When in Doubt Visit the Canyon

One of my brothers lives in Flagstaff, Arizona. Lucky him, lucky me! I get to visit once in awhile, and I don't leave before I've made my trek to The Grand Canyon, which is about 70 miles away. The kids and I decided a trip out there with my folks was just the ticket for post-deployment doldrums. If you've never been...well...I am sure you have been told before that you simply must go. I have been fortunate to do a fair amount of traveling on this beautiful Earth God made for us. And it is my humble opinion that Grand Canyon is the world's largest cathedral.

It is life changing to see it.
It never gets old, or boring.
There is no "off season" for the beauty there.
All ten of us made the trip up, and four of us hiked about 2 miles down Bright Angel trail, one of the more commonly used trails, with plenty of beautiful views. I have never gone all the way to the bottom, which takes time, and a serious committment to preparation. My brother Ben and I are planning to try for such a trip next year. A special treat this time was getting to observe wild mountain sheep at close range. Four grazed near the trail as we hiked back up. As we watched them, Ben turned back in time to see another vault from the highside of the trail, over the footpath, and down to the slopeside, where his friends were.

Please see the Canyon. You will never regret it.

Leavetaking

I have not posted in awhile, things have been so busy...first the preparations for Bill's deployment, the long goodbye at his unit in Texas. Then the readjustment period we go through trying to become a family of four instead of five. He arrived safely, and is adjusting to his new job as a Civil Engineer manager over numerous projects on the Base. He is enduring sandstorms and heat, while we are in our 7th day of rainy weather. Two extremes, that somehow pattern how our life feels now.