TWB July 14th 2018 Experience: Day 6- The Grand Canyon

Day 6: The Grand Canyon

HELLO, HELLO, hello … (echo) it’s the Dopey’s coming to you live from the most GRANDEST CANYON!! We woke up dark and early at 4:00 this morning. We scarfed down some bagels as we were taxied down to the trailhead. Once, we arrived we got in a huge stretch circle to limber ourselves for the most anticipated hike of the trip. We decided which distance hike we wanted to do. Dallas and Katie were in charge of the one mile. Kaitlyn and Daniel were the pace setters for the three mile journey. Doctor John was the man trekking the six miles. The six mile group were the first to drop down into the Bright Angel Trail, followed by two 3 mile groups and one 1 mile group. We started in the dark and watched the sun rise as we continued to make our descent into the amazing hole. As the sun cast its rays onto the canyon it looked as if the red clay had caught a fire. It stayed chilly throughout the hike down to our resting point, where we took hundreds of pictures and took in the indescribable beauty. The blog would not be complete without mentioning that Harrison Parrot and Will Bradley took a GRAND POOP!!!

The hike up did not prove itself as easy as the hike down, but continued to prove its beauty as we climbed with burning calves and full bladders (our pee was super clear today). Climbing up, we were rewarded with magnificent views of the rocks being illuminated by the sunlight. We were excited by encounters with elk, mules, rams, sheep, and squirrels!!! Nothing compares to the feeling of conquering the GRAND CANYON!! We took the blue route shuttle back to our campsite and gathered our belongings for showers and laundry. This was an adventure in itself because this was some of our first times doing laundry! We were also impressed by the showers, almost as much as were by the Grand Canyon ;)

The rest of our morning and afternoon had a taste of home from emotional phone calls and CLEAN LAUNDRY. We also enjoyed some free time spent in enos, shopping, singing, napping, and exploring the extensive national park. We were surprised by some visitors on our campsite as several elk walked through! We thought they were coming after Grant Deaton in his eno!!

The elk left Grant alone as he worked hard to prepare a gourmet traditional meal… DEATON STEW!! This secret recipe tasted “surprisingly decent” –Brandon Ruff and “a little minty with a hint of jolly rancher” –Daniel Calhoun. The counselors made a concoction to wash down the Deaton Stew made of powdered lemonade, orangeade, real lemons, and assorted gatorades/powerades that have been left half empty on the bus. We all fended for ourselves for dinner choosing between pizza, sandwiches, salads, French dip, mac n cheese, grilled cheese and more! The General Store had an amazing soft serve ice cream for only $2.50 (swirl was our favorite)!! What a steal! Our free time this afternoon concluded with a sing along featuring our favorite reoccurring songs and some new ones! Before the singing began, we noticed one of our favorite guitarists, John Durkin, was passed out in his eno. Kaitlin tried to wake him up by strumming her guitar near him. He was so startled that he fell out of the eno!! He sprinted to join but made it with only one shoe. RIP to his other Chaco (he eventually found it later). Then we discovered that Wilson Moore was also asleep in his eno. We rushed to him but John Miller and Daniel Calhoun woke him up with musical pots and pans in time to join! Leslie Coffey joined the band as a drummer and she was a hit!! (no pun intended). To continue the pun theme, Kate Williams had a witty research presentation on the Grand Canyon. We finished the night with our favorite song…”Today.”

As we head off to bed, we are anticipating sleeping late tomorrow! (or at least until the sun comes up around 5:45). Next stop: VEGAS! SEE YOU THERE! Dopeys out.