Day 86: The Grand Canyon – Rolling Raccoons

Today’s adventure was just three hours away, but was another place on our want-to-see list: the Grand Canyon. On our way out we saw hot air balloons, our first of the trip.

*4 hot air balloons off in the distance*

*We decided to head back through the town of Sedona on our way out*

When looking at the map, it was only 10 minutes longer to take the scenic route instead of the interstate, so we opted for that. The map showed a short section of hairpin turns, but the signs said 50′ maximum length for trucks, so we figured we could do it. It was no problem. The route was gorgeous and totally worth it!

*You can see 3 of the hairpin switchbacks we just did*

*Learning about the canyon sediment and color*ing

*Driving through here reminded us of the passes to eastern Washington*

We parked at the campground within the Grand Canyon National Park and quickly ate lunch before detaching the car and heading out to explore.

Even though the campsite was just a 1/2 mile from the visitor center, we opted to drive so we could scout out our biking options for the day. We ultimately stuck with our original plan and biked the 10 mile round trip from the Visitor Center to South Kaibab Trailhead. The views were gorgeous along the Rim Trail, and the temperatures were cold.

When we got to the trailhead, the boys were all for hiking down to the bottom (well, not all the way to the bottom). We reminded them that meant they also needed to hike back up and bike back, and they were both still all in.

*Switchbacking our way back up to the top of the Rim*

*Stopped to take in the view one more time on the way back*

After loading the bikes back on the car and getting our hands warmed back up, we opted to drive a little bit further down the rim to catch the sunset. The colors did not disappoint.

We finally headed back to the campsite for some dinner and to hunker down for the night. The low was expected to be in the teens.

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