Day 9 - 10
Day 9 - The group took a 4 mile roundtrip hike below the North Rim of the Grand Canyon on the North Kaibab Trail.
The trail is shared with hikers and mule/horse trains.
I'm sure the kids will be delighted to tell you all about the Trail Guacamole and Mule Tea.
The climb back up is only 1400 feet which if I'm not mistaken is higher than climbing the Empire State Building. The kids were surprised by how cool the midday temperatures were (49 degrees) at 8,000+ feet. After hot showers and a yummy dinner we warmed ourselves by a campfire and fell into bed.
Day 10 - We took a short drive to visit Zion National Park back in Utah.
We stopped to see Buffalo (cousins of those in the Bronx Zoo) grazing along the side of the road.
We stopped at Checkerboard Mesa and learned how it was formed. The vertical lines were caused by water erosion and the horizontal lines by wind. Over 200 days every year the temperature falls in the Park to below freezing.
We rode the Park Shuttle to the Tower of Sinawava stop and took the Riverwalk. We walked in between the canyon walls following the Virgin River. We saw beautiful hanging gardens watered by dripping water (that fell as rain between 800-4000 years ago which now seeps through the rocks). When we reached the end of the walk where it enters the water it started to rain.
As the rain ended Michael and Chris crossed the stream to see a magical waterfall (which only flows after it rains) on the other side of the river. The rest of the group followed. Lyn stayed back to take pictures and then called to the group on the other side to stay put. They witnessed a flash flood. After a few hours the water receded and the group crossed the river when it was safe in groups of three or four. Wet and muddy minus a swim the kids happily said this was their favorite experience of the trip so far!
The trail is shared with hikers and mule/horse trains.
I'm sure the kids will be delighted to tell you all about the Trail Guacamole and Mule Tea.
The climb back up is only 1400 feet which if I'm not mistaken is higher than climbing the Empire State Building. The kids were surprised by how cool the midday temperatures were (49 degrees) at 8,000+ feet. After hot showers and a yummy dinner we warmed ourselves by a campfire and fell into bed.
Day 10 - We took a short drive to visit Zion National Park back in Utah.
We stopped to see Buffalo (cousins of those in the Bronx Zoo) grazing along the side of the road.
We stopped at Checkerboard Mesa and learned how it was formed. The vertical lines were caused by water erosion and the horizontal lines by wind. Over 200 days every year the temperature falls in the Park to below freezing.
We rode the Park Shuttle to the Tower of Sinawava stop and took the Riverwalk. We walked in between the canyon walls following the Virgin River. We saw beautiful hanging gardens watered by dripping water (that fell as rain between 800-4000 years ago which now seeps through the rocks). When we reached the end of the walk where it enters the water it started to rain.
As the rain ended Michael and Chris crossed the stream to see a magical waterfall (which only flows after it rains) on the other side of the river. The rest of the group followed. Lyn stayed back to take pictures and then called to the group on the other side to stay put. They witnessed a flash flood. After a few hours the water receded and the group crossed the river when it was safe in groups of three or four. Wet and muddy minus a swim the kids happily said this was their favorite experience of the trip so far!
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