Grand Canyon Family Trip 2016, Part Nine in Travels with ConnieK

I want to tie this series up, but so many things are happening, it’s hard to keep up. I’ll have a regular column in the magazine (set to launch mid-November), plus two or three more articles in each bi-monthly edition. AND there will be an online link to read free, so guess what I’ll be bugging y’all to do in a few weeks? :)

You, however, get a more in-depth ConnieK, so yes, dear readers, I WILL bore you with yet ANOTHER vacation commentary, this time, link heavy, so those with slower computers can quit cursing me. LOL!

I doubt very much I could live in a land locked state. As we were hiking the Grand Canyon, I’d see patches of blue through the trees and automatically assumed it was water and would have to correct myself that it was only sky. Speaking of, I thought Florida’s skies were big, but Arizona’s sky is endless!

I also felt the effects of living in an area of few vegetables. We ate some wonderful steaks, and Arizonians definitely have fried potatoes down to a science, but other than green salad or Cole slaw, veggies were hard to find. The few times I did eat some crunchy, healthy veggies, my body’s endorphins kicked in like I’d been drinking! My youngest asked me if he bought a ranch, would I live on it part of the year. I told him yes, but I’d need a greenhouse!

I loved the severity of the desert: tones of brown and dulled down green vegetation, sparse as it is. The plants are tough enough to survive amongst the jagged rocks and yet offer up delicate flowers as a sacrifice. The mountains reached to the skies and the gorges dug down to the bowels of the earth. The story of how the Native Americans survived and thrived is almost unbelievable when you feel the sun searing your skin and your water bottles empty fast. The only dependable water is the brown Colorado River and, I’m told but never saw one, intermittent springs that dot the landscape. The Grand Canyon offers free water refill stations at different points and I believe those too tap into springs in the area.

The weather, even though it was monsoon season, wasn’t bad. We could see most storms moving in from a distance, so we had ample time to take shelter the few times we needed it. They are much like tropical storms in that they move in fast and sweep away. Well, except for the day we left…it rained buckets that day. Overall, the days were overcast, so while it muted the colors in our pictures, it also provided us with comfortable temperatures. We were quite unprepared for Flagstaff’s chilly weather! None of us packed cold weather clothing, thinking we’d be in the desert. Flagstaff is a higher elevation and it was monsoon season. The 51 degree temperature took us by surprise but after such a long Florida summer, we fully enjoyed the shivering!

Fun with Videos

This video reminded us all of how the boys would tussle with each other when they were young. In fact, you’ll hear one of my boys mimicking us by repeating an oft-heard phrase: “All right, knock it off before you hurt yourselves.” The video is really cute near the end when they face the camera.

Antelope Canyon #1

Antelope Canyon #2

The Grand Canyon #1

The Grand Canyon #2

Las Vegas

Chihuly Glass at the Bellagio

Freemont Street (the original Vegas) You’ll see my eldest son and my youngest just as the zip liners come into view overhead. Love my handsome sons!

Now, THAT’S mudding!

The kids pictures of Antelope Canyon will blow you away. That’s next!