After a much needed night's rest, Jason and I awoke hungry and sore. After readying for the day and checking out of our hotel, we drove back to Grand Canyon park. Today would be our last day at the Canyon before spending the rest of our trip in Phoenix, AZ. We parked our car and hopped on a bus to find food. We had slept through breakfast and were about to reach lunchtime. While sitting in the back of the bus, a group of late 30/early 40 year olds sat next to us. They were bikers from Colorado, and for some reason they took a shine to us. They commented on Jason's Star Wars shirt and immediately the nerd in these bikers emerged. They were funny, very talkative, and loved to harass each other. They, too, were hungry and trying to figure out what stop to get off at. At one point, all of us got off, thinking there was food at this particular spot. Once outside the bus, all of us realized there was only a pizza place. We got back in and took our seats once more. While we waited for the bus to take off, one of them said Pizza actually sounded good. Just a moment later and they were off the bus again. We chuckled to ourselves as we watched them randomly decide what to do. Only a few more stops later and Jason and I discovered where all the food was. We settled on eating at the cafe where we ordered hamburgers and fries. We also got some Gatorade in order to prevent heat exhaustion again.
We ate at the back of the cafe where we could easily people watch. The food was pretty good, although rather expensive. After eating, we made our way to the bus stop once more. We had just missed the bus. As we sat, we began hearing a weird noise coming from the tree. We both looked up trying to figure out what kind of creature it was. A woman who was also waiting for the bus, noticed we were curious about the noise and told us it was a certain kind of beetle. She laughed and said she and her husband were having the exact same reaction we did, so they looked it up. It was a small, insignificant moment but it was kinda funny to meet two people just as curious about a small creature as we were. Shortly after meeting them, the bus arrived. We got off a few stops later when we heard about a cemetery site for early settlers of the west (and by "settlers," I mean the white people who killed the natives and claimed the west for their own). Below are pictures:
The cemetery was overrun with children on a field trip, so we decided not to stay too long in this area. We quickly ran to catch the next bus and decided to make our way to the top of the canyon again. We went to the tourist spots where people take pictures and, well, took pictures:
While taking the picture seen above, I realized there were people out on that ledge eating together. I looked at Jason and asked if we could go out there, too. Technically you aren't supposed to go out that far, but they were there and they seemed fine. We decided to head that way. It was beautiful and gave us a much better view. We then decided to get pictures of us on the ledge from where we were originally. Below is a picture of Jason. That small speck of a person wearing a black shirt is him.
Then Jason went and got a picture of me on the ledge. That small speck of a person wearing a blue shirt is me:
Another one of me:
The view from the ledge:
Then, Jason and I got a little riskier with our exploring. Jason offered to go first:
Then, Jason went even farther out! This time I did not join him... I just admired his courage and took pictures:
This is where Jason started:
This is where he ended up:
Another picture farther away:
Below are videos of our experience:
We had the best time exploring the top of the Canyon and breaking limits. The weather was beautiful (although slightly hotter than the day before), the scenery lovely, and everyone around us was happy and laughing. At one point, we saw a small child crying as she thought her dad was about to fall into the canyon. He was taking a joke picture but she thought it was real. It was sad, funny, and really sweet all at the same time.
Going to the Grand Canyon was one of the most exhilarating moments of my life. It's endless. No matter how far out into the distance you look, there's no telling where it leads. It almost feels as though you are standing in front of the largest picture you've ever seen, as though it can't possibly be real. Nothing quite makes you feel so small and insignificant like the Grand Canyon.
After exploring, we decided it was time to leave and drive back to Phoenix. We passed some elk on the way out of the park again:
Before making our way back, we pulled over at a souvenir shop to buy road snacks. The shop was right next to the hotel we stayed at for our first night here. We got trail mix, drinks, and I bought a t-shirt. Jason looked up directions while I drove us back to Phoenix. The scenery was lovely the whole way back. The last time we made the trip, it was completely dark. This time, the sun was shining and every cactus and mountain was visible. Below are two pictures of our trip back:
After a few hours of driving, we stopped at a little town that had tons of shopping centers. We went into a TJMaxx and were able to get some more clothes for Jason. Then we headed back out on the road. Soon we arrived in Tempe, AZ. We weren't actually staying right in Phoenix. A friend suggested staying in Tempe because it was a cute, inexpensive college town. The moment we arrived, we realized we made the right decision. Jason and I parked the car in the hotel parking lot and made our way inside. We met a nice man who talked to us for a good 10-15 minutes telling us what we could do and where we could eat in Tempe. He even gave us a map and highlighted his favorite restaurants. He told us about Fuzzy's Taco Shop, which we decided to go to for dinner. We finished checking in and he gave us a few gold tokens to use for the gate. I proceeded to drop a bunch of them on the floor and had trouble picking them up. The guy came from behind the counter and helped us pick up the coins and then told us how to get to our room. We unloaded our luggage and then decided to head out to Fuzzy's. We walked, as it's a cute little area with tons of sidewalks. A ton of college students were there celebrating. We didn't realize it, but we were in Tempe right in time for college graduation. Even with that, the town was still really wonderful--there were just lots of happy people around. Below are pictures of our food:
Once finished eating, we walked back to the hotel. I took a picture of Jason's arm when we got there to show how sunburned he was from being out in the canyon today. The picture doesn't give the redness justice:
While relaxing in our room, we tried to get our muscles to stop hurting. I think the Grand Canyon wins. I'm no match for it and neither are our muscles.
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