Our second day started off with a pretty challenging hike. We started off on the south Kaibab Trail. The trail runs all the way from the rim to the canyon floor, which is 7 miles long and one mile down. We were just hiking the first leg of the trail to "Ooh Ahh Point".
The kids started off happy...then they saw what we were hiking down! The picture above is a view from the top. The hike was 1.2 miles long and down about 750 feet. We, of course, were then going to have to hike the same trail back up! This is considered a moderate trail.
Here is a view looking up at the switchbacks once we made it down them. We were about a third of the way there at this time...and it was still a pretty good decline we were walking.
We stopped often to rest and admire the view.
Once we made it to "Ooh Ahh Point" we had a wonderful view. Here is a panoramic image of what we saw. The image does not do it justice at all. It is true what they say...no number of pictures can really prepare you for the size and beauty of the Grand Canyon.
We did make it back up to the top. The kids did great! We then had some lunch and prepared for our next adventure. We didn't know at the time that the adventure was a monsoon.
It is monsoon season here. We saw it in its glory today as it poured for over an hour. We were first stuck under a bus stop awning for about 20 minutes, then quickly made our way to a visitors center while it let up a bit. The whole time we were stuck there all we could think about was the tent.
When we finally made it back to the campsite our fears became reality. While the top of the tent didn't seem to leak, water did make its way in through the lower vents and I believe through the floor. It could have been worse...our sleeping bags were dry...but anything left on the floor was wet and puddles were everywhere, including under our air mattresses.
Jen spent time soaking up the water with towels as I put up a clothesline and moved some items back into the truck. We had it about as good as we were going to get...then it started raining again.
We surrendered to the weather and drove to the IMAX theater to try to enjoy a movie. We returned to more water in the tent. A trip to the laundromat to dry the towels followed.
We are now hoping it will not rain anymore. We have one day left here...hope it is a dry one!
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