And another big rock!

Ok, things are starting to get back to normal around here. Boy, getting back on track after being gone is tough. It takes longer to prepare for and recoup from a trip than the trip itself.

I had mentioned that I got pretty much no sleep while we were there. The motel was pretty old and not noise resistant at all. And since we put Connor to bed at 7:30 we have to lay there in the dark from that point on. So we just laid there and listened to car doors slam, people laughing, car alarms being set, room doors slamming, muffled and not so muffled voices of people walking by. But the worst was that the ceiling squeaked when the people above us walked. Which I don't know what the heck they were doing up there, but they walked about 100 miles around that tiny motel room. Dang! I was like, just lay down and watch TV or something already! Seriously, how many trips to the bathroom do you need to make?

But the Canyon was great. So beautiful! And the weather couldn't have been better. Just gorgeous. Connor thought it was the Grand Candy, so he was a tad disappointed at first. "What, no candy?" But big rocks to climb around on is almost as good. So he got over it pretty quick. He kept saying "And another big rock!" "Look Daddy! Another big rock!" It was pretty cute. He was very impressed with the whole thing.

I had my heart in my throat pretty much the whole time we were at the rim though. The fences they have are not sufficient in any way. Scared the crap out of me. Besides being so short they are more of a tripping hazard than protection they also have large Connor sized holes under them where rock has worn away since the fence was installed. So I had more than one brain attack where I watched my child falling down a cliff. It's like when you're watching a movie and it changes into some horrible scene and you think "Oh my God! I can't believe that happened!" and then it flashes back to normal and the main character shakes their head and comes back to reality and you realize it was all their imagination. It was like that. I would shake brain back to life and my kids were not tumbling down the rocks, but instead standing there sweetly with gaping mouths and I would take their hands and say "Come on, lets go sit on that bench over there."

Oh and the helicopter tour. How fun was that? It is all Connor has been talking about. He wakes up from every sleep telling me he went on another helicopter ride. And every time we get into the car he asks "Helicopter Grand Canyon?" He tells me all about how we were high over the trees and we wore headphones and listened to music and had a microphone. It was awesome. I think he is going to grow up to be a helicopter pilot.

On the helicopter tour they take you over the forest for about 10 minutes. Just as your brain starts to comprehend that you are flying in a helicopter and your blood pressure begins to return to normal you see the edge of the forest. It gets closer and closer and closer and looks like the end of the earth. All you can see is trees for miles and then nothing. A clean line where life ends. And you are barreling towards it at 100 miles an hour. As you come up on it you draw in all your breath and press yourself into your seat like you are just going to become part of the helicopter. And just when your heart is about to explode the ground falls away and you are hanging unnaturally over the most beautiful scene you've ever laid eyes on.

I've tried to describe the Grand Canyon but really it's indescribable. You will just have to see it for yourself.