Grand Canyon - North Rim

Finally!! The ride I had been waiting for forever. Our first National Park and what I had been looking forward to the most was the Grand Canyon. Everyone was buzzing with excitement getting ready that morning. We also had been allowed to sleep in a little more than usual because we only had about 40 miles that day and when we camp, it’s hard to get ready in the morning when the sun isn’t up yet. I rode with Greg and Colleen into the Canyon. The whole beginning of the ride was through a forest that looked like there was a recent forest fire because all of the trees were singed and looked like a bunch of poles standing out of the ground, rather than trees with branches and leaves. After that part, we went through an area that looked like we were biking through a golf course. It was flat and so incredibly green and plush! There were huge trees and almost no cars. When we got to the outside of the park, we were trying to get a deal where we wouldn’t have to pay the full $12 to get into the park so they let us shuttle 15 people in and the rest of us paid the entrance fee. The people in the van were nice enough to pay us back and split the cost evenly. The ride into the canyon wasn’t what I was expecting. I thought that we would be riding next to the canyon the whole way but it was actually like we were just riding through a huge forest. It was clear that we were climbing up to the Colorado Plateau but it was just surprising because I thought the Grand Canyon would be a gradual experience but instead, it was like all of a sudden, there it was! We got all the way to the camp ground without seeing it but once we were there, if I walked 200 feet in a certain direction and through the trees, it was right there! Greg, Colleen and I biked down to the lodge where there was a much larger angle to see the canyon at and took some pictures. We got back to the camp, set some stuff up and then went to the little convenience store to get ice cream and some food! We didn’t really plan on hiking that day so we went out to the edge of the canyon and just hung out. I was freaking out because Greg, Colleen and Micah were all climbing all over the place, making me freak out that they were going to fall.. it made me very mad at them! That night, we all hung out at the canyon, watching the sunset over the rocks and relaxing with all our friends. It was such a great way to end the day.