canyons

Small Miracles

/ L. Ryan Storms / 1 Comment

Day 9: 6/10/24
From: Bryce Canyon, UT
To: Grand Canyon National Park, AZ
Distance: 158 miles

I wake at 5:30, very glad I took my sky photos last night because this morning is all cloud cover. The clouds that have rolled in end up preventing us from seeing sunrise over the hoodoos as we had hoped. We still take a 2 mile hike along the rim regardless, just taking in the scenery. On the way back to our campsite, we spot a raven who decides to have a conversation with us, clacking his beak, cawing, and cooing. Older child caws back. They go on like this for a few minutes in an unexpected interaction that put smiles on all of our faces.

Back to the tent for a nap before we leave Bryce. Later? A short trip to the Grand Canyon. (Short = 3 hours in the car) The naps only last about an hour before we get up and break down camp. And because the sun is now shining (where was it before?!) we take a walk to Sunrise Point again. But Husband wants to visit the lookout point we saw last time we were here, so we head to Sunset Point, where the kids enjoy the same view and become as entranced with the canyon as we are. It takes effort to pull them away and get on the road. How to leave behind those towering orange spires and the ravens that soar among them… it’s oh-so-difficult.

We stop to buy car stickers from a souvenir shop nearby and say hello to the saddled up horses waiting for riders to show up for their trail rides. It takes everything in me not to hop out of the car and pet them.

We make one more stop at a rock shop and an antique place in Orderville, UT before we get into the heavy driving for the day. And we still manage to reach the Grand Canyon by 1 pm because time change. Again. Arizona doesn’t do daylight savings time. Bison greet us shortly after we enter the park. And something we didn’t realize last time (because we’d never seen wild bison before) — these bison are MUCH smaller than the bison in Yellowstone. 

We get to our campsite and set up, but since the tent is in direct sun and will be for hours, we head out to the closest lookout point to take in the view, and get a family photo taken by a French-Canadian from Montreal who just finished hiking 400 miles from Phoenix to the Grand Canyon. My aching joints can’t even comprehend that this is possible.

Kids marvel at how wonderful most fellow campers are/have been over the last few days. Everyone leaves their stuff their campsites and trusts that no one will “mess with it.” In fact, along one hike, we end up talking with other hikers at the lookout point and everyone chimes in on their favorite national parks. The kids agree that the kind of person who camps the National Parks is generally a kindred spirit and we relish that we’ve had pleasant conversations with so many people we’ll never meet again, but who kind-of-sort-of make us like humanity again. 

After a stop by the local store to pick up lunch and taking much needed showers, we play a game of Oregon Trail, where 2/4 of us make it to the end this time. Then we head to the lookout points at the lodge. We opt to take the Angel Point trail, which is generally paved, but is also a very steep grade downward which is tough on my joints, so I bail about halfway to the end, sit on a rock, and take a selfie. Because why not?

The Grand Canyon is as it ever was — large and impressive, its distance almost incomprehensible. I’ve hiked 5 miles today on mostly dirt trails, something I haven’t done in several years, something I haven’t been *able* to do. I am elated. Exhausted, but elated. Having a dynamic disability makes it difficult to plan ahead. Sure, I planned to stop in all these different locations over the course of three weeks, but I had no idea whether or not I’d be able to full enjoy them the way I wanted to. Even now, I still have no idea what the next two weeks will bring. But I am grateful, so, so grateful right now that I have been able to get out and immerse myself in these oh-so-miraculous places that exist on this planet we call home. 5 miles may not be much for most people, but for me? It’s worth celebrating like it’s 500.

As it gets dark, our family heads back to camp. Sadly, Husband is coming down with a cold. At least I know it wasn’t the same one I had right before we left, so I can avoid feeling guilty. But I still feel bad. Maybe this is the real reason behind the terrible snoring?!? One can hope.

Even if it didn’t stop him from hiking Bryce Canyon this morning and the Grand Canyon this evening. Husband even ventures out with me before bed to take a few night sky photos (See? Even sick, he’s still my hero.) and then it’s time for bed. 

Fingers crossed he feels better in the morning! 

Canyons (x2)

/ L. Ryan Storms / Leave a comment

Day 8: 6/9/24
From: Mesa Verde National Park, CO
To: Bryce Canyon, UT by way of Four Corners National Monument and Antelope Canyon, AZ
Distance: 382 miles

7 a.m. seems to be our regular wake up time. We break down camp and head to The Knife’s Edge Cafe down by the camp office to order breakfast we don’t have to prepare ourselves. Then we’re on the road by 9. Without any reception, we can’t map out our destination, so we head west and figure the phone’s GPS will eventually kick in.

It’s only an hour before we reach Four Corners to take cheesy family photos of the four of us standing in four different states at once. Then we do a little shopping from the Navajo sellers and as much as we’d like to buy lots from every vendor, we have to keep in mind the fact that we have no place to put it in the car.

Older Child wants to know what happens if you’re murdered in 4 states at once. Which authorities get called?

Back on the road to our second stop at Antelope Canyon. Arizona doesn’t do daylight savings time, but this time, I was prepared. We end up arriving two hours early for our tour of Upper Antelope Canyon, which gives us time to grab lunch, frozen yogurt for dessert, and gluten-free cereal for one kid for tomorrow morning.

Then, we’re off on bouncy vans through the desert to the mouth of the canyon with our tour guide Amar. Amar is a wealth of knowledge, funny, and personable, and the kids are as intrigued as the adults on this venture. I am surprised to see much has changed in the canyon since we were last here nine years ago. I shouldn’t be. The canyon floods 9-12 times a year on average from flash floods that occur after major storms. In fact, the entire canyon is about 3 ft deeper than it was a decade ago.

After the tour, we head back to Page, AZ to pick up a few Antelope Canyon stickers for the car and Older Child’s sketchbook. After 3,000+ miles, I *finally* get to take the wheel as Husband is still battling that same lingering headache. It’s 2 1/2 hours to Bryce Canyon and the driving isn’t complicated. The roads are wide open and by the time we’re an hour out from Bryce, there’s almost no one on the road. After all, who drives into a campground at 8 p.m.? Us. Apparently.

We’re set up by 8:30 and then take a quick walk to the rim of the canyon just in time to catch the sun on some of the desert features in the distance, though not on the hoodoos themselves. Dinner is mostly scavenged, but we do get to have a small fire while we eat, which is nice. The last time Husband and I went cross-country, we just didn’t have much time for fires.

We’re ready to collapse into sleeping bags by 10 p.m., but the stars are very tempting and I wonder if I can catch starlight or the Milky Way over the hoodoos. I’m not sure it’s possible, but it’s worth a try, so Husband and I trek to the rim to try. Kids opt to stay put, and I can’t really blame them. A week into our trip and everyone is a bit exhausted.

Husband and I don’t see the Milky Way (mostly obscured by cloud cover), but the view is spectacular nonetheless. Stars and clouds over the hoodoos make for some beautiful night sky photography.

I look forward to sharing the images when I get home and have time to process them! For now, settle for a few daytime shots from our day.