In my last blog, my dad and I had just arrived at the ranch at the bottom of the canyon. After we took our showers, it was a few hours before dinner. We decided to rest a little bit since our bodies were so sore from riding a mule for over five hours. We were so out of it. My dad took this video of me, and I looked and sounded so tired. We fell asleep for a little while, and luckily, we didn’t oversleep our alarm. I started to get up, but as soon as I sat up, I hit my head on the bottom of the top bunk. As I remember, it was very painful, but after everything my body had been through that day, it was not nearly the worst feeling I had felt.
It was finally time to go to dinner. We heard that it was going to family style — kinda like Thanksgiving, but a lot warmer outside. When we got to the dining hall, we saw an enormous amount of food. There were steaks, and I’m not kidding when I say this: they were literally almost two inches thick. They were the most tender and juicy steaks I’ve ever had in my life. There were all sorts of other kinds of food, too. There was a huge salad bowl that contained every type of vegetable you could think of, there was a plate with an abundance of rolls and bread, and there was even a chocolate cake. The pieces were so big! I know this may make some of you cringe, but the icing was my absolute favorite part.
Throughout the whole dinner, we talked to the members of our group that we traveled down with. It was very interesting because there was a mother and daughter that were from California. This lady’s mom had hiked the trail down to the bottom Grand Canyon around five or six times! Apparently, this was her first time doing the mule trip. And guess what? She was in her 80s! It’s crazy that someone that age would still be able to handle these conditions. She was definitely a great person for her daughter to look up to.
After dinner, we took a walk. We took many pictures and saw a lot of birds and other nature. Then, we pretty much went right back to our cabin and crashed. The next morning, we packed up all our things, got everything in order, and then we went right to breakfast, which I believe was at around 6:00 am. We were supposed to leave around 7:30 or 7:45. When we got to breakfast, there was a high stack of pancakes just waiting to be eaten. I had never been so hungry for a breakfast in my whole lifetime. Let me tell you, those pancakes were the best I’d ever tasted. I guess this whole trip I set high standards for food that I’ll probably never be able to beat.
We left to travel on our long journey out of the canyon around 7:45. It was cloudier early that morning than when we rode down here the day before, so it wasn’t as hot when we started out. I remember looking back at the ranch as we were leaving, thinking of all the memories I’d made, all the beautiful things I’d seen, and, of course, all the delightful food I had eaten.
I will never forget that once in a lifetime chance I got to go on that trip, and stay in the bottom of the Grand Canyon. It was some of the most fun I’ve ever had in my life. If there’s a place where you have always wanted to go, and if you have the means for it, don’t hesitate to go there. Because if you don’t, you might regret it for the rest of your life.
Rachel Tupps
❤
Relatable Rach 