It's called the "Grand" canyon for a reason.......

We left the kids in Vegas with Nan and Grandpa and headed to the Grand Canyon on Saturday. We were able to get reservations at Phantom Ranch on Sunday night. They are really hard to get and we only got one night, but we were still excited to go. We camped at the top of the South Rim on Saturday then started our HIKE down the canyon on Sunday. We hiked down the South Kaibab Trail to Phantom Ranch. The hike is rated strenuous and should take 4-5 hours. We did it in 3 hours and it was pretty hard. One would think that with gravity on your side, the hiking should be easy. At least that is what I was expecting. Not so. My toes hurt so bad from being jammed into the front of my shoes and I had blisters on the bottom of them. Going down about 8 miles was harder than hiking out 12 miles the next day. Don't get me wrong, the climb out hurt, but not as bad. I did end up with some pretty awesome blisters on my heels though. The only shoes I wear in the summer are flip flops and my running shoes, so my poor, neglected hiking shoes decided to teach me a lesson for ignoring them the rest of the year. Please note that the pics at the end of the hike, I am sporting a pretty fake smile. It was a great trip and really challenged me to push myself. Thanks Nanny and Gpa for watching the kids. And thanks babe for taking me on a fun getaway. Carl wants to hike North Rim to South Rim next. I hope he has fun and I sure will miss him while he's gone............

Top of the Kaibab Trail.

Our little lunch friend. Squirrells are actually pretty violent. This one chased another one off.

The Black bridge accross the Colorado River.

This stream is by Phantom Ranch. It was awesome. The temp was 106 in the shade.

We were just sitting in the stream cooling off when she showed up to get a drink. It was pretty awesome.

Carl was just saying how cool it was to be out in nature an experience quiet moments with animals when she decided to squat right in front of us. It was hilarious, not to mention that she was staring us down the entire time.

We stayed in dorms. 10 women I had never met were in my dorm. It was actually pretty cool meeting people from all over. This is my dorm house.

Check your beds for these little guys.

Starting the hike out. I still look pretty happy here. We left camp at 5:30 am to try and beat the heat. but it was already pretty warm.

The sun coming up and hitting the cliffs above.

I decided this is the way down the canyon.

This picture is so you can see the winding trail.

Please note the pained fake smile. I LOVED the trip, but I was pretty happy to get to the car and my beloved flip flops.