Hello everyone! This is coming from the grandest canyon in the west. Today everyone woke up when the stars were still out at a brisk 4:15 in the morning, we all were so happy to be up this early because it meant that we got to go into the canyon! We were told the night before we would have 15 minutes to get ready so we slept in our hiking clothes to save time in the morning. The night before we also chose what hike we would be partaking in, these hikes consisted of a 6, 3, and 1 mile hike. There were many brave souls this year that decided to take on the 6 mile challenge. As the sun began to rise the group's briskly started to make their way into the canyon, passing by donkey poop and rocks you’d swear were out to get you, they were very slippery if you were't paying attention. The easy part was going down, many of us over estimated the ease of the hike towards the bottom of the hike. Once each group reached their point of no return we took LOTS AND LOTS of pictures! Once we were finished with our photoshoots we headed back up the canyon, which was WAY more difficult than going down. Every step was worth while with the breathtaking views all around us. Today we learned what true teamwork was along with the TWB spirit, it is something we will truly never forget.
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| 6 MILE GROUP |
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| 3 MILE GROUP |
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| 1 MILE GROUP |
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| 6 MILES MADE IT DOWN! |
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| TEAMWORK makes the DREAMWORK |
We finished up and were all out of the canyon by noon and returned to camp for some delicious Deaton stew, some people got apples, fruit loops, barbecue chips, and more in their stew, but it was actually really good, and many of us went for seconds!
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| Are those fruit loops?! |
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| I spy an apple |
After eating, everyone was DYING to call home. Many tears were shed, but everyone was excited to talk about their amazing adventures so far on the trip and the new friends they have made. While homesickness did strike some of us we were able to lean on each other for support. Some even going back to call twice later on which was a nice surprise.
Today was also the first day we were able to do laundry for the first time (this was much needed as some were running out of underwear) this was a big learning curve fore some as they have never done it before. Keeping up with their washing and drying loads were a struggle for some. After the best shower of our life and doing much needed laundry we got to explore and go souvenir shopping of course. Some of us even stumbled across a Starbucks for a sweet treat! Between lunch and dinner if we weren't shopping or getting Starbucks, others were climbing trees, hanging in the hammocks, and taking much needed naps.
Tonight we had the opportunity to eat back of the campsite OR we could go get dinner at one of the local restaurants. Many of us chose to get pizza from a local tavern and even got the counselors a thank you pizza! After dinner we all gathered to walk to see the sunset over the Grand Canyon! Of course more photoshoots occurred and we finished the day with a sing-along (remember quantity is more important than quality). After the sing-along we heard research for the: Grand Canyon (Emma Gray) and the State of Arizona (Norea'). Lastly before getting into our sacks for the night we wished Caroline a Happy belated Birthday! We spent another night under the stars, many in hammocks and others in sleeping bag, it was quite cold, actually colder than many were expecting! As we all drifted off to sleep we were excited for tomorrow’s Vegas trip.
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| GOLDEN HOUR |
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| Emma Gray telling us all about the Canyon! |
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| Norea' educating us on Arizonia |
