ain't it grand?

Last week, when Jess had a work meeting in Las Vegas,​ we decided we'd really maximize the trip. We've been wanting to hit up the Grand Canyon for forever, and this was the perfect opportunity. We used my mom's house (in St. George) as a hotel (and place to stuff our faces and play) in between, and we just had the best time.

As you can imagine, there are photos. Lots and lots of photos. So let's just start with the first leg of the trip. We left St. George for the Grand Canyon, with the plan to make a stop at Pipe Spring National Monument. 

Pipe Spring served as a water outlet for early pioneers and Native Americans. Additionally, it was the first telegraph stop in Arizona. It was the perfect stop for us, and I loved touring the old fort. I get a kick of out things like this - imagining the way things were. I love the way our progress as a people is preserved in these structures and the things our ancestors used. Just love it. (I'm a geek in so many ways.)

Moustache cup. No lie. 

This here is the lovely telegraph line.
Please note Jess' exceptional bokeh.
And I didn't edit this photo at all!

Then we got on our way. Luckily, both girls were wiped out by this point because holy smokes the drive takes an eternity. You drive through Navajo Reservation land. It's just boring. Sorry. It is. Jess and I were so punchy by the time we rolled in. 

The first stop (we were at the South Rim) takes you to the Desert View Watchtower, a monument of sorts that looks like a castle, which duh, wins. The girls were so excited to scale the castle. 

We were a little more excited about the view:

It's hard to describe the Grand Canyon. It's so grand. It's like you can't really comprehend it's hugeness. My mind just could never really grasp the whole concept of looking across eight miles - eight miles. So incredible. We spent the rest of the day checking out view points and keeping children from the view points (I think I had a few mini heart attacks this trip). Jess wanted to catch the sunset, and it didn't make sense to truck us to the hotel and go back, so the girls and I camped out in the car and watched Planes. (Trust me. Much better than being totally freaked out that Lou might decide today is a good day to fly.) Interestingly enough, this was the only movie we watched the whole trip!

Then we crashed. Next up? Old Pueblo ruins.The archeologist in me (yes there's one in there) went crrrraaaaazy. Stay tuned.

Note: We always have some sort of clothing malfunction on trips. When we went to North Carolina last year, Annabelle managed to UNPACK all of her shirts but two. She wore two shirts the whole time. This trip, I threw in long sleeves and pants, which we haven't worn for a while around here. Come to find out, Lou's grown. Just ignore her too small, awkward outfit on this day...