How Great is our God

On Tuesday, June 21st we went to the Grand Canyon.  I don't know how anybody can look upon such a magnificent view and still deny the existence of God.  And I don’t know how many times I am going to have to say this, but there’s no other way to say it… pictures can’t possibly do it justice.  When we arrived, we took the girls to the first lookout point for them to get their first viewing.  They were amazed, just as Scott and I were the first time we saw it.  After a few snapshots, we boarded one of the shuttles that took us to different overlooks along the edge of the canyon.  They wanted to see the place where Scott almost threw himself into the canyon a few years ago.  If you don’t know that particular “Scott story,” just let me know… I’ll be more than happy to fill you in.  :-)

Ashlee's & Emilee's first view of the Grand Canyon

Such an amazing sight to see

We got to our favorite spot and sat down to relax for a bit.  Well, I don’t know how much relaxing I did with Scott and Ashlee hanging themselves off of the edge!  Emilee and I hung a few feet back from the edge… we are weenies!  After a few minutes though, much to Ashlee’s dismay, I finally had to get her to scoot back from the edge – she was freaking me out!

The view from our favorite spot

Ashlee couldn't wait to dangle herself off the edge just to mess with me!

Emilee wasn't getting anywhere near the edge.

While we were sitting there taking in the view, something moved in my peripheral vision.  Scared me to death, but it was just a squirrel... a very friendly squirrel.  He came right up to us hoping for a scrap of food, which we didn’t give him, and then he sprawled right out on the rock beside us to bask in the sunshine.

Look how he is sprawled out just catching some rays.

He looks like he's praying.

We hopped back on the shuttle to get back to the van for our picnic lunch.  After lunch, we decided to hike down into the canyon a little ways.  We knew from experience that for every 10 minutes you walk down, it takes 20 to 30 minutes to walk back up.  So we didn’t go very far, but it was far enough for me!  On our way down the trail we passed some mules coming back up from the bottom.  Can you imagine riding one of those down those narrow trails into the canyon?  Although they say they've never lost a mule or a rider, my response to that is there's a first time for everything and have you ever heard of Murphy's Law?

Mules on the trail we were heading down

At the top of the trail

 

Stopping to yield to the mules

On our way back up the trail, we stopped off to rest beside a couple of ladies who were also resting.  They overheard me talking and asked where we were from.  I don’t know what gave it away that I was not from the area!  ;-)  When I told them I was from Winston-Salem, they were shocked.  One of them was from High Point, and the other said she was from just outside of Winston.  I asked whereabouts outside of Winston, and she said she was from Advance.  Unbelievable!  We are over halfway across the country and we run into someone who lives five miles away from us.   

View from the trail we were hiking

View of the Colorado River at the bottom of the canyon

After our hike and our little chat with neighbors from home, we got back on the shuttle for the ride back to the visitor’s center.  Of course, we had to stop off at the gift shop first where Scott had an encounter with a block of ice (photo below).

Does he look hot?

Although that’s a “fun” pic, my most “fun” pic of the day also spotlights Scott.  The park was pretty crowded, and some people had to stand between stops.  A family got onto the bus and stood right beside Scott.  When one of the ladies raised her arm to hold onto the rail above Scott’s head, his head shot sideways and he looked back at me and Emilee (he and Ashlee were sitting in front of us).  We realized what he was trying to tell us when I looked up at the lady that was standing above him.  She had on a tank top, and we’re assuming she was foreign because there she stood, arms raised right above Scott’s head, in all her hairy armpit glory.  When I say hairy armpits, I’m talking long enough to braid!  I know Scott’s brother, Chris, is getting a huge kick out of this!  You should have seen it in person.  For those of you who don’t know Scott very well, he has a very weak stomach.  He was gagging, and the girls and I were rolling.  I was laughing so hard, I had tears rolling down my face.  And I just couldn’t resist sneaking a picture.  So, Chris, enjoy the snapshot!

Feel free to click on the pic to zoom in to get a feel for what Scott experienced!