I had no idea what to expect when we pulled up to the Grand Canyon. I knew my grandmother had visited many times, and LOVED the Grand Canyon, going back many times over the years. I knew that it was supposed to be a phenomenal view. But no picture, no video, no story can prepare you for the sight you actually see.

It. Is. Breathtaking.

We didn’t actually pull into our campground until well into the night, so we had no idea what we were waking up to. Turned out that our camping spot was literally just a concrete extension of the road right in front of the bathrooms. Gross, but convenient.

We all put on way too serious hiking outfits for the concrete trails we would be walking. But hey, we were ready for anything.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basically, we just stopped and stared a lot. There was a ledge that peeked out over the edge, and made for some great photo ops. Here’s Danny, snapping some shots of the Jobes. I HAVE NO IDEA WHY WE WERE OKAY WITH THIS.

But we all lived to tell the tale. And of course, the only person to be busted by the ranger, was Andy Jobe. 🙂

After sight-seeing around the South Rim, we took our rickety RV over to the North Rim and up some very rugged not-made-for-an-RV-roads. It was deafening and terrifying and awesome. I’m not sure if we were frightened or entertained or some strange concoction of both, but if you would have told us that wouldn’t be the roughest trail of our trip, I don’t think we would have believed you.

When we finally found a site, it was SO TOTALLY WORTH IT. We happened upon this clearing, surrounded by a half-circle of tall Ponderosa Pines and a smattering of other trees and plants. We were so far out, the stars were incredible. I mean, I have NEVER seen stars like that before. If it wasn’t 25 degrees out, I could have stayed out there all night. And I saw my first shooting star! It was a dream.

 

 

We woke up before dawn so we could catch the sunrise over the North Rim. We almost missed it, we couldn’t find our way out of the woods to get to an edge. Eventually, as the sun started to peek, we just pulled over and walked to the nearest overhang.

As the sun rose, more and more of the Grand Canyon became visible. It was like every minute that passed presented a new sight to see. I felt so in awe of the creation that was before me.

Can I just build a cabin and stay here?