Day 5- Petrified Forest and Painted Desert

Day 5: Petrified Forest and Painted Desert

IT’S A GREAT DAY TO BE ALIVE BECAUSE THE DOPEYS ARE BACK AT IT AGAIN WITH THE WHITE LAPTOP!!

We woke up bright and early to an enthusiastic “Wakey Wakey” from Katie and Dallas. We rushed to take down our enos and pack up our sleeping bags to load the bus to catch more ZZZZZZZs. Most of us slept until the first stop where we gassed up and some of us did yoga while we waited for the bus. We were extra excited this morning because we got muffins and Gogurts for breakfast, one of the best ones yet! Back on the bus, we played Never Have I Ever, swapped stories, and even picked up a hitchhiker! We were freaked out at the thought of picking up a stranger, but we realized it was our old friend, Grant Deaton!

Later, the vans pulled off to use the bathroom where Hana Blair had a scare of almost peeing her pants while she sprinted with Sarah Tolbert to the bathrooms! We snapped a pic with the “Welcome to Arizona” sign and we felt like kids on a trip across America with our two picture-taking dads, Daniel and John! Right before we reached the Painted Desert, Carolina Girl blew a tire… but don’t worry! Daniel, John, and Gberry (Grant Berry) came to the rescue! Once we made it to the Painted Desert, we took in the expansive views of colorful rock formations. The rocks were almost as patriotic as we are with their red, white, and blue stripes! We ate lunch along a scenic route enjoying turkey and cheese wraps and apples. Caroline Harris and Claire Irving told us everything we needed to know about today’s destinations during their research presentations. We quickly arrived at our second stop of the day, the Petrified Forest where we took group pictures on top of a petrified log- Dopey’s picture obviously being the cutest. We loaded up on cute stickers in the gift shop and discovered canned water exists (DejaBlue)! The reviews are in: it’s great! We were tempted to call you by a payphone in front of the gift shop and tell you how much fun we’re having, but we resisted the urge because we’ll call ya tomorrow! We left the Petrified Forest to head towards our destination for the night… the GRAND CANYON! We stopped at a shopping center to complete some of our daily jobs including cleaning the bus and vans, shopping for meals, and writing to you guys!!

On the way to the Grand Canyon we kept ourselves entertained with a sing-a-long between the right and left sides of the bus. The right was victorious with their rendition of “God Bless the USA” and the left side followed closely with “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.” This ride was definitely our favorite yet because we spotted elk on the way in and continued to sing our favorite TWB songs. We can’t forget that Joseph taught the bus Sound Off for the Marine too!

The counselors raced us off the bus and vans because they were also so excited to see the sunset in the Grand Canyon. We took so many pictures, but none of them do this miraculous place justice. Through his tears, Wilson Moore summed it up best: “That’s not bad for a hole in the ground.” As we set up camp for the night, visions of the Canyon will dance in our heads. We’ll see you bright and early at 4:00 AM!!!! Sweet dreams!!

We saw an amazing sunrise while the bus jammed to "The Circle of Life."

Our rest area had two bathroom stalls

Joseph received a little chiropractic work at the rest area


Story time with Daniel!


Of course we had to include our favorite slump-cam photos



The whole bus was snoring after lunch

Co-pilot Avery kept Joseph awake by continuously making him laugh 

Leaving New Mexico

HELLO ARIZONA!!


Our speedy pit crew









Caroline Harris presented her research on the Painted Dessert as we starred in awe of the vast ray of colors

Claire Irving told us about the Petrified Forest that we would soon see





Strolling trough the Petrified Forest



HAPPYS standing on petrified wood!!

BASHFULS!

SLEEPYS!

SNEEZYS!

Yours truly (DOPEYS)!!


GRUMPY!!

Our talented directors


We made it to the GRAND CANYON! Here is some of our first reactions seeing the breath-taking view









P.S.  -  Thank you for waiting patiently for the blog. The service is a little spotty here in the canyon. Dopeys singing off for today!