The Oh-So-Grand Canyon

After a freezing night at the Circle Pines campground in Williams, Arizona, we had a hard time getting up the next morning. But eventually we rolled out of bed and made our way 50 miles to the Grand Canyon.

This was the first visit for me, and Billy had visited once before when he was very young. There is no way to describe it other than awe-inspiring.

It was cloudy pretty much the whole day and there was a crazy amount of lightning all around us, moving closer. The rangers kept telling everyone that if your arm hair stands up on end, then run away from the rim of the canyon because lightning is coming and it loves the rim.

The only way down to the bottom of the canyon is by mule or to hike the 18 miles. Hmm, hike 18 miles? Maybe not. So we, hiked along the rim, and it was pretty beautiful anyway even though we didn't hike downward. We also packed a picnic lunch of ham sandwiches and chips (yes, we eat ham sandwiches even on vacation...you gotta save money somehow) and ate it overlooking the canyon.

Our photos don't do it justice and you can't really get the enormity without seeing it, but seriously, looking at it will strike you dumb and mute. It's just that beautiful.

After the Grand Canyon, we drove through Flagstaff, which is very tiny. We thought at first that it was kinda a nasty freeway stop, but there is actually a really cute little town.

We ate dinner in Flagstaff at this funky place called Dog Haus on Route 66. Excellent! It was a drive through hot dog stand. We had 2 chili cheese dogs, onion rings and split a guacamole burger. Seriously, it was so good and cheap that if you're ever in the Flagstaff area you should stop there!

We made our way then to Phoenix, drove through there about 45 minutes towards Mesa. That's where we bunked at our friend Jake's house (thanks for the use of your beautiful house and your water and washing machine!). We got in around 11:30 pm, so Jake was going to take us to a bar so I could pick up some burly Western-type men, but unfortunately it was closed. But we did have a few drinks at a bar called The Gym. Very funny! (What's not funny, you ask? Having to sit and listen to Jake and Billy make about 12908230498324 bad jokes. That's the problem when you get two people together that have the exact sense of humor).

More tomorrow!

If you'd like to see today's pictures, go on and click here. You know you want to.