Canyon Hopping Day 1: The Grand Canyon

We just got back from a 9-day trip to Utah/Arizona. My family reunion at Aspen Grove started on Wednesday, but I've always wanted to see the cool canyons I've heard so much about. So we left a few days early and spent a day at each.

First we went to the Grand Canyon. It was a good one to start with because as cool as it was, there wasn't a whole lot to do there besides walk along the rim and take pictures. I think we would have been disappointed if this followed, say, Bryce. Plus it was Sunday, so we didn't want to do major hiking and exploring.

I was a tad worried that the kids would get canyon'ed out, but they loved it. And when I told them at the end of the 3rd day that we were all done with canyons, they were sad. I think it helped that they were all completely different from each other, so it didn't get monotonous.

So a crazy thing happened at the Grand Canyon (don't worry, no one fell off the edge). It was a beautiful sunny day, around 75 degrees. Some people we ran into told us it had been snowing and hailing the day before, which was pretty hard to believe. Well just as we were walking back towards the car, the temperature dropped drastically, dark clouds filled the sky, and thunder rumbled through the canyon.

Then while we were in the bathrooms for one last potty break, it started to hail/snow/rain! The thunder was so loud that Brennan screamed and ran back into the bathroom. I don't care how sure-footed those mules are - I would not want to be halfway down the canyon on one when that started.