Arches and Canyons

On Sunday we picked up Beth, Nathalie and Anna in Flagstaff and drove up to the Grand Canyon. We set up our camp at the South Rim and enjoyed al fthe breathtaking views. We had a campfire at night and just finished our hamburgers on the grill when a huge thunderstorm came. We dove in the tents.ceibed Nathaiie, Anna and Beth played a late night game of Uno in their tent, but Katie and I went to sleep, and later we got drenched. The other tent held up however The next day we walked along the rim trail, had an elegant lunch at El Tovar Hotel- an historic hotel in the park- and watched an IMAX film on the Grand Canyon. We ended with a campfire meal, and of course- another rain storm! We did get the smores in though, and this time we put a huge tarp over the tent and Katie and I stayed dry. The next morning we went to a Ranger program on the Colorado River (that created the Grand Canyon) and Nathalie and Anna finished their Junior Ranger program. Then we traveled north and east up through the Navajo nation to Arches National Park and Moab. Of course we shopped at the Indian jewelry stands and shops along the way. It seemed as if we were in a National Park the entire day- the beautiful rock formations were breathtaking. We traveled through Arches at sunset and were awed by what we saw. We hiked to the viewpoint for the delicate arch. The sun had set behind the rocks and there was a quiet stillness, with the heat from the rock pathway still radiating. We had dinner at a lively downtown spot at 10 pm and reached our cabins after 11. This morning we will drive up to the Rockies- another day of scenic beauty!