Our dear friend Nate came into town this weekend. Generally we keep the kids involved when visitors arrive, but this time we decided to do an adult trip. I am so glad we did! With the kids being carefully taken care of by David’s family we are now almost through with our 5 hour drive up the canyon.We left Tucson at 6:50 this morning and the drive has been uneventful thus far. The Arizona landscape is stunningly beautiful. We started in the high desert and moved through the low desert of Phoenix through the arid and now we are climbing up in elevation. The horizon is vast and the sky is blue. I look forward to some time of exploring northern Arizona again.
We arrived at the canyon around noon and couldn’t find any visitor parking so we proceeded to our campground, parked the van, grabbed what we needed to hike and took two shuttle buses to get to the South Kaibab Trailhead.
The first look at over the canyon was breathtaking… as it always is.
It’s so grand, so vast, so deep I really find it overwhelming.
We started down the trail and there were lots of people walking… the beginning of the trail switchbacks down and then brings you out into the canyon a bit.
At the first look many people stop and eat and take pictures- I assume that is the end of hiking for many and they trek back up. As we hiked down to the next big overlook where there is a bathroom we said left behind a slew of other hikers and continued down Skeleton Point.
During this leg of the hike we passed very few people… a few came up after a 4 day trek and another group looked like they had hiked to the bottom earlier in the morning and were headed back up. We met a couple groups who were going to the point we were. The view was incredible at Skeleton Point. We saw our first and only look of the rushing Colorado River.
We dreamed of returning back soon so we can have time to make it to the bottom and back. After we took in all the views we could we started our trek back up.
It’s definitely an interesting experiencing to hike down and then hike up. They recommend expecting your hike back to take twice as long as your hike in. Without trouble we were able to hike out. 
It’s definitely an interesting experiencing to hike down and then hike up. They recommend expecting your hike back to take twice as long as your hike in. Without trouble we were able to hike out. 
Once we got to the top we took a bus to Yaki Point to watch the sunset. The sunset was beautiful and then we headed back to the camp to set up the tent, start a fire, and make some dinner. During the night it dropped down to 27 degrees- so cold! 
We woke up at 5:15 AM to drive out to Mather Point to watch the sunrise. It’s beautiful to watch the darkness fade and the bright sun rose from behind the canyon. It slowly illuminated the canyon and brought alive the faded reds and browns into brilliant colors. We took the rim trail to Yavapai Point.
As I reflect on our time at the Grand Canyon a couple things come to mind. First, I feel deep sorrow for what happened to the tribes and people who originally lived here. Sometimes the United States’ attempt at honoring first nation people is offensive at best. The Grand Canyon and the land near it is quite beautiful… so to know that the people who lived here and appreciated it’s beauty are now few and unable to live as they did before makes me sad. I experienced this same emotion as we drove through the United States summer. We started to read I Buried My Heart at Wounded Knee which is a book about the battles and betrayals of the United States government and the first nation people. There is two sides to every story and this book certainly challenges the traditional educational approach to knowing the history of that time period… 1850-1890’s.
In addition to thinking about the history and uses and love of the canyon, I reflected on its overwhelming presence. I struggle to even find the words to describe it’s presence. Even as I ask David and Nate for statistics on how much you can see- or how to describe it- I am reminded that there is a reason that a book or an article or even a photo cannot allow you to fully appreciate- or really even come close- to what it’s like when you get that first look. The height of the rocks, the colors, the shadows, the peaks, the valleys, the changes… it’s all too great. I love to discover and I love to know- and I want to see the world- see all there is… yet the Grand Canyon is a reminder of my ability to see a great many things while realizing the great many things I’ll never see. There are so many mysteries in the natural world- and I while I love knowledge and experiences I also love mysteries. I think there is something sacred about a world in which not everything can be known. It is a reminder of my size- my place- in this world.
After the sunrise we headed back to the campground to pack up our site. We then got in the car and took the 2 hour drive to Sedona. We stopped at Sugarloaf trail and took the quick 2 mile round trip hike to the summit and back.
It was a great way to see the beauty of Sedona on our way back to Tucson. We had lunch at a quaint delicious sandwich shop and we are now headed back to Tucson.
Friendships take time and they take energy. It takes a lot of time to really get to know someone in an intimate way. To know the struggles, the hopes, the passions... that stuff doesn't come out in casual ways. We spent a lot time and energy building friendships in Michigan. It was a time when the kids were young and we had both time and energy to build community and friendships. I am so thankful for those times. The special thing about having visitors this year is that they are a reminder of the love and commitment we had to our friends in Michigan. It was really hard to move away because we truly had started growing roots in our communities. And when you leave a place you never know if your friends will be able to make it out for a visit. Recently Lily told me she was sad listening to a song that reminded her of Detroit. She told me she really missed Detroit. I told her I really miss Detroit too and that I have a divided heart- meaning some of my heart is in Tucson and some of it is in Detroit. She looked at me and said, "Mama, all my heart is in Detroit." Sweet girl. I know moving is really hard, but I also know she's getting settled. Having our friends visit is a reminder to our children that the connections we had will endure. We will take them back to Michigan to be reunited and visitors will continue to come.
I am so thankful for family nearby to help us with the kids so we could get away. Being a parent is exhausting- constantly thinking of others and meeting their desires first. It's as it should be... however, those weekends when you get to drive 5 hours straight- without the questions, the complaints the needs... to look out over a canyon and hike in without worrying about their safety- and to just be an adult... it's a blessing- one I appreciate very much.
So this was a very special, much needed weekend to revive my soul.
We are so thankful for the gift of friendship, the gift of nature, and the gift of life.
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