Flying Over the Grand Canyon

Sunday,July 8, 2007

We slept on the edge of the Grand Canyon last night in Kaibab National Forest. The light woke us all far too early – 4 a.m. Anna and I began sneezing and tossing and turning until 6 a.m. when we needed to pull ourselves up out of the tent and head to the Grand Canyon airport where a pilot named Jason and a helicopter awaited our arrival.

Jason flew us over the Canyon and the Colorado River which looked like a two-lane highway from our mile-high perch. Jason informed us that we were looking at 120 foot wide river with 25 foot white water caps. We also flew over a 1.7 million years old canyon floor. Anna worried us when she turned white and held her mouth but Jason took particular care to point out the white paper bags with each seat. He asked Anna to use hers since she sat right behind him. She said she would not vomit but she might have a heart attack. We managed to return to earth healthy and whole.

Right now I sit writing in a hotel in Sedona, Arizona, as Anna naps, Joy conducts business on the cell phone now that she has service and Hillary watches a movie. I look out over Castle Rock, red and majestic. Cathedral Rock, fifteen minutes away, awaits our hiking boots if these Florida girls (and one Portland chick) can manage a climb in this high altitude.

Tomorrow the trip changes as Anna and I go to Scottsdale, where we’ll visit with my brother and wife, and Joy and Hillary stay here in Sedona. Anna flies to Portland Tuesday from Phoenix and I hook back up with Joy and Hillary for more Route 66, Las Vegas and then we bring it on home to California by Thursday afternoon. Stay tuned.

I have not had lots of time to write and sometimes the Internet has been sketchy so I apologize if I have not done this trip justice. I find writing about what is happening right in the middle of it difficult. Perhaps I will find some quiet time in Scottsdale.

I can say with certainty that this trip has brought us much laughter and escape from the day to day movements of our regular lives. Having both of our daughters with us has only enhanced the experience and brought us all just a little bit closer.