Grand Canyon NP/Las Vegas...Cali on the horizon

Let me simply open this blog by saying that Arizona needs to get their stuff figured out. If they dont want to participate in daylight savings time then they should let more people know about it. This leads me to an issue that plagued our tent last night. We arrived just outside the Grand Canyon around 9:45pm* and set up camp along side the road. As we prepared to sleep peacefully for once in our newly acquired tent we debated on when we would wake up. The only problem was that our phones and our watches no longer matched. Neither did the timezone for that matter. In the end we decided not to set an alarm but still have no idea what time it really was.

We arose bright and early today at 5:45, or 6:45, that is still to be determined. We quickly packed our things and headed into the national park yet again escaping the entrance fee by arriving before the park opens (2 for 2). Today was quite a day because we were about to attempt quite a feat in a small amount of time. We planned to hike down the canyon to the Colorado river and back up to the rim within the day that we had allotted to the park. It is a 7.8 mile hike one way making the entire trip a little under 16 miles with an elevation difference of around 5,000 feet. Arriving at what turned out to be 7:00 thanks to Arizona's lack of daylight savings time turned out to be a bonus that we hadnt accounted for. The early arrival meant more cool weather and more time to hike.

Not more than 2 minutes into the hike we arrived at a sign that read "Never attempt to hike to the river and back to the rim in one day...may cause serious illness or death." Well, lets just say we either cant read very well or have a few screws loose in the head. I think its a healthy combination of both. The hike down was gorgeous and the sites were absolutely remarkable. It is one thing to hear about the canyon and see postcards but to truly experience it is something entirely different that words cannot describe. The downhill hike didnt hurt the euphoric feeling of hiking the grand canyon either. We arrived at the Colorado River in about 2 hours and 40 minutes. After a 30 minute break or so splashing around in the river and listening to JD talk about alternate routes to the top such as riding crows, talking to squirrels, or hijacking horses we began our way back up the once enjoyable canyon. Turns out that just as we began to hike up the canyon the sun came out and the heat began to pour on us. I'll spare you the details but I'll just say that by the time we had 2 miles left in our hike up our legs were exhausted and our wills were just about broken. Needless to say we did make it to the top and finished the trip in a total time of 6 hours and 30 minutes including a bit of a rest at the bottom. If anyone plans to go to the grand canyon and wants to really enjoy themselves, dont do what we did. While I did have a blast hiking the canyon and thoroughly enjoyed the challenge, it probably would have been more fun had we not made our bodies cry out in pain, our legs give out, and our caloric balance to plummet to a record low. Needless to say though, it was a climb of a lifetime and I wouldnt trade anything for it.

Story of the day: Yes, although the grand canyon was the main event, the best stories come from the simple things in a day. After hounding some lady at the front desk about why Arizona hates on daylight savings time, we requested directions to the nearest shower facility. Yep, you guessed it...not even a shower is free. $2 will get you 8 minutes of shower time at the grand canyon. That's not bad if you ask me. However, we decided it would be much more economical if we could make $2 pay for 3 showers. It took some quick maneuvering but we managed to clock out 3 showers at 2 minutes and 30 seconds a piece and still save the world 30 seconds worth of water.

After our lovely shower time we decided it was only fair that we bend our budget a little bit and treat ourselves to a nice meal at the Bright Angel Lodge (Bright Angel Trail is the hike we did). It was a fantastic dinner which set us up for quite an evening.

After much debate we came to the conclusion that if we are out west we might as well stop in Las Vegas. We spent a solid hour in Vegas driving the strip, admiring the lights, buildings and entertainment, and wondering how much money we could lose before the night was over. As it turns out the number to the last question was zero. We all decided that seeing the city was enough for us and that if Mr. Jim taught us anything throughout our college careers it was to stay away from gambling.

Tomorrow is the big day...we head to LA and step foot in the Pacific Ocean. We will have traveled as far west as we can go in the continental United States and cant wait to set foot in the beautiful state of California. Or so we hear anyway.

Big news!!- We found a Hawaii license plate in Las Vegas bringing our total count to 45 states, 3 Canadian whatchamacalits, a US Government plater, and a European plate.

Quote of the day: “Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever.” - Lance Armstrong

I really enjoy this quote because I believe it to be true. We all struggle at different points in life with tasks, experiences, or even relationships and at times we all want to give up. Giving up is easy. It is a quick fix that society tells us is okay to use if we really dont want to deal with our problems anymore. The truth however is that giving up only deepens the pain and causes us to wish we had pressed on. Dont take the easy path. The true reward is in perseverance. May we continue to press on and never give up.

Brett