The Grandest Place Yet

Today we woke up really, really early. We had a delicious breakfast (omlette bonus!), but everyone looked like a zombie from our early wake up.  It was exciting to officially begin the road trip after a long day of travel yesterday and we had a great bus ride—lots of good music, movies and watching the desert fly by. We counted cacti arms until the very last saguaro halfway to the grand canyon from phoenix.

As we got closer to Grand Canyon National Park, we were waiting for the grand canyon to appear around every curve, for something so big we were surprised we couldn’t see it until we were right in front of it. When we finally did, it was more than we even imagined.

First impressions:

“Fanta-mazing-tastic” –Caroline B.

“Like, amazing”-Maria T.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!”-Sarah P.

“Wow!”-Amalie J.

Then we turned into canyon paparazzi, taking hundreds of pictures, striking poses and holding up the Danish flag. We ate lunch at an international table of 10, and then, we walked.

Downhill was a breeze, we spent most of our time taking pictures and joking around about how everyone said it would be hard. And then we started back…and uphill was actually a LOT harder. Right before we turned around we were asking to go further and are SO glad they told us we should head back. After a lot of breaks and tons of water we made it! And danced around an imaginary Christmas cactus to celebrate (Danish joke!).

It got really windy up at the top and we were worn out, so we relaxed by the fire inside the Bright Angel Lodge, drank hot cocoas, and gave each other massages. Right around 4:30, the clouds parted and the sunset reflected on the canyon and the whole group ran out of the lodge to watch the colors change. For a minute we forgot about the cold and watched the reds turn to yellow on to purple. Then we made a penguin huddle for warmth.

After the hike, we were starving and rolled right over to a delicious buffet.

And tomorrow...LAS VEGAS!!!!

Amalia J, Caroline B, Sarah P, Maria T—Denmark