the wengert family invited preston and i to hike the grand canyon with a group of people from st. johns! i had never been to the grand canyon so of course we took them up on the offer!!! {plus i figured this would be a good time to let the wengert's know just how tough the new addition to the family was}
we got there friday afternoon and decided to take a walk to the canyons edge. as we were making our was down the path there were deer and elk everywhere. and they weren't scared of people... so me, being the genius that i am decided that i would get as close as i could to this elk so i could get a picture. bad idea on my part!
{especially because i know just how dangerous these kinds of animals are, last winter i was attacked by a deer. yup! i'm stupid. thats the best word for what i am...} back to my story; so i take this picture (below, top) and then i take another step forward... and snapped the following picture (below, bottom) before i am attacked by an elk.
so the dang thing chases me for a few steps as i scream at the top of my lungs and run away... where is preston during this whole thing?! he is standing a few yards away, back turning on the phone. didn't even try to save me! RUDE. hahaha
eventually we made it to the edge and preston let me take some pictures!
aren't these just the cutest brothers.
this is nathan being all earthy... he's pretty legit
zack wanted to race preston. naturally my husband kicked his butt.... he still has it ;)
after we watched the sunset the 4 of us made our way back to camp and slept beneath the stars! it was gorgeous. i forget the sky has so many stars up there. the valley doesn't let me see them very often :(
the next morning we woke up around 5:00 in the AM and got all ready to go. and we were at the trail head just before 6:00am.
17 miles around trip. shouldn't be too bad right? right... except for the fact that just before we started the hike zack and i made a bet. he beats me out, i owe him cookies. i beat him out, he owes me $100.
nathan dancing across the colorado river
at the bottom of the canyon. phantom ranch!
the wengert family
{minus a precious few}
on the trip back out of the canyon i wouldn't take more than a few minutes rest, i had to beat zack out. so i would sit for a few minutes and preston would look back down the trail to see how close zack was getting.
we were a few hours into our trip back up the canyon and this is what i see... discouraging much?
i know, i know. this picture is hideous. but i think everyone should see how dreadful i looked towards the end of this hike. the thought going through my head at this moment... "only a couple more hours till i'm out of this big stupid hole in the earth, never again... NEVER AGAIN!!!"
eventually we did make it out of the canyon. preston and i got out around 4. i was the third person from our group to get out, preston was fourth, and little zack was fifth! the only reason i beat preston was because i ran the last few yards... i like winning! and i know i will never get $100, but i don't need the money. i have my pride! thank you very much for letting everyone know how tough i am zack. maybe next year!!!!!
we all made it out alive.
