April 20
We woke up in the RV to 50* weather and quickly turned on the heater for the first time. The kids had ALL of our spare blankets on them to keep them warm. I may have overdone it because they woke up drenched in sweat. I call that a success that they didn’t freeze. Like I did.
For breakfast we watched the snowflakes gently fall outside an empty city. We were up early enough we decided to drive into the park, hoping we’d beat all the late morning tourists.
First stop, the Grand Canyon Visitor Center of course! They have parking specifically for RV’s here and we were the first one’s in. The kids were cracking up trying to catch snow falling on their tongues in the parking lot.
We got to the first overlook and there was NO ONE THERE! Note to travelers. Bad weather days are the best. There was quite a bit of cloud cover obscuring the views. People would walk up and then quickly walk away toward the surrounding buildings. For us and one other couple who waited it out. We got the BEST of views.
Almost all at once the clouds starting to float upwards from inside the canyon towards the sky. All while snow was slowly falling around us in its ever peaceful way. Watching the clouds moving upward gave us a perception point and really helped you feel how TRULY deep this canyon is. The canyon seems impossibly huge. But when you watch a tiny cloud suddenly come up closer to you and see it is larger than your RV? It changes everything.
We followed the Rim Trail west hitting every look out stop along the way. Each stop the clouds got higher and the views became clearer.
We kept walking until we hit the Hopi House and decided to venture in. We quickly realized this is not a browsing store suitable for toddlers. It took all of our attention to keep them from grabbing every priceless looking item from the shelves while onlookers shot their intense glares our way.
(Ok, maybe I just FELT that way. But my “get your kids out of this store” radar was on full alert). Luckily we found a nice little corner of the store that held a large basket of flavored soaps. Kids can’t break these! So there we sat, for a good 20 minutes. Smelling each and every soap and guessing smells. Take that fancy store! We found a loop hole!
I got Fletcher out and we decided to throw rocks for awhile (his favorite activity) while Riley got to explore more pretty things with Dad.
Further down the path we hit Lookout Studio in the Village. The kids loved looking through every single telescope they came across. The crowds were still small and the views continued to get better the further west we went.
There was a lot of construction happening during our visit which caused a few complications. The snow and rain was starting to soak through us and we needed to catch a bus back to where our RV was parked. Seemed like each bus stop we came to was shut down or out of service making for a long journey. When we finally caught one, we had some very happy kids.
We were pretty tired from our early morning activities so we hopped in the Maj and drove back to Tusayan. I found a Groupon so we could watch the IMAX film. With the discount we also got personal mini pizzas and soda. Let’s call that late lunch.
There were maybe 20 people in this GIANT theater that could hold hundreds. We found a good spot up toward the back. This was Fletcher’s very first movie theater experience. He was MESMERIZED. Of course it was a giant IMAX. How do you beat that! The film was a history of the Grand Canyon and had some odd acting. Riley’s take away from the movie came from the first 15 minutes when one tribe of Indian’s pillages another and steals all the women. Then it’s a few aerial views and it ends. Still worth a stop, but nothing SUPER exciting. I think we excepted more of a wildlife and scenery type film. The history was interesting though!
After much discussion we decided to end our stay at the Grand Canyon that night. So we had to get a move on to see all the things on our list. It was fun to drive the Maj through the park. The views from the dinette window made it seem as though we had a 60″ flat screen with a very hi-def video on at all times.
We got to the Grandview Trail about 4 pm and decided to hike down it. As usual, Brian and Riley went bounding down like mountain goats with Fletcher and I trailing slowly behind. This trail is a triple black diamond compared to the South Kaibob Trail. My grip on Fletcher’s hand was unbreakable. I made sure his body was against the cliff face at all times and had to switch hands at each switchback to ensure he was never near the edge of the trail. It felt like we were scaling the outer edge of a skyscraper without anyone’s permission. My heart was pounding furiously!! I never knew I was skittish of heights. Or maybe I’m just skittish of hiking with an unpredictably bouncing 2 year old. ACK!
I was trying to overcome my fears and tell myself I was being ridiculous, but we finally ran into Brian and Riley at the 4th switchback where they had hit their limit of adrenaline walking as well. (Phew! Not just me!). We sat in awe for some time and decided there was a great vantage point from a rock above us. Getting everyone on this rock was the scariest thing I’ve ever done. The picture looks so calm and collected, but in my head, we were all going to tumble to our deaths at any moment! EEEEEK!
The sun was starting to set quickly and we were told the best sunset views were at Desert Tower which is at the furthest end of the park. We raced to get there in time. We arrived at the EXACT same time as a Chinese Bus tour. This was the first large crowd we dealt with during our whole visit.
We got to the tower to find a note stating we had just missed it by 15 minutes! So close. The kids had fun finding tiny doors around the tower and trying guessing who used them.
We made our way past the tower just as the sun was beginning to set.
There was a very deep unsaid reverence in the crowd. It felt like everyone was holding their breath waiting for something spectacular. And you know what happens when things are naturally quiet? My kids start a snowball fight and climb in trees. hahaha! 
We had a nice chat about when it’s important to enjoy and play in nature vs when it’s important to sit and be quiet. Not sure it stuck all the way, but maybe one day it will.
It was one of those magical moments you will never forget. The golden sun. The combined silence of hundreds of people all starring in the same direction. The vast open canyon just steps ahead of us.
Times like this make you feel so small….and so big at the same time. I’m sure a more eloquent writer could describe it MUCH better. But for now, I’ll just remember the sweet golden silence in my heart…. and the kid pulling at my sleeve.
RV Life Crisis 