Life with Justin, Betsy & Dave (& Baby!): Grand Canyon

Ahhhh, the Grand Canyon. Temperatures were cooler here, and we were back in an environment I felt comfortable in; there were pine trees galore. We got to stay in a rim-side hotel room. It was in the Buckey Lodge; the buildings were old, and the room was quaint. No air conditioning (not even needed!) and our two windows opened up vintage-style with a view of the rim. It was set back from the Rim Trail, so it felt private even though we were right in the midst of the action. We would definitely stay here again.

Let me add a side note for anyone with food allergies: the Bright Angel Restaurant in Bright Angel Lodge (of which Buckey Lodge where we stayed was part) was extremely allergy friendly. The waitress knew all the ingredients and went above and beyond to find food Justin and I could eat and enjoy (Justin actually got to eat a hot dog IN a bun! First time ever that wasn't homemade. He declared it the absolute best restaurant anywhere ever on the whole planet. Food allergies aside, it was the best food I've ever had in a national park. Many choices, lots of healthy options, and creativity plus it was reasonably priced. Unheard of! The grocery store there also had myriads of options for people with specific eating requirements. (Not so reasonably priced, but then again, we were at the Grand Canyon.)

Justin attended a fossil program for junior rangers. He was an active participant and had a great time. He earned his junior ranger badge!

Back to the tour:
We took the shuttle to a good point for sunset viewing (not that there would be bad spots to view the sunset...it's a pretty big place! Ha!). Koty got to stay in the cool-enough car this time. Watching the sunset has the same appeal as watching paint dry for 7-year old boys, but Justin finally found his niche in the long wait (after running all over, proclaiming boredom, and the need to find a private tree to relieve himself...which I'm pretty sure is against National Park laws, but there were no bathrooms at this viewing point!) by climbing trees (well away from the canyon rim!) and making his own miniature grand canyon in the dirt.

We finally had to stop watching other people because their stupidity was frightening. Parents took their little children beyond and below the guard rails, right to the edge of the canyon. Parents watched and ignored their little children jumping down from one boulder to the next one down, beyond which there was nothing but air. You know it's one mile down, right?! Accidents and mistakes, people. Accidents and mistakes!!

Once we were able to tune out the dangerous actions of those around us, we were able to enjoy the scenery. The sunset was gorgeous, but it did lose its holiness amidst the multiple languages chattering about us. The pictures actually look better than I remember it in real life!