Grand Canyon Family Trip, Part Three in Travels with ConnieK

I’m glad you are all enjoying the pictures. We visited during monsoon season. The brochures don’t tell you that. Overall, we didn’t experience A LOT of rain, but the skies were overcast, so the colors you are seeing are muted. I kept staring out over this vast and rugged landscape, further than the mind can imagine and deeper than the eye can accept and your eyes and your brain war against each other as each tries to decipher the surreal scene before you.

And when I say “rugged”, I do mean rugged! The ground is rock. What little soil there is, I am convinced, nothing more than the dust of ground up rock. Somehow, hardy species work their roots into the rocks that are forever cracking apart, ever so slowly. As unforgiving as the canyon is, the seemingly imposing rock is continually and quickly eroding into great landslides. Interesting tidbits I learned: the Colorado has never been wider or deeper than the ribbon it is. The ground is easily eroding. Scientists say most of the recent layer has blown away, taking most dinosaur evidence with it. The rock, like the mountain tops, is sharp and pointed, but it breaks off in shards.

The next day of our family vacation was a busy one. I don’t know how we packed so much into one day. First, we drove through Bearizona in Williams ($20 per person) and saw bears (duh), wolves, buffalo, otters, etc. Visitors are allowed to drive through as often as they care to, but stopping in certain areas is not allowed. Motorcyclists and bicyclists are provided free cars for the drive through part. There is a walking area, as well, and a raptor show. Animal activity peaks in the early morning and late afternoon hours.

That’s it for today. I wrote four magazine articles this holiday weekend, two on my charity (speaking of, I still need to make a donation to WS), one about the Tin Can Tourists in FL during the 20s & 30s, and the last one I will post here in a few days, because it was about one leg of our trip. My brain is fried, my eyes are strained and yet I always feel so alive after a good writing stretch. I suppose it’s as good a definition as any when it comes to the word “passion”.

I leave you with a video of the cubs wrestling. You’ll hear my sarcastic eldest in the beginning imitating my admonitions of their youth, “All right, knock it off before someone gets hurt.” That’s me shooshing him. :) The end of the video is the cutest part when the cubs face the camera and start tussling with each other:

Bearizona Cubs