Grand It Is

It is called Grand for a reason. People say if you have the chance- go see it, for a reason. People say pictures don't do it justice, for a reason.  People say it's a spiritual encounter, for a reason.

When one of my best friends and I realized one night that we randomly had the same FIVE days off.... We just HAD to go somewhere!!! We couldn't just let that opportunity of the same days off, go to waste!! So after taking a few days debating where to go... We booked our flights to Phoenix!! We had just a few short weeks to figure all the details out! We were going to see the Grand Canyon!!! And we couldn't wait!!! It has been on both of our bucket lists for some time!  I wanted to share our amazement of the Canyon, of Arizona in general. There are lots and lots of pictures... but I'll try to pick out the best. And try to share our favorite moments. :)  A few things I would probably change if I would do it again... would be to fly into Phoenix and fly out of Las Vegas, or vice versa. That way one could go through Zion National Park and see Hoover Dam.. but then one would only get to see the Canyon once. Also... I would recommend to book tours, hotels, any activities in advance. They fill up fast!

Here goes...  Enjoy! :)

"Nothing compares to the stomach ache you get from laughing with your best friend."

We arrived in Arizona early morning, and once retrieved our luggage and signed all the paperwork for our rental car, we were off! We wanted to go hiking in Phoenix first before heading, as I was told from multiple friends that it is well worth it! And we were so glad we did! Of the entire trip... this hike was in both of our top 3 memories!! It was a hot, hard, steep hike! But so fun, and so beautiful. We basically had to find our own trail through the rocks, loved the cacti, and seeing the city around us. And had fun watching out for little lizards all around. It was the perfect start! :)

All set.. Arizona here we come! :)

We were a little nervous about this "double blacks" hike! but so excited! :)

It's looks like the open mouth of a fish! :)

So steep.. grateful for a railing here. 

Oh hey there, little lizard! 

Love the sun beams! 

Loved these cacti!

Tranquility. Peacefulness. God's world...

We DID it!!! :) Super Women!!

After our super fun and hard hike, and legs shaking... we were off again... To the Grand Canyon!! With our research, we found that it was highly recommended to take a road a little less traveled and go through the Red Rock Country, in which we'd go through Oak Creek Canyon and Sedona. And the recommendations were right...we were sooo glad we took that route! It was stunning! Highly recommend if you ever travel that way! Plus they are super cute little towns, kinda like the little towns in Colorado around the ski resorts. We did have a little hiccup in our trip, as there was a brush fire, that ended up starting a vehicle on fire. We were at a standstill for almost 2 hours. Thankfully, we don't mind being sweaty and smelly with one another, and can talk and talk and talk! ;) Plus it was kinda fun to meet some of the other people around us waiting. Thankfully we were closer to the accident... as later we found out the traffic was backed up 12 miles and there was no way to turn around in this desert. So it could have been a much longer wait.

Road block fun! :)

Cacti EVERYWHERE!!

Pictures don't do this color red any justice!!

Red Rock Country!

Scenic view Ahead... YES, we are stopping for pictures! :)

Thank God for the Selfie Stick! :)

Our view of Sedona for supper!

Had the yummiest food and drinks!

After our long delay, and Sedona views... we finally headed toward our destination of the Grand Canyon!  We drove in the dark, through tiny, CURVY roads... honestly, we couldn't go much faster than 10mph around the turns. It was quite the drive! But we made it to our hotel that night in Tusayan, AR (10 min drive from canyon) and was sooo excited to wake up early the next morning to see this thing called Grand that everyone was talking about!!

We didn't know what to expect, with traffic, and what to all bring... so we had an assortment in our car... as we were going for mule rides, hiking, and just taking in the sites and sounds! It was going to be the best day I'm pretty sure! :)

The suspense of what was behind these trees was so real!!

Then all of a sudden.... THIS!!! THIS Indescribable MASTERPIECE!!!!

Literally there are no words to describe the Grand Canyon! The vastness of it, the colors, the depth, the ability to see 10 miles across. Gorgeous, Amazing, Incredible, Breathtaking... all are words that don't quite fit the feeling one gets. The best I can come to describe.. is an aweness about it. The aweness of God's creation. Driving through dessert, then forest... then bam, right in the middle of nowhere is THIS!! This creation that God created for US!! For US to enjoy!! For US... He made this!! It made me realize how incredible large this world is. How incredibly small we are.... yet, God truly cares for each one of US! We might be small, we might not always feel God's presence.. but He is there ALWAYS. He loves us so much! And a beautiful reminder of never to doubt the power of God. Never doubt His plan. Never doubt His love! This place, this Grand place... the aweness... just something so hard to describe!

South Rim

These sun beams....

We had a mule ride, then enjoyed the afternoon, and did some hiking in the evening. Watched the sunset in the canyon at night, then hiked back up with the beams of our flashlights! :) And then our favorite part... laid on the rocks and looked at the starts for about 45 mins! Another.. Wow... Thank you God for this beautiful world of ours that you gave us to enjoy!!! The black, night sky... the millions of stars, more showing up each minute. The falling stars, the Milky Way... we didn't want to leave.. it was incredible! Our favoritest part of our entire trip!! :)

So excited to ride our mules! :)

Our mules happened to be sisters! Perfect for us! :)

Beautiful!! 

Wearing hats was part of the rules.... 

We got these awesome water canteens for our ride! :)

BB and

Postcard Perfect!!

Enjoying an afternoon treat!! :)

Now to our awesome hike and sunset. Just to warn you... I could not get enough of this sunset... every few seconds the colors would change as the sun went down.. I wanted to soak it all in, and never, ever forget this beauty!! 

Ready to hike down South Kaibab Trail

So steep... :)

Love!!

They call it the "Ooh Aah Point" for a reason! 

CAN'T GET ENOUGH!!!

We were a little nervous having to hike back up all these steps.. but it actually was better/easier than going down. Our knees also agreed!

The way the sun reflected.. and the clouds shadows!

These colors!! So in LOVE!!

Just being....

This little light of mine... :)

Then the stars... Yup, pretty sure this was the best day ever! So much to enjoy, absorb, and just be. Just be present, just be surrounded by God, just be with your best friend. Just be! :)

The next day, we got up early, so we could be at the canyon to watch the sunrise. It was worth it! :) We also took the shuttle and did Hermit's Rest Route... we were dropped off at 9 different viewpoints along the canyon rim, to see all different views. We got to see the Colorado River quite a bit on this. And just beautiful places we would have never walked all the way too. Highly recommend. 

I was grateful there was a little Catholic chapel in the middle of the canyon village that we could go to Sunday morning Mass, where near 2500 people live that work in the Canyon. It was a perfect place to praise Jesus for this amazing experience! 

So worth getting up early!!

Sunrise!! Love!

I loved how the sun glowed off the canyons!

So much beauty!!

It was a little chilly that morning as we sat on the side, eating our breakfast, watching the sun peak above the canyon!

:)

The blue sky, white clouds, pink/purple/red canyons... it's so beautiful!!

We can touch the other side!! :)

This year is the 100th Anniversary of the National Park! :)

This... we are so little, the world is so big!!

We loved watching the birds soar.....

It was a little windy this day. :)

7,050 feet elevation!

We stopped at the Watch Tower lookout point.. the East rim of the Canyon!

Inside the tower...

Full of symbols and art!

We then headed along our way, around the canyon, through dessert country.. to Page, AZ... a few hours drive, but we had fun seeing more of Arizona. A entire new landscape that I've never experienced before!

This red red rock... we were so amazed, that yes, call us crazy... but we turned around to come back and take this picture! :)

Once in Page, we went out to see the famous Horseshoe Bend, and watch the sunset there. It was perfect!!

You would think we were in the dessert.... WAIT!?!!! We are!!! :)

we loved all the layers from the wind!

Amazing!!

Don't get too close to the edge!

I might just be a little excited! :)

Sunsets... pretty sure this is my absolute favorite thing God gave us! It's like a hug from Him every night!

We came back the next afternoon, because we wanted to see the GREEN color that wasn't hidden by the sunset. :)

Checking out the dam too.... holding onto Lake Powell before entering the Colorado River.

We're getting kinda good at this jumping selfie timer photos! (As long as the camera is pointing the right direction) ;)

This is one of my favorites... capturing the true moment... the true joy of friendship and laughter!!

Okay.. two more adventures yet of this trip. I hope you are enjoying it as much as I am remembering all these moments! And hope you also enjoy all the pictures! I promise... I am cutting way down! :)

We next went to take a tour of the Antelope Slot Canyon. It was amazing, the way the camera caught the light at the perfect angle! Really incredible! And then we took a kayak ride/tour through Antelope Canyon, into Lake Powell. Wait til you find out our surprise! :)

Yup... this is what we rode in... 

Thank goodness we had seat belts! :)

Kayaks and water... here we come!! :)

It was a perfect day!! :)

So the guides had us pull off to the side, and all get out. They then asked... "Who wants to cliff jump??!!" Ummm.... Me!!! Yes!!  :) I mean we are in Arizona! In Powell Lake! Let's do this!!  What could possibly happen?! They do this with ever tour. They, themselves, have done this hundreds of times. They told us how to do it... jump and flail... because if you jump and try to be a pencil right away, ones body cannot stay like that and tends to lean forward or backward. No good to land that way.  So of course I hiked up to the high part... 30ft cliff they said. And I did what they told me.. at least I tried. As you will see from the video... I didn't quite land great. Actually, it hurt A LOT!! I guarantee I either broke, fractured, or bruised my tailbone. And my best guess would be broke... because boy did it hurt... for weeks after. Even now 6 weeks later, I have to be careful sitting in certain positions. But it was still SO MUCH FUN!! :) And yes, I would do it again.. maybe just from not so high. ;) My friend, Kristina, she also jumped... she was much more scared, and we kinda did talk her into it. But she loved it and did absolutely great!!! She jumped from a 18ft cliff and said she would also do it again!  Enjoy the videos. :)

The 6 hour car ride, and 3 hour plane ride back home was a little rough, I'll just say Ibuprofen and Tylenol were my friends... but we had the greatest time! And I have a whole new appreciation for the Olympic divers!! :)

We headed back down to Phoenix, as we had to leave the next day for real life again. But we had to stop at the Canyon one more time, to watch this amazing sunset. We couldn't pass it up!

These colors.... the blues, pinks, yellows, oranges, reds... can't get enough!!

So in love with this place!! 

One more place I really wanted to go, on our way back... in Sedona there is a Slide Rock State Park. It's a fresh water creek that has been there so long, with water running through it, that the rocks are so smooth, one can literally slide down it. Like a water slide! I wanted to go there for a few hours before we had to head for the airport! The water was ICE COLD... but it was sooo much fun!!! We might have not been able to feel our legs by the end... but it was so worth it!! Plus it might have helped my tailbone feel a little better.. kind of like an ice bath the athletes take! :)

I love when pictures capture the sun like this! :)

It was soooo beautiful here!!

Did I ever say we like to have fun?? ;)

We just had to take one more!! :)

This took the most courage... just to get in the water!!

But it must have been worth it!! :)

:)

Love this countryside!!

And all good things must come to an end... but that doesn't mean the joy from them has to end. No... the memories, the laughter, the beauty, the joy can forever stay with us, in our hearts. To be gentle reminders of how much Jesus loves us! And there is always goodness somewhere!! And this Canyon that is called Grand... well, Grand It Is!!