A Grand Vacation

We’ve been on a little trip. A couple of weeks ago, Ed, the girls and I flew to Las Vegas, rented a car and drove to the Grand Canyon. It was the first time I have been there, and it really is GRAND. My stomach still does flip flops when I think about walking to the edge of the rim and looking down. It was a long, long way down. I was behind a fence, and it was still terrifying. Poor Lily and Emmy had their hands squeezed in a death grip by their father and me every time we were close to the edge. The Grand Canyon is completely and totally drop dead gorgeous. The sight of this immense hole in the ground is just amazing. I took picture after picture of the Canyon, knowing that they would never do it  justice, but I just couldn’t help it. I just kept taking them!

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Lily taking pictures of the canyon that is grand!

Ed and I loved how the Canyon kept changing. The shadows in the morning were so different from the shadows in the evening. Clouds passing overhead made dark spaces and one afternoon a thunderstorm settled into the canyon, scaring Emmy with its thunder and lightning.

storm in canyon
Storm clouds in the the canyon

The plateau at the top of the Grand Canyon was also surprising. Since it is about 7,000 feet above sea level, the temperatures were very pleasant, even in August. We were surrounded by a forest. As you go into the canyon, however, the temperature rises and the desert takes over. We ventured very little below the rim; the hike down is too much for two little girls…and probably too much for Ed and me as well! Maybe in a few years we’ll go a little farther.

Mule deer grazing in the forest at the top of the Grand Canyon
Mule deer grazing in the forest at the top of the Grand Canyon

 

Hiking a short way into the canyon...watch out for mules!
Hiking a short way into the canyon…watch out for mules!

I have so much more to tell you…stay tuned! 🙂

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Driving on and on and on

As JRR Tolkien wrote, the road goes ever on and on. And on, and on, especially when the girls and I took a road trip from our house to Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. There is no four lane highway that goes to Decorah which made for an extremely long drive. That evening, we were going to attend a concert by the Lutheran Summer Music concert band. They were performing a piece that my sister composed, and we could hardly wait to hear it in person!

My sister lives in California, which is even farther away from Illinois. I rarely get to go to one of my sister’s concerts in person. I’ve heard recordings of her concerts, but actually being able to attend a live performance was a chance I couldn’t miss. Ed stayed home to work, but the girls and I piled into the car on a Thursday morning for our long drive.

Ginny driving

We drove through 62 miles of construction on I90 and made it to Madison in time for lunch. We drove through cornfields, passed a row of wind turbines, and went over swollen Midwestern rivers.

turbines

We had good conversation and listened to music. We had fights over blankets and the temperature in the car. We had quiet time and coloring.

bored emmy

We had Pizza Hut for dinner, since it was next to the hotel in a small town and we were hungry. Finally, we were seated in the concert hall, and I fought back the tears as the music washed over me. As my sister stood up and applauded the conductor and concert band, Emmy whispered in my ear, “I have to go to the bathroom.” The band had more music to play, and as we stood in the hallway waiting for the applause to begin again so we could go back into the auditorium, Emmy confessed that she had to go during my sister’s composition. “But I knew it was important to listen, so I waited until it was over!”

Well played, Emmy. Well played.

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