Grand is a pretty good way to describe it

As you know, our big trip this year was a 12-day road trip out to California via The Grand Canyon. We had a blast, and one of the reasons it’s taking me so long to get these updates posted is that when I open up the folder of our pictures, all of a sudden, hours have gone by! It’s so hard to not get sucked into the memories.

I love reliving the trip, and I hope you enjoy this next segment!

You can read about the route we took and our adventures up to this point here:

• Anatomy of a Road Trip

• Stinky never felt so good.

• Chips & Salsa and a side of Nap.

• The Holiday Inn of Camping

The first night in the tent left a lot to be desired, Holiday Inn of Camping or not. The wonderful part of being out in nature is that you’re out in nature. The not-so-wonderful part of being out in nature is that you’re out in nature.  The birds wake up at the crack of dawn. The sun comes up pretty early. Those two things combined make the preschooler in the tent pop up out of her sleeping bag, raring to go, whether the adults are ready to go or not.

I would have been in a much better mood had my pillow situation been a lot better than it was. I remember vividly, standing in our bedroom at home and talking to my husband about how I wanted to take a real pillow with me. We weren’t low on space; we were sleeping on a queen-sized air mattress! This was going to be car camping…not “real” camping. I’d sit on it if I had to. He called me a wussy and said that travel pillows we had would be just fine.

Against my better judgment, I left my pillow at home.

As I was tossing and turning the first night, I regretted that decision. I may or may not have taken pleasure in the thought of smothering a certain someone with my inadequate travel pillow. Maybe.

The travel pillows we have work wonders if you’re sitting upright in a plane or on a train. But, they are terrible if you’re trying to sleep on them like a real pillow.

My Pillow of Doom plus Little Miss Signing Sunshine bouncing around our tent HOURS earlier than we anticipated made our first full day at the Canyon a bit rocky.  (pun totally intended)  I tried as hard as I could to summon my patience, and so, Claire and Momma went on an early morning nature hike while Daddy slept a little bit longer.

That afternoon, after a day of hiking, Daddy purchased a souvenir at the lodge…a pillow! It has a wonderful pattern on it, and it matches our bedroom set. And, because I’d let him sleep in, he and Claire let Momma take a nap in the tent on her new pillow while Daddy and Claire learned how to play with the frisbee.

Needless to say, that next night was a thousand times better than the last.  And, Claire LOVED camping…and when you’re traveling with a preschooler, isn’t that the most important opinion in the group? 

But, enough about the camping part of camping. What about the canyon? The Grand Canyon is unbelievably beautiful. The photos we have do not do it justice. Looking out over the vastness of it all doesn’t even seem real, let alone trying to capture its majesty on film.

I am so glad we camped there for two nights. We had a chance to see so much of the canyon without being rushed.

There is a bus that runs along the rim, following the hiking path. We decided to start out hiking and make it as far as we could before hopping on the bus and riding back to the campground. It was the perfect plan, and we were pleasantly surprised when it worked out well.

Cracks & Layers - Click for more detail!

One of our friends had let us borrow their backpack child-carrier. There was no way we wanted to take a stroller with us on the hike, and we weren’t sure how long she could last.

3 feet on the edge - see the tiny roads beneath us? Click for more detail!

Well, imagine our surprise when she hiked A MILE AND A HALF all on her own! We’d let her wear her little light-up princess sandals, and I think that’s the most action those princesses have ever seen!

When her little legs had gone as far as they could go, that’s when we strapped her into the backpack. We are so glad that our friends let us borrow it, but the jury is still out on whether or not it was worth it.

We were able to hike an extra mile, but neither Daddy nor Claire liked it. My husband is used to hiking with a 40-lb pack, so her weight (barely 34 lbs.) wasn’t an issue. For some reason, it just wasn’t possible to adjust the backpack properly, and it soon became a torture device. That coupled with the fact that his normal backpacks don’t wriggle around and complain probably added to his stress levels.

I think the funniest thing that happened was when Claire said, “Daddy? I don’t like this backpack. My back hurts!” It was all he could do to mutter, “Your back hurts? I don’t even want to hear about it.”

Two and a half miles of hiking provided us with plenty to see. We got some wonderful photos, and we all had a fabulous time exploring. We hopped on the bus and rode back to camp. After taking a break (and that much-needed nap I mentioned earlier), we had a snack and then drove out toward the East Entrance, where we’d come in the day before. We’d zipped by it so quickly in our mad dash to get to the campground and get set up that we wanted to explore it some more. We were able to catch the setting sun as it slipped into the canyon, and the shadow portraits we took were amazing.

Shadows on the edge

I have more shadow portraits to share, but you’ll just have to be patient.

As I mentioned, that night was much better for everyone. Claire still woke up at the crack of dawn, but my patience levels were bolstered by a good night’s sleep on an awesome pillow, so we were ready for the day. We broke camp and headed out, leaving the Grandness of the Canyon behind us.

California, here we come!

Stay tuned for the next installment of The Great Road Trip of May 2009!