Have you been to the Grand Canyon? We live in Arizona only about 3 to 4 hours away, but this was the first time for us to take our kids to see it. Seriously – who doesn’t make time to go see one of the seven natural wonders of the world when you live this close? We had such a good time.
We did a little research before we went and decided to stay at Mather Campground that was right inside the park. It was so convenient and the camp site was nicely kept, had a fire pit and a table and bathrooms not far away. We arrived in the early afternoon, set up camp and then walked over to the shuttle bus to get us to the South Rim. We didn’t plan to hike because our kids are so young, but we did take a good walk around the South Rim and saw some beautiful sights. Even our 7 year old down to our 18 month old were impressed. It was amazing how majestic it was! There are several viewpoints along the South Rim and we had a great time getting to each of them, taking pictures and looking out at the beautiful Grand Canyon.
When our children got tired, we walked back to the shuttle bus (which was a quite a long walk after roaming all around the rim) for a short ride back to the campground. We prepared dinner and had a great time around the fire. Although we could see a few other tents and people nearby the campground was quiet and beautiful. Finally our kids fell asleep and we dozed off too. Our 18 month old hadn’t had a nap so I was fully expecting to have a full night’s sleep. She woke up just a few short hours later. I rocked and consoled her for about an hour or so in our tent, but she just couldn’t settle back down. Micah took her to the car so we wouldn’t disturb other campers with her crying and hoped she would go back to sleep if he played a movie for her, but she didn’t. He ended up driving around the park all night. Luckily, there was a full moon that night and he got some cool shots.
Including this long exposure at 4am in the darkness.
And these great photos as the sun came up.
Our restless baby was finally feeling tired and confused in the morning.
Let’s pack this place up and get out of here!!!
