Grand Canyon Adventure Day 2

It's been awhile since I've blogged because I'm backlogged in blogging! Sorry about that guys! It's been hard to blog on the spot because of the lack of wifi at the places we are at. If you would like to see more updates real-time, you can follow us on Instagram @embracingourlifejourney.

Our second day at the grand canyon started off to a slow start which was totally fine by me. If you can’t tell by now through my blog, I love slow mornings. We decided by the recommendation of our RV neighbor Butch to eat an early lunch at the El Tovar restaurant at the nicest lodge in Grand Canyon. So, we went for an early lunch which was a great tip from Butch because we got seated right away and it was crowded at all! It was a nice break from eating in the trailer or even at just regular restaurants because El Tovar was a pretty fancy restaurant that was decorated like an old lodge. We ordered ourselves some yummy food and then we went on our way to Desert View Watch Tower which was about 30-40minutes drive. 

Desert View Watch Tower is a great stop at the Grand Canyon National Park because it gives you a different perspective of the canyon and you get see how the canyon slowly changes into the desert view, hence the name “Desert View Watch Tower”. We told the girls we were going to see a castle because the watch tower kinda looks like a castle. They loved climbing up the stairs to the very top of the tower which was pretty cool. I really loved the little porthole windows at each level of the tower.

The biggest surprise and find of the day was this verse that was placed against one of the rock walls on one of the outside levels of the watch tower. 

 On the drive back to Trailer Village, of course we run into some Elk just walking down the road! Check out this video! This Elk literally walked right beside our van and then in front of it! Can you tell I’m still jazzed that we saw Elk so close! I’ve literally blogged about 3 times I think.  We ended the day with enjoying our last Grand Canyon sunset. 

Grand Canyon Adventures!

We spent several days in Grand Canyon (on the South Rim) and it was a wonderful experience for us! We got lucky and was able to get an RV campsite at the Trailer Village inside Grand Canyon National Park. Trailer Village was super convenient because there was a shuttle stop right at the entrance of the village and it was close to the huge general store and the Yavapai Lodge which also had a cafeteria and a small restaurant. The best part of staying in Trailer Village was seeing the Elk roam freely around the campground, which I blogged about earlier. Dave got to ride his bike twice in the morning which was life-giving for him and a good exercise as well!

The first day, we spent our entire day on taking the shuttle bus from our campground to Hermit's Rest. The total bus ride takes about 40 minutes but there are 8 stops along the way where you can get off and take pictures and enjoy the scenery. It was a nice way to see the Grand Canyon from a different point of view. Plus, the girls loved riding the shuttle.

 The one thing that really made me nervous was the big openings in the railings at the edges or even no railings. Most definitely I was holding onto the girls' hands super tight till my knuckles turned white! The shuttle would come every 10 minutes so we never had to wait very long for the next shuttle. We even met a young couple who rented bikes and rode the same route, which is also a fun way to see the canyon. 

No railings behind Mae! Eek!

That's as far as Joi could go. Still made me nervous though.

Several places, there were some rocks for the girls to climb that were far enough away from the edge of the canyon and at one stop they found a pile of rocks that they made into a stage and began to sing for everyone to hear. It was a pretty precious moment to see.

We ended up at Hermit's Rest which is the last stop on the shuttle line. It had a cute little gift shop and a little place that had snacks, sandwiches, drinks, and ice cream to buy. So, we bought some ice cream sandwiches to share with the girls as a treat and checked out the gift shop. On our way back to the shuttle, we met a couple who literally live a couple blocks away from us in the same town! How funny that we would meet them in the Grand Canyon at Hermit's Rest! It was fun chatting with them while we rode the shuttle back to our starting point. 

We ended our day, playing outside in our campground, riding our scooter and bikes. But the best part of the end of the day was seeing elk roaming around our campground and watching them with our RV neighbors Butch and Ryan. Plus Pedro spent the afternoon just basking in the sun in his new camp chair. We discovered early on in the trip that he loves sitting by the campfire and just basking in the sun. So, we went to Walmart and bought him his own camp chair that has a pattern of bears on it! We ended our first day taking Pedro to see the sunset at Mather Point, which is one of the scenic points at the canyon. 

Yes, that kid camp chair is Pedro's. ;)

Look at that elk! That was one of group of 5 that was roaming around the campground!

Sunset from Mather Point

Pedro at Mather Point during sunset!

How deep and how wide!

If you haven't ever been to the Grand Canyon in Arizona, it's really breathtaking when you step out onto the cliff and look down. The canyon is so deep and so wide that there's no possible way to see everything from just one point. We spent 4 days at the Grand Canyon and at every different viewpoint, it was always "AMAZING!" (as the girls would say). The colors, the jagged rocks and
edges of the canyon, the depth of the canyon, it's all just so beautiful no matter where you look!

It just amazes me how much beauty there is in nature that literally is all around me. It just reminds me that I don't need to be at a place like the Grand Canyon to appreciate beauty in nature but I just need to slow down, look around, and notice. Yes this sounds simple but life somehow takes me for a spin and I loose my ability to step on the brake to slow down. Right? I know that I'm not the only one who feels this way at times.

One thing that I really enjoyed was the first night at the Grand Canyon, enjoying the sunset. It was the most the beautiful sunset with all the different colors in the vast immense desert sky and how it changed the look of the canyon to this mysterious looking but a different kind of beauty. The beauty of the canyon at that moment reminded me of how deep and how wide the Father's love is for us. To me, God is a mysterious Father whose love for me is something that is big and beautiful. I mean, seriously, with all my faults, sins, weakness, I find it amazing that God still loves me, "has my back", and continues to walk with me through everything and anything in life. Seriously His love is so deep and wide for me, deeper and wider than the Grand Canyon! How crazy and amazing is that?! I said it earlier in my Instagram post but I'll say it again because it's a truth that I need to be reminded of everyday. How great God is and how vast and deep His love is for me, Dave, and the girls. For He is good and He is bigger than all our biggest fears, worries, and struggles. 

New Places, New Faces

One thing that has been really interesting, fun, and out of our comfort zone is meeting new people at each place that we stop at. We have met people from Montreal (Canada), Oregon, Ontario (Canada), Bakersfield, Jacksonville (Florida), and even people who live in Campbell down the street from us! It’s been fun having conversations about where people have traveled or are traveling to and what their lives are like. It’s also been fun sharing a little bit about ourselves as well. It’s definitely been interesting to hear from the older folks and what they share with us, it’s like they’re imparting wisdom to us. It's also fun hearing how seeing our little trailer camper brings them memories of when they started RVing with their own kids back in the days. I do feel like God has been giving us affirmation throughout this trip through the people we have met. One thing that has been consistent that people shared is the sentiment of “cherish this family time with your kids because they grow up fast.” There's so much truth in that because even though out here the days and weeks seem to slow down a bit, the time on our journey coming quickly to an end for now. I love being in new places and meeting new faces. 

Grand Canyon Trailer Village campsite

Elk!!

Let me just tell you that the best thing about camping in Trailer Village inside Grand Canyon National Park is not just easy accessibility to all things located in the park but the ELK! Literally, the Elk walked right into our Trailer Village and just walked amongst all the RVs and ate from the grass and trees. We saw a herd of Elk (at least 5 of them) just roaming the campgrounds eating right next to RVs and cars. It was the coolest thing and everyone was just in awe. We stood for awhile with our RV next door neighbors (Butch and Ryan) looking at the Elks and taking pictures. I mean seriously, look at how close they were to us!

The girls were a little bit hesitant at first when we saw them but after about an hour, they were watching them just walk by and shouting “Look, Elk!” And yes, we ate dinner outside with the Elk close by. Coolest family memory and how grand is that to experience it at the Grand Canyon!