Why is it called the Grand Canyon?

The start of three wonderful and cold days at the Grand Canyon.

Our friend, Mr. Starer.  After we checked into our camp site  we thought we would walk to the rim to get our first glimpse of the canyon.  On the way there we ran into this guy, Mr. Starer and a group of his friends.  Since we were unfamiliar with the wildlife in that area we thought we would give them all some space and wait till they moved along. Little did we know that these guys were in no hurry and didn't seem to be the least bit scared of us.  Anyway we sat and watched them till the area was clear.  Any time we saw elk after this Daniel would say, "Look at all the elfs".  

On our way to becoming Junior Rangers.  One of the things we got to do was listen to a ranger talk about winter adaptation in plants and animals.  

Our first glimpse of the grand canyon.  Amazing!

Mule deer

When asked, "Why do you think they call it the Grand Canyon?" The response of course, "Because it is so GRAND".  

Sitting outside and resting at the El Tovar Hotel.

Hopi House

Desert Watchtower 

One last sunset and rim picture.


Coming Up: California and The Happiest Place on Earth

Route 66 and the Petrified Forest

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Sitting outside the old Painted Desert Inn at the Petrified Forest.

Beautiful Painted Desert

Historic Route 66

Is it a Pictograph or Petroglyph? A pictograph is painted on a petroglyph is scratched into the surface. That makes these petroglyphs!

Native American Ruins

Log Falls - You can't see the details of the logs here but up close the inside of the logs look like rocks.  Beautiful!

Hike at Blue Mesa 

Junior Ranger Completion

Meteor Crater, AZ

Located right outside of Winslow Arizona is Meteor Crater.  The crater is more than a mile across and more than 550 feet deep.  While at the crater we were able to walk along the rim, look through telescopes to see into the bottom, learn a little bit more about meteor's and meteorites, and also see the biggest fragment from the meteor that hit this area.  

                                                                      Next Up: The Petrified Forest

The Mile High City.....Denver

We had a great day in the Mile High City visiting some of the sights in the downtown area.  One of the things that we were all looking forward to doing was touring the US Mint.  On our tour we watched them make pennies and the National Park Quarters.  We saw the whole process: the cutting of the penny, stamping, inspecting and then the bagging.  One interesting fact is that the mint actually loses money when producing the penny as it costs a little over $.02 to make and is also in the highest demand.  If you are in the area this is a most do and it's free!

 Right down the street and within walking distance of the Mint is the Colorado State Capitol.  When we first arrived at the capitol we had to find the mile high marker.  One thing we noticed is that there were three different markers.  One on the 13th, 15th and 18th steps.  The first marker was on the 15th step in 1909 and in 1947 they inscribed the words "One Mile Above Sea Level" on the step.  In 1969 some students from Colorado State University resurveyed the steps and determined that the mile high step was actually the 18th step so another marker was installed.  Then in 2003 using modern technology it was determined that the 13th step is actually one mile above sea level.

 Here are some Colorado State Facts:
   *Colorado was admitted to the Union in 1876 giving it the Centennial state as its nickname.
   * Flower - Rocky Mountain Columbine
   * Bird - Lark Bunting
   * Animal - Rocky Mountain Big Horn Sheep
   * Fish - Green Cutthroat Trout

Leave it to Daniel to sit on the cannon and start yelling, "I'll shoot you" as loud as he can.  In the distance you can see City Hall, another beautiful building.  

Home on the range... Wyoming

Welcome to beautiful Wyoming were you can see for miles and miles!  We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with our friends in Colorado and decided to take a quick trip up to Wyoming for the day.  Our first stop was to the Terry Bison Ranch right outside of Cheyenne where we were able to feed camels, buffalo and even a yak.  

 We boarded a train and headed around the park where we first stopped to feed some camels.  The guide gave us some pointers on feeding the camels one being, "If you drop the food on the train floor do not reach down to pick it up, as the camel will stick its head in and try to get it, possibly taking parts of you with it."

 After feeding the camels we headed back toward Colorado on the train and stopped to feed the buffalo. Once the train stopped the buffalo knew exactly what to do, surround the train.  The kids fed bucket after bucket of food till it was gone.

Mr. Yak, who was bossing everyone around.  

Outside of the train.

In front of the Capital in Cheyenne.