I for that matter..were going anywhere near the edge of that boulder…More power to ya Sir Sandro!!
After the rush of living on the edge for a few moments we were ready to get back to camp.
On the way to the car, we ran into this little guy..from what I remember..I think the guys told me it was an elk.
Back at camp, the guys started the grill for burgers and dogs…
A plethora of junk food. 🙂
Soon after it became dark. We enjoyed dinner, conversation, drinks, nature and then a sleep under the stars.
Perfect ending to an ALMOST perfect day.
If you have yet to…DO IT..Experience the natural wonder of the Grand Canyon..Feel it, appreciate it for what it is and be thankful you are here..on Earth to absorb its positive energies.
