The Grand Canyon, AZ

Arizona, on the way to the Grand Canyon oh boy!

Looks like we're gonna have to postdate some of these, ever since leaving Florida our road trip has been an incrediblyfastblur... Unfortunately we can't blog fast enough to keep up with ourselves! After leaving Santa Fe we took a scenic drive through Arizona towards the Grand Canyon.  We got there in the early afternoon and got to take in a view before finding a spot to camp for the night.  Kim had been to the Canyon once before as a child but for Curt this would be his first glimpse.  Words and even pictures simply can't describe the vastness and majesty that is the Grand Canyon...

The Grand Canyon is FOR REAL!  Kim checks out the view from Mather's Point.

The feeling that comes over you is like nothing we've ever felt before.  They didn't make it one of the 7 natural wonders of the world for nothing.  It's amazing and you feel SO small!  Our original goal for this visit was to hike down into the Canyon and camp for a night but we didn't realize how cold and hazardous it would be this time of year.  The Weather Channel was calling for a nighttime low of 9˚ with a windchill of -3˚ so our new goal was to bundle up and survive the night at the park campground!  This whole trip we've been trying to avoid winter weather and it seems to have followed us around the country... no matter though, we're from Vermont! (Even though Curt's actually from Connecticut) We had no trouble booking a last minute campground spot right at the park (who's camping in -3˚ weather right?) and as soon as the sun started to sink we bundled up.  By the time the moon came up Curt had on a record setting amount of clothing:

2 pairs of socks

Boxers and long underwear

Sweatpants and jeans

2 t-shirts

A longsleeve t-shirt

A fleece

2 hooded sweatshirts

A winter hat and jacket

Kim was equally bundled and to add a little challenge to our adventure plans were made to catch the sunrise.  After a dinner of salad, homemade ham sandwiches and some whiskey we drifted off to sleep and everything was going smoothly; we were comfortably warm in our sleeping bags, the phone was safely buried deep within layers and layers of clothing and the van didn't reek of gasoline odor... (talk about blatant foreshadowing!)  Trouble struck somewhere in the middle of the night around -3˚ o'clock when Kim awoke to the smell of gasoline.  She awoke Curt (who can sleep through anything apparently) and they got out into the cold, cold night.  Getting out of those sleeping bags was probably the most difficult part of our trip so far let us tell you!  Luckily the phone was still functioning and after some VW forum website searching we concluded that the cold temperature's had cracked a fuel line.  We sniffed around a bit and isolated the problem- a small crack in the line running to the gas tank.  Because we were about full the gas must have expanded and pushed it's way out through the crack.  At this point all we could do was open all the windows and try to go back to bed.  Ugh! Van life at its finest!

This is what cold looks like.

A few freezing hours later and the alarm went off for sunrise.  We got up again (equally difficult) and booked it for the bus station.  Grand Canyon National Park, for those who have never been, is about the size of a small town and is quite spread out, with a free bus system taking you everywhere you need to go.  After checking the bus schedule our plan was to catch the first bus up to the rim for sunrise.  We waited.  And waited... And eventually got so cold and nervous that we decided to hoof it the mile or so up to the Visitors' Center for sunrise.  Of course right as we were approaching our destination the first bus of the day passes us and almost knocked Kim into a ditch!  This was bus debacle #1 (more foreshadowing).  We were still able to make it to the rim with time to spare and were surprised to see quite a few other people already there.  To be fair, about 95% of them were Asian (we admire how hardcore they are and how much they love the National Parks).  With the moon still in the sky and temperatures well below freezing we witnessed the sun rise up over the Canyon walls.

Even amidst all the camera noises and Asian banter this was one of the most holy and magical things we have ever witnessed.  And sure enough, as soon as the sun was up everyone cleared out of there faster than the Colorado River cut through the Canyon walls (hmm.. that's actually not a very good metaphor)  We somehow just barely missed the bus heading back to the campground (bus debacle #2) and sat around waiting as we watched a family of deer casually walk by within 15 ft of us.  That was pretty cool.

At this point the only thing on our minds was a nice hot breakfast and so when we finally caught a bus we hopped off at the Canyon Cafe (which turned out to be closed for the winter season which was still in affect for another 2 DAYS! Ugh!)  We tried to run back onto the bus but again just missed it (bus debacle #3 for the day).  Eventually we did end up catching a bus, taking it to an open restaurant and got the breakfast of a lifetime.  Keep in mind that at this point pretty much anything would be considered the breakfast of a lifetime but it was actually pretty good.  Mmmm... country fried steak and eggs...

Sunrise- check.  Breakfast- check.  The only other thing on our list was to hike down into the Canyon (we had given up on the camping idea due to weather).  We made our way over to the Bright Angel Trail which seemed like it had the best conditions given the season and gave it a shot.

DANGER

We say 'gave it a shot' because we didn't make it very far.  The trail was incredibly steep (people who ride donkeys down there are INSANE!), most of the trail was icy and 75% of the time if you slipped and fell you'd die.  The Grand Canyon is no joke so we turned around and climbed out.  Maybe someday we'll return and hike in and camp but you can bet it won't be in February!  To lift our spirits we decided to carry on to California and get a hotel for the night.  But not after buying Kim's dad an awesome Native American CD (which we obviously had to put on our ipod first).  We also cruised around the rim in our van and saw some more breathtaking views and we even caught the Grand Canyon IMAX movie on the way out of town which was pretty sweet.  All in all an epic adventure, although not exactly what we had expected.  There's more pics of us at the Grand Canyon on Facebook.  Next stop California!