block leave 2012 part three: the grand canyon

things to note:
-this was our last (and longest) stop on our trip.
-this was Rob's first time seeing the Grand Canyon and while my second, it was my first time to the south rim.
-I much prefer the north rim; the south rim is much wider and bigger, but it is not set up for hiking and walking. We thought we'd just park our car at the campsite and walk everywhere, ended up we had to drive everywhere.
-IT WAS SO HOT.
-I shot both film and digital.
-I managed to hand off the camera a few times (including to Nick) so I could get pictures of me with my belly.
-between Yula and I we got stopped a lot so people could make comments or ask questions.
-yes, I slept on the ground at 33 weeks pregnant. It wasn't that bad.
-our campsite was DIRT. We were all filthy within a couple hours of being there.
-Max got sick. And puked a lot.
-Yula tried to find whatever shade she could.
-our favorite place to view the canyon ended up being at the watchtower. We went to it a couple of times.
-We payed the most for gas on the trip in the park.
-Laura was a good sport and got squished between the boys the whole time. And was up close and personal for the puking sessions that went on in the car.
-the pictures of Nick in the tent are some of my favorite I've ever taken.
-Nick runs away everywhere we go, so he was constrained every time we went near the canyon (lest he run over the side). Unfortunately, we couldn't keep him from running away while we were in our campsite so one of us was constantly having to chase him down. Then I discovered if I took off his shoes and put him in his camp chair he would stay put. It was awesome to get a break.
-camping is not so relaxing with small children. I barely sat down the whole time we were there.
-camp food is the yummiest on the planet. (although we were bummed no campfires were allowed, we had to improvise since we had planned for one)
-on our way to the watchtower to see the sunset, Max threw up. We turned around to go back to the campsite but I insisted we stop at the side of the road so we could catch the sunset first. I'm SO glad I did because it was GORGEOUS (hence the 50 million pictures). It was definitely a once in a lifetime thing. (and the kids got to hang out in the car while us adults took turns checking out the rim)
-I got a new wedding band that I don't need to worry about (my original rings are family heirlooms so I don't wear them anymore because I'm paranoid about something happening to them); I LOVE the copper!
-I do not like heights AT ALL so Rob loved freaking me out by getting as close as he could to the edge whenever possible. What he didn't realize is that every time he did it I almost puked. (and yes, he was so kind as to take the picture of his foot almost hanging off of the edge for me)
-we were originally going to go to the Gila Cliff Dwellings after the canyon, but since Max was sick we decided to cut the trip short and go home.
-thankfully we decided to stop by the watchtower again to see the sights one last time; it was beautiful.
-the boys did not want to get their pictures taken (Nick especially).
-Max felt a lot better the day we left so we didn't have anymore puking!
-Aunt Laura was always in demand.
-we took state highways home and didn't regret it one bit.
-we had no idea the canyons continued outside of the park; it was wild to see them off to the side of the highway.
-Rob drove the entire time so I got a lot of knitting done this trip!
-in the middle of nowhere NM we passed through fields of satellite dishes. It reminded me of Contact.
-we were graces with gorgeous skies the whole drive home.
-since we moved to El Paso Rob has wanted to go to Pie Town, named for their pie. Ended up we drove right through it so we stopped for some pie. I'm sorry I didn't get any pictures of our slices before we devoured them.
-there is nothing quite like seeing the lights of Juarez stretching on forever when passing over tansmountain.