The Grand Canyon is a breathtaking place. 227 miles long, 2 billion years old, or so they tell me. It is hard to describe the sense of awe it can inspire. We walked up and down a few trails. We were pretty breathless. Partly because we had done no exercise since playing a little basketball in North Carolina. Mainly because of the altitude. They offer mule rides down a few of the paths near the top. We happened do be down one when a whole group of riders on mules came down the narrow path for a short trip. I got as far over to the side as possible, my back up against the rock.
"You don't have to move away." The tour leader leader called out. Being severely allergic to horses I was fairly certain I did have to move away. I have no idea where the nearest hospital to the Grand Canyon is and had no intention of finding out.
Then we left. Even breathtaking natural wonders get boring after a while. Another Mexican lunch followed by two world cup games, Holland versus someone else, (I think Cameroon) and Japan vs. Denmark. Then we're ready to say goodbye and get a ride to the bus station. Next stop Las Vegas.
The bus is full.
"The next bus leaves at 1.10am". We are told at the bus station. It's the middle of the afternoon. Fine, can we have tickets for that bus then?
"No, it doesn't work like that, you'll have to come try again at midnight."
We go to another house to collect. We meet our hosts family, her daughter, son-in-law and her two grandchildren. The path eventually decided on is that we will fly to San Diego and then drive the rented car to Vegas and back. This creates a new problem, we have to cancel the room at Harrah's Casino Ed had booked for that night. Harrah's are not amenable to refunding any money. Eventually though, we rebook the room for the next Monday and everyone leaves happy. Our plane tickets cost $300 total and we fly the next day from Phoenix airport.
Our hosts two grandchildren are very playful, the youngest boy having a strong interest in tools. It is slightly weird seeing a four year old playing with proper tools, luckily there was nothing sharp and no power tools and he seemed very comfortable and safe with them.
We go back to our hosts house for our actual last night in Arizona and relax then prepare for the next day's trip to California.
