Grand Canyon 2012

We're Addicted to the Grand canyon! This year we decided to skip the most difficult trail and try out Bright Angel Trail. Ha!! 9 miles and 11 hours later we completed this so called "easy" trail. It was worth every minute of it and the kids enjoyed it. Yep, we didn't scare them off after the last trip. I highly recommend you refrain from hiking any of these trails during the summer months. When we reached the bottom, the canyon temp was 100 degrees. We cooled off in the natural pools at Indian Gardens, had lunch and played with dragon flies.

My Brother-in-law Michael flew in from Hawaii to join us on our hike. His First time hiking the Grand Canyon!

Little did Emily know that on our way back up, she would be feeling this way. It was a little warmer than we anticipated, however we made sure to bring plenty of water and refilled our packs at every rest house

The views always amaze me!

The hike back up, a bit tired but ready to do it!

We stayed at Mather Campground again. We didn't see as much wildlife as we did last time, but we still had a lot of fun. Our In-laws and nieces joined us. My Sis and Brother in-law joined us from Hawaii too. We took advantage of the beautiful weather, early morning bike rides, evening walks and nature talks. One night the park offered a program called "night out with the stars". The kids learned about constellations and planets. Bright Angel lodge has some of the best shops and we even got ice cream one day while looking at the condors who made a nest in the area. We explored the museums and art centers and used the shuttles to go here and there. We have decided that we are going to do the river rafting tour in 2014.. I hear it's a 2 year waiting list for the 7 day trip. I think we can do a few more small trips while we wait....