Day 47

We decided to take it slow this morning and let the kids sleep in. We made a giant breakfast that finally pulled them out of bed and talked about what we wanted to do today. Our first order of business was to play Ryan's game now that we could see. Once we got the hang of what we were supposed to be doing I was very impressed with the caliber of the game! It was very fun and sneaky educational teaching the kids about predators and prey. I learned a bunch about the animals of the Grand Canyon!

We hiked to the Grand Canyon Lodge next and got our first views from the North Rim. The hike was just as I remembered with stunning views along the way and dips back into the forest.

The lodge was beautiful inside and we all took a few minutes to look around. The girls learned about Brighty - the mascot of the North Rim. He was befriended by a boy living here back in the late 1800s and began to help him do chores. His payment for his hard work was a stack of pancakes every day. He gave rides to kids and they all rubbed his nose for good luck. We did too!














They also had an interesting display tucked away in the corner that I enjoyed reading. It explained all the levels of rocks in the canyon. The kids realized now why the canyon walls were different colors.


We supported the park with a big purchase at the gift store and t-shirts for everyone except Brayden who only liked a white one. White t-shirts and our children don't mix well. We checked out the visitors center next and got some information on hikes and programs. We decided against hiking more trails in favor of some downtime together at the campground and a couple programs later in the day.

We hiked back to the campground and I was able to take the photo I remember most from eight years ago. Brayden also remembers this spot the most because he was apparently terrified but I had no idea! He was probably double in size now so it must not have bothered him as much.

If there hadn't been a sign I wouldn't have noticed this historical stop on the hike. This was the summer home for ancestral Puebloan farmers of the North Rim. They were able to take advantage of the snow here to harvest their summer crops and move to a warmer spot in the winter to harvest two more. I can't imagine waking up to this view every morning!





We played a few more games then everyone dispersed for some down time. Ryan-the-maker created a strange looking bird that she decided to jump and throw off the picnic table, Brayden and Laney swapped out with my hammock for reading, and Dave read and prepped to leave the next day.


I made us an early dutch oven dinner I'd been trying to make for a few days but finally had time - spinach ravioli bake. Brayden and Ryan ended up having a pine cone war and I'm not quite sure who won. I made half what I normally make and it was just enough for all of us to share. Good thing the boys weren't starving!



















Next up was the California Condor program. We knew absolutely nothing about these birds other than they aren't the most attractive. Our ranger was very knowledgeable and we learned a ton! She started with general facts about the condor and how they lived in this area. They are giant birds with wingspans over 7 feet! Check out their feathers on the tips of their wings compared to the same feather on a turkey vulture and a raven!

Condors were near extinction due to habitat loss and the use of DDT with the count at only 22 birds. They began a breeding program and now that number stands at close to 400. Condors only lay eggs every other year because they take care of their young for a year or more. Scientists working with birds in captivity in the breeding program now take an egg from the pair after it's laid and they will lay another one the next year so their numbers bounce back quicker.

The things threatening condors now are of course people - our garbage and lead from bullets. They eat our garbage and can't digest the plastic and metal in it. They eat the insides of the carcasses of hunted animals and get lead poisoning from the bullets used.

Our ranger ended the program with introducing all kinds of animals around the United States that are also endangered or at risk of being added to the list. Some of the animals I'd never heard of but some like the Key Deer and Alabama Beach Mouse are close to home.

We had an early dessert tonight since we would be attending the evening program at the lodge. S'moreoes are always a hit and so much easier than regular s'mores! They are just as messy though!

The evening program was on the Mexican Spotted Owl. These guys live in caves or small ledges in the canyon and blends in quite well with the color of the walls. They have silent flight like other owls and giant claws to grab unsuspecting mice and other small creatures.

They are also endangered due to habitat loss due to logging. Our ranger brought this heated debate into our program and opened up conversations surrounding which side is right. He showed pictures of the loggers claims of needing to support their families and retain their jobs. Visitors were to pick a side and explain which side was to be the priority.

He extended the conversation to other endangered animals just like our last ranger. He showed pictures of the last male ============================ rhino that died making that species extinct soon. He also showed a very small portion of the list of endangered animals with their numbers and reasons why. It all pointed back at people.

He ended the program on a positive note about things we could do as one person that could make a difference. With more than 7 BILLION people on the planet if everyone could just pick one thing to change just imagine the impact! We all wrote down our answers and some shared their ideas - voting for people who value the environment, supporting causes you believe in that make a difference, consume less, leave a smaller footprint, or spreading knowledge learned like this program.

He ended the program with a surprising statistic that 90% of visitors spend 30 seconds or less at the Grand Canyon. They take their instagramable picture, hop back in the car, and continue on. While I understand that people have different interests and don't have the time we have to explore and enjoy a park, I can't imagine spending such a brief time here.

We talked about this as we drove home and I thought about how fortunate we were to be here. Most people couldn't believe we were spending more than 50 days in a tent traveling in the country and claimed they couldn't do it. I would definitely prefer to stay in a cushy lodge in every park but I wouldn't have seen half the things I've seen or learned half the things I've learned.

We decided on an early bedtime in order to be packed up early to get Dave to the airport early. We had a long drive to get around the canyon to the airport and that was only halfway to our next spot!

Day 46

We had a discussion with the kids the night before about when we would get up and leave the hotel. They, of course, wanted to sleep in. We talked them into getting up early so we could have some time at our next stop instead. It was only 2 more days we would have Dave with us so I wanted to maximize our fun time for sure.

We dragged the kids out of bed to get down to breakfast when it started. We were mostly packed up so we knew it could be a quick exit. They got their normal crazy hotel carb overload and 30 minutes of tv before we were ready to go and searching for Grammie to say goodbye. She was spitting from us this morning so we wouldn't see her or Lola for 2 weeks.

Leaving by 8am we were hoping to get to our spot by late afternoon to be able to enjoy a few hours. We had a long drive today but thanks to Dave's research we had a few interesting stops along the way. Our first stop was the world's tallest thermometer. It is 134 feet tall to record the hottest temperature every recorded in Death Valley in 1913. It was a tough shot to get everyone and the thermometer! For the record it has to be 158 degrees outside to fry an egg.















Just a few minutes later we were in Nevada and getting back off the interstate for our next stop. It was bright and very hot but totally worth it! This was called the Seven Magic Mountains and is an art installation by artist Ugo Rondinone. As we approached I couldn't get over the contrast in the art and the landscape.

Of course the kids had to add their own rocks to the rock garden!

 Since we were so close to Las Vegas we decided to drive to the welcome sign and down the strip. Dave and I got engaged here after I ran one of my marathons and he's been back a few times since on the annual Clarke family trip. It was slow going with all the people but it was neat to see how much it has changed since I'd been there. The kids thought it reminded them a little of Times Square with all the huge stores and digital displays. We had to get a picture at the sign to send to Dave's brother since they are headed out here for good!



We dipped into the bottom of Utah and decided to stop at a local spot for pizza. If you are ever in St. George Utah stopping at 700 Degrees is a must - the pizza was delicious and the service was outstanding. The kids would probably say they enjoyed the unlimited small batch soda the best!

After another few hours of driving through the canyons and Kaibab National Forest we finally made it to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. This is the place that started all these trips. Eight years ago I decided to take the kids to the Grand Canyon and ended up doing a whirlwind trip of 18 states in 32 days. I was excited to get back even for just a few days. Dave and I had visited the South Rim 17 years ago and I knew he'd enjoy the stark contrast of the North Rim.

We were able to steal a peek or two at the canyon but I wanted to save the full view for the next day on our hike to the lodge. After we set up we walked to the general store for a few things where Ryan found an interesting game that she wanted to buy with her trip money. By the time the kids ate it was too dark to play so we played a round of Squarrels instead.

The kids had brought giant glow sticks from home and finally decided to break them to light them up today. They wanted me to film a sword battle but it was so dark it would have just looked like two glow sticks dancing. Brayden had the idea to do some time lapse photography with them though that worked. I didn't even have to adjust the settings for time lapse since it was so dark the camera needed the time anyway.

The kids have been finding the numbers "222" everywhere since that will be our new address so that was the first success. Laney made a heart and Ryan made an infinity symbol too. Everyone was getting pretty grumpy by this point so I declared it bedtime. We had a whole new day tomorrow to explore, learn, and be together.          

Day 12

We were up pretty early today ready to hike the trail to the lodge again to show Grammie the spectacular views and forest scenery.  The kids had fun showing Grammie all the places we'd already been and what we thought about them.  At the lodge we all decided to sit, enjoy the view and finish the trail snacks.

Next we headed to the visitors center for the kids to be officially sworn in as Grand Canyon Junior Rangers.  Grammie even bought them junior ranger shirts each complete with a magnifying glass, compass, and insect.  Ice cream was definitely in order on this sunny day then we hiked a somewhat more level trail back to the campground with some different views and wildlife.

We made it back just in time for the kids program on archaeology.  They were able to make reproductions of some actual artifacts found inside a Grand Canyon cave.

Since it was our last day at the campground, we decided to build a fire and make smores - yum!  The kids loved having dessert before dinner and you just can't do that on a hot July afternoon in Florida and live to tell about it! I wish I had some pictures of the messy faces after the last bites.  I believe they were all gone in a matter of 45 seconds - before I could even finish roasting and assembling mine! And I'm still trying to figure out how gooey marshmallow ended up on my car which was parked at least 15 feet away.

After packing quite a bit to get ready for our departure early the next morning, we headed over to Grammie's lodge for dinner.  On the way we were treated to some nice views of what they call "Beefalo" in the canyon.  They are apparently a mix of bison and cow.  Ryan loved when they were scratching their backs by rolling around in the dirt!

Tonight we actually made it to Cape Royal for the sunset.

Unfortunately, Ryan and I didn't get to see the very end as she had a minor meltdown, but hopefully Grammie will share some of her pictures.  The kids are obviously more tired and testy than normal, so there is extra patience necessary as well as delicate choice of vocabulary needed.

Laney was next to bunk with Grammie and the kids with me were out before their heads suggled into their pillows.

Day 12 is sad to be leaving, but anxious for our next adventure!

Day 11

Today began with high hopes of Grammie arriving.  After a grueling 24-hour journey through airports, she was finally on her way with a 4-hour drive up to the North Rim.  We decided to hang around the campground for much of the day - taking showers, doing laundry and playing bunches of games.  We went to a very interesting kids program on Grand Canyon weather where we learned all about lightning, temperature, and erosion.

Once Grammie arrived, we decided to have a very nice dinner at the Grand Canyon North Rim Lodge with a breathtaking view of the canyon. Before dinner the kids wanted to show Grammie the view from the overlook at the lodge.  They were much more brave with her around!

With full bellies we decided to try one of the scenic drives to catch a sunset from a different perspective so we were going to head to Cape Royal. As Grammie and I often do, we completely missed the turn as we were chatting too much so we ended up only making it halfway down the scenic drive to Point Imperial.  It was incredibly windy so our stay was very short, but the view was absolutely beautiful.

After much deliberation, Ryan was the first to have a nights stay with Grammie at her cabin.  The kids adore this one-on-one time and they other two both get to sleep by mom!

Day 10

Have I mentioned the weather at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon is amazing?  When we woke up to our first full day at the canyon, it was only 54 degrees.  For the first time of this trip, we all slept inside our sleeping bags instead of on top of them.  We had to dig into the cold weather bag for sweatshirts and pants.  But not for long.  By 8am it was 65 and sunny and we were headed for the trail.

We thought we'd try to 1.2 mile trail to the lodge to get junior ranger books and stop by the gift store.
The hike was a nice but a difficult climb that had several opportunities for rest and viewing the canyon.

Kid-sized descriptions of the view:
Bray: "Enormous!"
Laney: "Awesome!"
Ryan: "Good." (Her kindergarten teacher has some work to do!)

Bray: "Wow!"
Laney: "Amazing!"
Ryan: "Beautiful" (much better)

At the end of the hike, we were rewarded with an amazing viewpoint at the lodge.  This was the only picture I had the opportunity to take before the kids darted off the platform back to safe canyon land.

After much deliberation in the gift shop, Laney bought her third stuffed animal and Ryan and Brayden bought rubber knives with sheaths.  And that wiped out their week's travel allowance in one fail swoop.

As we made our way back to the campground we noticed several very large dark clouds approaching as well as a significant temperature drop and increase in the amount of wind.  We backed off the canyon rim a little bit and really started pushing to beat the storm back to our tent.  We made it no problem and ended up meeting a family from Jacksonville, FL setting up camp right next to us!

Throughout the day we are given updates on the status of Grammie's arrival scheduled for 8pm.  Beginning with a flat tire on the plane in Pensacola, she was flown all over the place with no hope of arriving today.  The kids are markedly disappointed, but look forward to seeing her tomorrow.

After dinner we headed up to the campground amphitheater to a program on nocturnal animals that turned out to be very interesting.  I learned a bunch of new facts about bats, owls, and snakes to take back to school and share.  The kids drew their own inventions of nocturnal animals too: a sqnowlbat, a pigmouse, and an owlbat.  They were pretty scary looking illustrations or I would share them here.  I don't want anyone to have any nightmares or anything.