Flagstaff, AZ and the Grand Canyon

Trip Start Oct 23, 2007
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Trip End Ongoing


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Flag of United States  , Arizona,
Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Onward to Flagstaff, AZ!  We drove to Arizona on the same day we visited Canyonlands so one could imagine the drawn out day we had.  Don't get me wrong, it was amazing, just a long day.  The drive to Lauren's Aunt's house was...strange.  That is the only word I can come up with right now.  Beautiful, yes, but when nothing is seen for miles and then all of a sudden there is a four walled dwelling that is obviously being lived in; that is strange.  We drove through the Navajo Reservation and came to the conclusion that the Native Americans in this region are in a very sad state.  That aside, the drive was nice.  I have never before seen such red rocks.  And I mean DARK red. 
Out West, the highways are different.  Everything is so spread out there are not many major interstates in close proximity of each other.  It got to the point were I really loved a four lane road.  It is also different to go 70mph on a two lane road, but don't worry parents, we were never unsafe. 
We arrived at Lynn and Jeff's  (Lauren's Aunt and Uncle) at about 9:00 in the evening, but what I thought was 8:00.  For some reason, Arizona feels like they do not need to recognize day-light savings.  The day we left, the time was changing again (not for Arizona) and we were going into a new time zone.  The two days we spent there was terribly confusing in that regard.  That is enough about the time.  Lynn and Jeff are incredibly kind and have a beautiful house.  It was great to see them and Grandma Karen who happened to be visiting the same time as us.  We went to a great Mexican place to eat and then watched Nate's (Lynn and Jeff's youngest) football game.  The next day, we got up early and went to the Grand Canyon.
The road to get there is a strange one.  It does not seem like you are anywhere close to any sort of canyon whether it be "Grand" or not.  And then...BOOM.  You see past some trees into this wide open space of plateaus, multi-colored rocks, and a blue sky that contrasted perfectly with it.  Naturally, it was crowded and we had some trouble finding a parking spot.  While driving around, I kept wanted Lauren to stop so I could get out and look.  It is awesome.  I have never seen one thing in my life as big as the Grand Canyon.  We found a spot and hiked along the edge of the canyon to the Kaibob trail head and began our descent.  We hiked for about a mile and a half to a peninsula with a fantastic view east and west down the canyon.  I am sure we could have spent all day hiking down, but we had to get back. 
It was a great trip and we are glad we got to see Lynn, Jeff, Nate, and Grandma.  Our next stop was Las Angeles to see my buddy Dave and Eric.  That is our last stop before we get to the Bay Area entries.. Another View
Another View
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