On Sunday we arrived at the Grand Canyon National Park, South Rim, from the Tusayan entrance around 5pm. Arriving in the evening proved to be a wonderful time to explore the Canyon as temperatures cool at night and we were able to experience star gazing like no other.

Pictures and descriptions of the Grand Canyon cannot possibly capture the magnitude of this natural wonder - one of the seven natural wonders of the world .

At the Grand Canyon we took the free, ecological, park bus to tour the different sites. We hiked the rim trail and even had a chance to hike down into the canyon a bit. At sunset we joined people from all over the world as the sun dropped behind the canyon throwing different rays of light and shadow across the canyon walls. One of the rangers explained to us that the magnificence of the sunset at the Grand Canyon is thought to be the way in which the light falls on the eastern canyon walls as the sun is dropping, rather than the usual awe of the western red sky created by a sunset.

The Grand Finale was lying on our backs near the canyon edge, looking up at the stars, and seeing constellations and the Milky Way with phenomenal clarity with our naked eyes. Perhaps the most amazing constellation was the Scorpion which could be seen with absolute clarity and looked enormous in the huge, dark sky of the Canyon. At 8,000 feet above sea level, with no artificial light, one is able to see even the faintest stars which really brings home to the mind and heart the magnitude of the universe .

By the way we stayed at a National Forest Campground named Ten - X only 8 miles from the Canyon Visitor Center, $10 a night, awesome forest and camp sites with lots of room and quiet.
Hard not to feel grateful that our taxes go to support National Forests and make traveling and experiencing mother nature enjoyable and affordable for all of us.

Monday we headed East and stopped at Walnut Canyon, home to ancient cliff dwellings where hundreds of ancient native people lived about 1000 years ago. These indigineous people lived along cliffs and farmed the mesa on top of the cliffs over their homes. Seeing this, convinces one that today's natural building movement is something to pay attention to, as these walls and dwellings are still present 1000 years later - pretty good building life.

After visiting Walnut Canyon we headed East an hour and stopped at the Meteorite Crater . The Meteorite Crater is HUGE! It is 500 feet deep and 1 miles across. Basically, about 50,000 year ago a meteor struck earth at about 70,000 miles an hour and left a huge whole. The boys loved this site. It had everything a boy could love, a wild cosmic story, unparallelled strength and destructive power, and a window into outerspace.

Ian and Jonan were curious that the meteor was made up largely of iron, the same substance found in the center of the earth. It helped them to realize that the far distant universe that they see in the night sky - which feels to many of us so far away and mysterious, is made up of materials we can find right here on earth. This seemed to really catch their attention and spark some curiosity.

Wednesday we ended our Arizona adventure with a trip through the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest National Parks. At the Painted Desert Inn two Navajo women were selling handmade crafts and demonstrating traditional weaving . We learned that the Navajo reservation is the largest in the United States and that the Navajo population is alive and carrying on there. In almost every family there is at least one crafts person still to this day.

Driving through the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest felt a little like visiting another planet. Nowhere on the East Coast can you find rolling hills striped with bright red, blue, and gold. We stopped and walked on trails through the Petrified Forest as well. We were all amazed at the shimmering crystals formed as the ancient trees were preserved under volcanic ash. The Petrified Trees and other fossil remains was another fascination for Ian and Jonan. They were taken by the Petrified Trees.

Last, the Painted Desert is also home to ancient Petroglyphs and some very cool lizards. Glenn and I were blown away by the Petroglyphs. It is humbling to remember the many people who have lived before us - so connected to the earth and living so simply and successfully in community for so many thousands of years. It is very inspiring to see how these ancient people lived so ingeniously and so well. For example, there was one petroglyph among the many that was used to track the shadow of the sun on a large boulder throughout the year in order to know when to plant and harvest food.

We left Arizona tired, inspired, educated, and definitely, at day 32 ready to go home to Vermont. There was more than one moment where our children let us know it was time to go home :)