Day 11

We had a quick breakfast, packed some snacks and water,  and hit the road early as we were so excited to see the Grand Canyon.  Our RV site is only about 30 minutes from the entrance and as soon as we arrived, we reconsidered taking a free shuttle vs. driving in due to the traffic!  It was already crowded at 9am!  So, the free shuttle won out.  Thank goodness we did as we really had such an easy time making our way around the South Rim as a result.  We went to all the major overlooks and even hiked down into the canyon for a while.  I realized what I have been experiencing is probably not altitude sickness, but a severe fear of heights!  I was really freaked out when Norm got close to the edge, as he did every chance he could.  Thankfully, the boys have a healthy fear of the edge and stayed behind the rails.  While hiking, they hugged the wall while I panicked with each step!  We had a tasty lunch at Bright Angel Lodge right on the cliffs.  Then we finished the afternoon with a hike along the rim to look for fossils. After sufficient absorption of the breathtaking beauty of the Grand Canyon, we headed back to our site.  So, the boys went to the pool while I did some laundry and was thankful to be back away from dangerous cliffs.  Before calling it a night, the boys hand-picked two grocery bags of lava rock to take back to Asheville "to sell".  They seem to think there is a big market for the stuff in Western North Carolina, so we indulged them.  We have stowed the lava rock underneath the RV for the rest of our journey.  If you are in need of some lava rocks, apparently the price is $1 per rock.  Now that I have to pick one picture for the day, I look them over with some disappointment.....it is not possible to capture the beauty we saw today...whether it be from my inept photo-taking or just the impossibility of capturing it's enormity and breathtaking beauty.  So, this is the one that won out....one taken by someone else..ha!  Tomorrow, we get to see loved ones in California!  We are so excited to see my mom's side of the family, whom all still live in CA where she grew up.  I think we get to see everyone except my cousin, Rachelle, who happens to be in our neck of the woods visiting my parents.  I am also excited about sleeping in a "real house" for one night! Until then.....