The Grand Canyon

I know it's been a while, but we were in the Grand Canyon. And that really deserves a post.

There is just no other way to put it. The Grand Canyon is simply breathtaking. Even after seeing countless pictures, postcards, and videos, there's nothing quite like the feeling you get when standing on the edge of this spectacular precipice.

Ever So Grand

Yishai and I decided to try a moderate hiking trail which we could complete in a few hours, since we started the morning off in Flagstaff (1 1/2 hrs south of the South Rim), and planned on finishing up in Phoenix (about 4 1/2 hrs south of the South Rim).  We chose the Bright Angel Trail, and prudently heeded the warnings posted everywhere in the park to leave twice as much time coming up as going down. Since we only started at about 11:45 AM, we figured we would need to turn around by around 1:30 to reach the rim at around 5. All in all, by the end of the day, Yishai had driven 340 miles- and had completed a challenging 5 hour hike to boot!

Starting the trail

So we set off skipping (and slipping) down the slope. It was really cold (around 40 F) and there were a few inches of ice and snow on the ground the whole way down. On the way down we met many travelers on their way up, leading us to the conclusion that 1) we were the only hikers lazy enough to enter the canyon so late in the day, and 2) we really really should have brought cramp-ons and walking sticks. The incline combined with the icy trail made the descent quite unnerving, but luckily we made it down to the 3 mile rest stop with no incidents. 

Icy trails are nasty

Lunch was water, tuna fish, Chex trail mix and Trader Joe's trail mix. Clearly, I find it hard to resist the idea of trail mix on trails (hey, it's in the name!). Now it was time to turn around, and head back up.

I had scoffed repeatedly at all the large signs posted around the park to allot enough time to climb out of the canyon, not to attempt to climb down and up the trail in one day, and how climbing up would be harder than climbing down. I figured you had to be really dumb not to realize these things, and honestly, the way down hadn't seemed so hard. We made it in pretty good time, and I was barely out of breath. All in all, I was feeling pretty impressed with myself. 

Boy, did that change fast. The way up was like (what I imagine) trying to run a marathon with a small chimp strapped to your chest would feel like. Almost immediately after starting to climb I was out of breath. And I mean immediately. I may have taken 15 steps, but I that's probably a generous estimate. Of course it didn't help that we were 3 miles in, trying to climb back to an altitude of roughly 9,000 feet when I'd been living at sea level in NY for the past year and a half. 

Thinking I'll probably never make it to the top

So tired I can't keep my eyes open

We stopped to rest and take a drink probably every 7 minutes. We did finally reach the top, where we had an extremely disappointing lupper at the Bright Angel Lodge. I had the roasted red pepper soup which was a seriously nasty consistency, and the cheese lasagna tried hard to out-do it. Then it was back into the car, and finally back to the sunny end of Arizona.

After a very, very, very long drive, we made it to Tempe, where we may or may not have gone out with a certain unnamed cousin, and it may or may not have been lots of fun, but nothing can be proven.

The following day (Wednesday) was spent with Aunt Amy and Uncle Jay and the family, with delicious healthy food, a visit to Phoenix's fabulous Musical Instrument Museum, and a viewing of the Motorcycle Diaries. 

Arizona, Here We Come

This is it! Our Great Adventure is finally beginning. All of the various components of the planning process have ended: the large (leaving our jobs, buying tickets, and planning an itinerary), the compact (packing for three months into one backpack), and the unnecessary (dying my hair a very vibrant shade of yellow). After so much time, effort, wine & Netflix (#Aviva's Apartment), it really is hard to believe our trip is  happening at last. I can only describe the feeling as equal parts exhiliration, excitement, incredulity, and terror. We have been dreaming of this for years, saving for a year, planning for months, and running last minute errands for the past few days, including a trip to the Goodwill bins (Tuesday), the aforementioned hair bleaching (Wednesday), and taking my road test (Thursday), all when my last day of work was Monday and Yishai's Tuesday. We still have a short weekend back in NY before we take off for the Southern Hemisphere, but it will be jam packed saying goodbyes, running last minute errands, and stuffing our packs.

As I type, we are on our way to Arizona for a week of visiting family and a brief excursion to the Grand Canyon. Domestic flights in the US these days are a testimony to the crumbling airline industry. It's pretty clear that a group of executives held a long meeting entitled "The Monetization of the Airbus: Commercial Flight Revenue Possibilities", or how to charge passengers for every possible thing. On this flight, we get complimentary drinks, headphones, and seatbelts, but everything else has a price tag: TV ($6), a movie ($8), Pringles ($3). My favorite menu option? From the "Spirits and More" section: Cosmopolitan- A stylish cocktail for the vodka lover, made with 100% natural Funkin Cosmopolitan Mixer. Comes in a metallic pouch.

I know this makes me sound old, but I remember when we used to decry airlines as cheap when they charged a dollar for a headset. Of course, who knows? Maybe ten years from now I'll be waxing nostalgic for the days when using the bathroom on a plane was free of charge. Of course, I have no right to complain given that we snagged these tickets for about half what they usually go for. Plane reinforced by corrugated aluminum? Possibly. Still worth it? Definitely.

So our plans for Arizona are as follows: We arrive in Tucson tonight (Thursday, Feb 2), at around 11 PM, assuming we make our connecting flight in Denver, despite sitting on the runway for nearly an hour. We'll be staying in my grandfather's spare room while we're in Tucson. Tomorrow we will try to scrape together two shabbos meals with the help of the one Kosher butcher in the Tucson area and the camping cookware we brought. My little sister Yael was amazing enough to bake and freeze us challas on Tuesday to bring with us, so worst case scenario we'll have some deli sandwiches, hummus and challah. We spend the weekend in Tucson with the fam, and then head out on Monday morning to the Grand Canyon, which is about a 5-6 hour drive. We'll be camping Monday night at one of the campgrounds about a mile from the South Rim. Tuesday morning we're hoping to hike halfway down and back up the canyon on one of the popular trails, and then drive back in to Phoenix (about 4-5 hours), where we'll be staying until our flight Thursday AM. We have drinks and a brunch planned with my mother's sister Amy and my uncle Jay and cousins Jimmy, Rosie and Ariel (Rosie's husband). I haven't seen anyone in that family in about ten years, so really looking forward to it. We'll let you know more as we do it!

Snowing in Denver