The Grande Ol' Canyon

Following our visit with the Lewis family in Chino Valley, Arizona, the plan was to do nothing but to try and keep our sanity while driving back home on the intensely boring highway known as Route 40.

FYI, Route 40 is a stretch of desert road that is, by all accounts, totally, mind-numbingly boring. In fact, the level of pure, intense, unadulterated boring that is Route 40 cannot be properly described using existing language.

It drove us a little insane...


On the morning of September 16th as we packed up to head home, we realized that we were only two hours from the Grand Canyon. Sure, it was two hours in the opposite direction, but we’re talking THE Grand Canyon. The GRAND one. We’d be remiss if we didn’t take advantage of the fact that we were so close. So we set off, and soon enough arrived at the gates of the Grand Canyon...

Fun Fact:
It costs $25 smackers to see the Grand Canyon in person.

Jonathan joked, “$25 is pretty steep, but then so’s the Grand Canyon!” No one laughed.

Rumination:
The price to enter the Grand Canyon was raised to $25 in May, 2006. With inflation sure to extend into the future, is it fair to say that there will come a time when it will cost a grand to enter the Grand Canyon?

After the kindly Park Ranger handed over our entrance ticket, Jonathan asked, “Would you like a kiss?” The Ranger looked up abruptly, only to see that Jonathan was holding up a big bag of Hershey’s Kisses. The kindly Park Ranger kindly declined, claiming he was watching his figure.

For some reason, we forgot our camera. How can you go to the Grand Canyon without a camera? It’s probably against the law, so we paid some astronomical price for a disposable camera with 24 exposures. Digital cameras have made us forget how precious (and expensive) a small, finite roll of film can be. So enjoy the following pictures, because they cost like a buck a piece.

In this one, Cassie finds something interesting to point at.


We walked along the South Rim and did our best not to disrupt the “tourists” native to the area. Jaime was exceedingly protective of Cassie and Jillian along the cliffs. She wouldn’t turn her back on them for a second.


Jonathan seemed to get vertigo and was suddenly leery near the edge. This is a guy who once sat on the cliff of Halfdome in Yosemite with his legs hanging over the side. Somehow between then and now, he became a big softie. We’re talking a strawberry parfait kind of softie – one of those girlie parfaits that offer Park Rangers kisses and is suddenly afraid of standing near cliffs.

Fun Fact:
The Grand Canyon is 277 river miles long and an average of 10 miles wide. One of the endangered species is a fish called the Razorback Sucker. Just a thought, but maybe the Razorback Sucker wouldn’t be endangered if it didn’t suck razors.

There’s a Steven Wright joke that goes: “Some people are afraid of heights. Not me, I’m afraid of widths.” The great thing about the Grand Canyon is that it’s both high and wide. It’s a two-for-one.


$25 well spent.







“I’ve never been there before and the Grand Canyon was huge. It was very cool to be in a big place I’ve never been in before. We should’ve brought [our dog] Friday. Me and Mom had the same shirt on.”








“The Grand Canyon was really fun. I got to see lots of mountains and take pictures with a disposable camera. The mountains were green, yellow and red.”