Day 11

Day 11

Dan here…

Kari and I woke up this morning in Flagstaff, AZ. We had a full day planned with only half of it including site seeing. The other half was going to be spent with Gayle and Frank, who are friends of Kari’s family and live in Surprise, AZ. They were driving up to Flagstaff to meet Kari and I for the second half of the day. I had never met them and was really excited to get to spend some time with them.

First, Kari and I headed off to the Grand Canyon. The drive north to the canyon took us about an hour and a half. The coolest part about driving to the Grand Canyon is that, unlike most other places you visit, you don’t see it coming. It was unlike all of the other things we saw on the trip. As you drive into the Grand Canyon National Park, there are trees everywhere and you can’t see anything around you. The ground looks flat. We pulled into the parking lot near the visitor’s center, and still nothing. I had been to the Grand Canyon back in 1998, but Kari had never seen it. We walked past the visitor’s center to one of the main lookout points. As we approached it, you still couldn’t see anything. Then you come through the brush and the bottom drops out. It is breathtaking every time you see it. It’s always a rush to walk to the edge of it. You look straight ahead and there is nothing above your eye line. But if you look down, there is a whole in the world. All depth perception is out the door. You can’t even grasp how far down or how far away the canyons are. Hiking trails look like incredibly thin lines on the cliffs below. You can’t make out hikers without a zoom lense. Just when you think you found the bottom, you’ll see a trail leading up to an edge of a canyon and it just keeps going down. It’s a bit surreal, the first time you see the Grand Canyon. It’s bigger than you think it will be.

We spent hours walking along the southern rim. We drove part of the way, but would often get out and walk around to see the different lookout points. It was spectacular. You will be looking at a tower that looks like it is a mile away, when it is actually, 15 miles away. It’s impossible to describe the Grand Canyon… and no picture will every do it justice. It’s one of those things that you just have to see with your own eyes and stand in awe of to really appreciate it. We spent as much time as we could at the park, but it was time to leave. We can’t wait to visit again, and plan on hiking for days into the depths of the canyon when we return.

After a speedy ride back to Flagstaff, AZ, Kari and I got cleaned up just in time for Gayle and Frank to arrive at the hotel to meet us. We hung out and talked for about a half hour in the hotel and I knew immediately, that I was going to get along with them beautifully. We shared a lot of interest in golf, tennis, hiking, and just site seeing in general. They were lovely people. We left it up to them to take us out in Flagstaff to show us the town. They are very fond of the city and have spent quite a bit of time there. We headed downtown, parked and then looked for a place to sit and have a drink and chat. We found a table in an alley with a small stage set up with a live band. We got drinks and kicked back in the sun for a few hours. It was a great time. We shared stories and I got to know them even better. I am envious of them in many ways. They seem to really be enjoying life in Arizona and have a very outgoing and young lifestyle to be retired. We headed to a restaurant that they recommended and grabbed dinner. It was a nice place and we kicked back for another hour and a half or so. After dinner, they needed to begin the trip back down to Surprise before it got too late. They dropped Kari and I off at the hotel, and we said our goodbyes. I am really glad I finally got to meet them. Thanks Gayle and Frank for a lovely evening. Kari and I look forward to having another with you two soon.

Kari and I got back to the hotel and decided to head to bed at a decent time since we were getting up early the next day for our last consecutive day of traveling, before taking it easy in Las Vegas for a few days. After a few loads of laundry, we crashed for the evening.