In August, we took a trip to the Grand Canyon! Ever since moving to St. George, I've kept a running list of National Parks (all within driving distance!) in the back of my mind to visit...a nature bucket list, if you will. The Grand Canyon was a top choice.
This was a wild and fun and memorable adventure, with a teensy dose of exhaustion and regret...like not sleeping for two straight nights because #sameroom and #screamingbaby. Or that moment we were both wide awake at 2am because our geodome didn't have heat, so we were either freezing or worried that the kids were freezing, and I finally broke down and drove off in the middle of the night to a hotel with Owen leaving Don an Auggie to fend for themselves in the unforgiving desert.
But hey, we survived! And the lack of sleep truly was the only regrettable part of the trip. The kids were well-behaved and self-entertained for the six hour drive, and everything else was fun fun fun. We loved the experience of camping in a yurt and a geodome. They are so cool. I highly recommend a weekend yurt excursion.
{driving to the South Rim}
{night 1, glamping in the yurt}
Notice I said glamping here. The yurt was v special.
On the first day, we hiked Bright Angel Trail down as far as we could towards the Colorado River. With two kids, we obviously weren't prepared to do anything crazy. But we were pleasantly surprised at how far Auggie hiked all by himself! (Part of his enthusiasm for the day *I think* stemmed from the discovery of his echo. He screamed, "Hallo!!!! Haaaaaaalllllllloooooo!" at the top of his lungs for hours.) We definitely hiked several miles of the 9.5 mile trail before heading back up. We always bring both the ergo and the hiking backpack, because at this point we're pretty used to Auggie's hiking plan for himself...walk down, ride up 😏.
The Grand Canyon is one of those landmarks that does not disappoint. It is as breathtaking and grand as everyone says! Don and I have talked a number of times since then about coming back, just the two of us, to hike rim to rim. What an experience that would be!
Notice I didn't say glamping this time...but we will forever have fond memories of our little family camping experience in the geodome! We had no idea that roasting s'mores would make Auggie's entire weekend. It was his highlight, for sure. The kid was beaming all night long and talked for weeks about the geodome. Even Owen had a blast! He was content to sit on the mat with his Hershey's bar, just watching us bounce around back and forth.
As I said in the beginning, the sleeping arrangements here weren't ideal, but sweet little Auggie was none the wiser. We plopped a couple blankets down on the ground and barricaded him in with our suitcases, calling it a fort. He hopped right in, flapping his little hands with excitement and shouted, "are we campiiiing?!". He may have been the only one, but thank goodness he slept soundly and happily all night long. Probably dreaming of s'mores.
After finishing the hike, we had a little picnic and headed home. Sure, it was a bit crazy at times. But what we remember most about the Grand Canyon was that it was an adventure.
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