The Grand Canyon Adventure - part 8

The family decided to watch the sunset at Yakapi Point at the canyon. They had heard a bus driver say that it would be a good spot to see it. So they got their jeans on and grabbed their jackets and headed to the Point.

When they arrived, there was a little commotion. When they got closer, they saw that there was a big horn sheep in the middle of a group of people. It was a small one that did not seem to be bothered by all the people around. People were petting it. We took a few pictures.

Unfortunately, that is not how a wild animal should act. There was a park ranger showed up. He was told that someone was feeding the sheep. That will train the sheep to come to people in the future. Because the sheep is a wild animal, it is not safe for it to be around people, especaially when it gets bigger. So the ranger was trying to make sure that no one fed the animal and that everyone stayed away and stayed safe. They said that if you see an animal, you can get your pictures and then get away. This was information that they would need later in their trip.

While the boys' dad talked to the ranger, the sun was setting over the canyon. The setting sun made the canyon looked beautiful.

After the colorful show of the sunset, the family went to participate in a Moonlight Tour. The moon was full that night and a park ranger was giving a tour around the canyon by moonlight. The moon was so bright that you didn't really need a flashlight once your eyes got used to the dark. The family followed the tour and listened to a few stories about what people believed about the moon and the canyon. For example, the Indians believed that if a woman went down into the canyon, her spirit would stay there, so they never go down into the canyon. After a while, Andy started getting a headache and the rest of the famiy was tired, so they decided to head back to there room and get some sleep.

The next morning, the family slept in. The beds were comfortable and there was a mix up in the reservations, so the family had two rooms and each person had a bed to themselves. It felt good to the boys to sleep!

After a good nights sleep, and breakfast, the family went hiking down into canyon. All over the canyon there are signs saying to be careful if you hike down into the canyon. Going down is much easier that coming back up. I guess there have been ambitious pe people who have tried going all the way to the bottom and back up in one day. The heat and the effort can dehydrate people and that is bad. It can be very bad.

The boys mom and dad wanted to hike down into the canyon, and they had gotten some advice from the ranger about what trail to try. The Bright Trail is a well groomed trail that a lot of people use to go down. So that is where they headed.

It was a good hike and it was a unique view. The magnatude of the canyon is amazing, no matter which way you look at it.

There were some people coming up from having spent the night down in the canyon. At the bottom of Bright Trail there is a campground people can stay at.

After lunch, the family hiked some more. They were getting tired, but wanted to make the most of their time at the Canyon. They were trying to get back to the rim of the canyon and went wrong way. Along the wayk, Joey looked up and saw an elk. He gasped. Then his mom, wondering what he was gasping at looked up and saw the elk. He was eating the leaves off a tree. She gasped. His dad, wondering what they were gasping at said, "WHAT." He looked around and then he the elk. It was big! Because of what they learned from the park ranger, they knew what to do. Their mom took a picture and stayed far away. They continued on our way, letting the elk continue to eat leaves.

They saw another elk along the way, took a picture of him and kept hiking.

The family found their way to the rim. They kept looking at the Canyon. There were a few gift shops along the way and many people. All of them enjoying time at the Canyon.