Catching Up...

It's been too many days, but we've been in between trips... unpacking... repacking... catching our breath... heading out again. Since I wrote, we've been to and through the Grand Canyon. What an incredible experience. 22 people on our 30-foot raft... 87 miles down the Colorado River, with some of the most spectacular scenery in the world. Spent two nights on the banks of the river, watching God's handiwork in a starry sky that is not available in any city in America... the Milky Way, flowing broad and clear through a dark Arizona sky... and a rising moon that lit the night almost as if it were day. (And Amy survived both of these nights without a tent!) And the food... well, it was not what John Wesley Powell and his men enjoyed on that first exploration down the river more than 150 years ago. The first night we enjoyed prime rib... the second night we feasted on a brilled halibut that was to die for. Roughing it on the Colorado!

From Phantom Ranch, the National Park Service's signature lodge at the bottom of the mile-deep gorge, we enjoyed a restful afternoon in the Bright Angel Creek and another fabulous meal. After a 5:00 a.m. breakfast, loading-up on eggs and bacon and pancakes (no grits in Arizona!), we hit the trail at 5:30 a.m. determined to make the 9.5-mile trek in time for lunch on the South Rim. We made the first half in record time, but a little queeziness set in for Katie and Sue on the second half, so we backed off our pace (taking Bennett out of the trail-blazing spot helped!) But still came through the tunnel just shy the top of the Bright Angel Trail before 1:00 p.m. And, though the thermometer in the campground registered 131 degrees the afternoon before (OK... so it was only 109 in the shade!), we had a beautiful-weather hike... Indian Gardens (the half-way mark) showed an incredible 81 degrees in the sun (almost brisk for the Canyon!) If you've not been to the Grand Canyon... if you 've not been IN the Grand Canyon (whether a mile or 10), you simply cannot know why it's called "Grand." We're grateful for these days to explore the beauty of this country from the river, and up that Bright Angel fault to the rim.

Amazing.

After reconnecting with our rental van we traveled West to Peach Springs, Arizona, and then down the 8-mile triail, through the Havasupai Canyon, to the "most remote city in the lower 48 states" -- Supai, Arizona. Supai, population 450 (or, 600 if you count the dogs!), is on the Havasupai Indian Reservation, and is one of the most interesting places we've ever seen. The small village is... interesting... the people are... interesting... the scenery, tucked into this canyon (still several miles away from the Colorado River) is... INTERESTING. What incredible views from the Lodge (the only "hotel" in Supai) -- towering red-limestone cliffs that rise hundreds of feet above the floor of the canyon. The hike in was beautiful, after the opening switch-backs, that drop to the canyon floor, the hike is a slow, easy descent into Supai.

We're getting ready to make the 2-mile hike down to Havasu Falls, which has been called one of the most beautiful waterfalls in the country. We'll take a few pictures, and let you know.

And, for the record... between the seven of us, NO lost toe-nails this time! And no need for "Doctor Katie's" toe surgery mid-trip!) Only a few blisters -- what a great trip!

We're planning to take the horses out of the canyon tomorrow morning (in pursuit of our pilgrimage by every means of transportation possible!), and then head for a few days of rest and relaxation in Sedona. We'll be in church at the Cathedral of the Rocks on Sunday, and then will be back in Charlotte on Tuesday.

I'll post more from Sedona, but again... thanks for the time and this opportunity. We wish you could be with us!

r