Day 8: Ain’t It Grand?

Yesterday was a tremendously long day. I thought today would be equally long for a spot, but then it shortened right up.

I’m still so tired, though. Tomorrow is the first time on the trip we can actually sleep in. Thank you, LazyMe, who opted for a 2:00 tour tomorrow rather than the 8 a.m. The respite from dragging Earl out of bed (although she giggles every morning when I wake her up, which makes me insanely happy) is much much much needed. The closest we have come to fussing at each other is in the mornings, mostly because I’m all go-go-go and she’s on her own time in her own head. The morning time is when she tries the hardest to make me laugh, which, when I’m trying to wrangle, is when I’m least patient. I’m working on it, though.

Today was an uncharacteristically early start – down for breakfast at 8, then picked up by our tourbus at 8:45. Well, tour van. We were the last two of nine tourists to be picked up, so we ended up at the very back. It was great for spreading out all of our stuff, which managed to grow like some non-sentient Audrey II through the course of the day. It wasn’t so great for the view, but I wasn’t bothered. a) I was just glad I wasn’t driving for a change, b) we stopped anytime there was really something to see, and c) naps.

The tour was great, and our guide, Molly, was fantastic. So much information starting from the time we got in the van—the volcanic San Francisco Peaks, the aspens and juniper trees, other flora and fauna, cliffs and mesas and buttes oh my! The drive up to the canyon from Flagstaff was made so much shorter by all the great tidbits she kept throwing at us.

We made five stops (I think?) at the Grand Canyon, including one at Verkamp’s Visitor Center she threw in just so Earl could pick up a Junior Ranger book. Hooray for awesome tour guides!!

I’m not going to bore you with details. Here’s what you really want:

The mind-boggling thing is that the pictures don’t come close to doing it justice.

Look! It’s a picture of us (and the scope Molly pulled out at every stop to show us amazingly small things unfathomable miles away) at Moran Point.

There are a lot of reasons I love All-Star Grand Canyon Tours. The vans are comfy, the tour guides are great, yada yada yada. The real winner is lunch, though, catered by Brandy’s in Flagstaff. What I thought would be simple ham and cheese sandwiches was anything but. I wish I’d taken a picture of the spread—fruit, sandwich garnishes, cloth tablecloths, real plates, actual silverware—but we were too hungry and there were flies and ravens to fend off.

Did you know ravens have a similar intelligence to a 6-year-old child? I was skeptical, but after seeing how this guy started stalking closer and closer as we wrapped up eating, then actually called his buddies as we were cleaning up, I totally believe it.

Our last stop at the Grand Canyon was at the Desert View Watchtower, where Earl picked up a mountain lion for a good cause, and we plotted a way to come back in the evening for a nighttime Ranger Program, since Earl needed to attend one for her Junior Ranger badge. Then it was back into the van to head out the east entrance, past the Little Colorado River Gorge, and into the Navajo nation.

We picked up a couple of small souvenirs at a local Navajo shop, then zoned out all the way back to Flagstaff. On the way, Earl decided maybe the Junior Ranger program wasn’t worth the trek back up to the Canyon. Instead, she wanted to go swim at the hotel.

Molly dropped the rest of the tour off first, so we were the last ones off. I talked her into a picture because she was just that awesome. I think the grin is because everyone followed her number one rule today: “Don’t fall in!”

At the hotel, we couldn’t find Earl’s swimsuit, which meant we were forced into a Wal-Mart run. New suit procured, we got back to the hotel, down to the pool, back up to the room for goggled, then back down to the pool in exactly enough time for storms to roll in. We got back to the room again just as the lightning storm kicked into high gear. Earl watched through the window from my bed, commenting on the devil beating his wife and, “I have to see how this ends.”

With that, we had an easy evening, lounging around in our jammies and watching American Ninja Warrior.

It was much nicer than driving another three hours to the Grand Canyon and back, although I still feel bad Earl didn’t get her badge. We’ll make up for it, though. I’m sure of that.