Family Vacation 2017 Part 1: Meteor Crater and the Grand Canyon

     This was our first full-blown vacation as a family in two years. It started out an early Friday morning. We left the house at 7:30 in the morning and started driving. Of course there was the obligatory stop at McDonalds, but this day was all business - driving business. So with a serious mission to make some miles we set out on the road. For supper that night we ate at a Denny's and stayed in a hotel just outside Arizona.

     Saturday morning we crossed the border into Arizona and made a point to stop and see Meteor Crater. Long before human record a meteor from outer space crashed into what is now the state of Arizona. The meteor mostly disintegrated upon impact, but it left a giant crater a mile wide that is boasted as the best preserved meteor crater on earth today.

     After being tourists for a while we ate lunch and headed on to the Grand Canyon. And boy was it grand! Before this trip I don't think I fully understood the true scale of its size! The air was very clear and the views were spectacular.

     For supper that night we ate at the Bright Angel Lodge. Early the next morning we hit the trial - the hiking trail! We made it to Cedar Ridge on the South Kaibab trail before heading back up. The going up the trail was more difficult than when we were going down. It was also more crowded. Once we cleared the rim we had lunch and then rested in our room for an hour before venturing out on the shuttle bus system to see more of the rim. Mom especially enjoyed the view from Pima Point.