Grand Canyon

We headed south to Grand Canyon National Park.  I went with my family when I was younger, but Bryce had never been.

We arrived in the morning on the South Rim at Desert View.  The first day, we headed straight to the first-come first-serve campsites in the park.  After setting up our tent, we basically followed the main road along the canyon and stopped at all the main overlooks.  It was pretty windy and hazy, but still amazing.

The next day, we headed to a trailhead (South Kaibab Trail) that goes down into the canyon.  It actually goes all the way down to the river, but we only hiked about 2 miles down.  Let me tell you, the hike down was pretty easy.  The hike up, not so much.  It was definitely worth hiking down though, because it's a whole different view of the canyon than from the overlooks on top.  Bryce wasn't feeling well that day, so we actually turned around a little early than expected.

Strong winds and steep cliffs made it a little frightening, but worth it.

The campsites in the park were really nice.  Only $12/night with bathrooms, too!

We reserved spots on a smooth water rafting trip on the Colorado River.  The trip actually started about 2 hours north of where we were at Glen Canyon.  The trip went for about 15 miles down the river and ended right where the Grand Canyon begins at Lees Ferry.  The section of the Colorado River that runs through the Grand Canyon is actually almost all crazy white water rapids, so it wasn't exactly an option for a 6-month pregnant woman who is already scared of white water rafting.

So we stayed the night in a hotel in a small town called Page, AZ, where the early morning rafting trip left from the next day.

We had to wear hard hats walking down to the rafts because there was a huge bridge above us.

The rafting trip was really fun because the guide shared his knowledge of the canyon, wildlife, history of the area, the river, the rock, etc.

After the morning rafting trip, we got on the road and drove back to Colorado.  On the agenda: Mesa Verde National Park, driving through some cool mountain towns, Great Sand Dunes National Park, and then back to Boulder to catch our flight home.