Whew! I don't know how to have a relaxing vacation and this certainly wasn't one.
Details of the family + grandparents vacation to the Grand Canyon!
Day 1: Saturday May 15th
We woke up at 0400, drove an hour to the hotel parking lot and took a shuttle to the airport.
We had a two hour delay in Denver getting out to Flagstaff.
My parents flew into Phenix and had to wait three hours in line for the rental car.
Met my parents at the South Rim pictures below:
Then we drove 3.5 hours to a hotel in Kanab and left the kids with my parents.
Day 2: Sunday May 16th
We got about four hours of sleep and had nothing for breakfast but power cookies and made the stupid choice of attempting the rim to rim hike at 0600 when the sun was already up...
When we got to the trail head the parking was so packed that I had to drop my wife off and park the car at the lodge and walk two miles back to the trail head.
We made it all the way to the streams past Cottonwood going to Ribbon Falls when heat exhaustion hit me like a ton of bricks. I had vomiting and diarrhea.
I though I might die on the spot. Wife ran back to Cottonwood to get a ranger and some hikers stopped and give me lots of encouragement. The ranger doused me with freezing water and made me sit in the streams and I shivered for hours. The ranger checked my glucose levels and said it was so low that I shouldn't even be conscience so I ate a bunch of sugar and the ranger checked it again and there was no change... I felt perfectly conscience so we concluded that the test strips were expired and that the reading was bad. The ranger cooked ramen noodles for me but I couldn't eat. I didn't eat anything for the rest of the day. Then the ranger setup a tent for my wife and I at manzanita and thankfully the pains in my abdomen dissipated around 0100.
Day 3: Monday May 16th
The ranger said he would cook us oatmeal if we waited till 0600 but I felt better and didn't want to get caught out in the sun so we started out at 0400 and made it out pretty well by 1030. I was really tired when we got out the North Rim but thankfully a kind soul had mercy on us and gave us a ride back to the car at the lodge.
We ate a huge lunch at Jacob Inn and met my parents there with the kids. After that we went to our house in Kanab and rested.
Day 4: Tuesday May 17th
We went back to Jacob Inn for breakfast and then to the North Rim and took a scenic drive to Point Imerial and Cape Royal, fantastic views and paved trails.
Then we went to the lodge and got to eat lunch looking out the window in the air conditioning. Best view from inside lunch ever!
Then on the way out of the lodge I discovered that they had mule rides available going down the North Rim so I bought two tickets for my mom and wife to go the next day.
Then we took highway 89A back to checkout the Vermilion Cliffs and ate dinner at Lake Powell.
Day 5: Wednesday May 18th
Dad and I drove through Zion and checked out Pipe Springs with the kids while my wife and mom went Mule riding.
Then we went back to the hotel in Kanab and got mom and went to Kanarra Falls.
The falls were amazing! But I was still super beat and had to carry my 3.9 year old through most of it and the amazing part was all at the end.
Day 6: Thursday May 19th
We drove over to the visitor center at Zion and dad and I hopped on the shuttle to go to the Narrows while mom, wife, and kids went shopping. The Narrows was amazing, dad and I managed to hike 3.5 miles in to a ways past the main fork. The main down side was that it was crazy crowded. The shuttle driver told us that they sell 5500 tickets every day and it seemed like there were 5000 people all in the Narrows! The shuttle driver told us that before COVID, they would pack the busses with standing room only and people were happy to do it but now only 19 people per bus. After that, dad and I hiked to the lower Emerald Pools. At that point we were both pretty tired so we called the girls and arranged to be picked up and headed back to the hotel in Kanab.
Day 7: Friday May 20th
Travel day back to Flagstaff.
First stop was lone rock in Lake Powell. We drove out there and I got stupid and got the car stuck in sand! Thankfully dad and I were able to push it out.
Then we went to horseshoe bend and that was one of the top most amazing sights ever!
Then we went back along Highway 64 and pulled off at all the vistas that we missed in the dark on the way to the North Rim the first night. The Watchtower was amazing. Lots of great stuff to see.
Look closely at the Horseshoe Bend picture and you will see a boat and a campsite on the beach!
Day 8: Saturday May 21th
We got to the Flagstaff airport at 0430 and the plane got delayed... Some minor issue that cause it to not be able to take off until 1000, four hours late. This caused us to miss our connection in Denver so the rebook gave us an additional layover of fours hours! We finally got home at 0100 Sunday!! Traveling back with kids about did us in!
