Grand Canyon

This week we’ve enjoyed the company of our friend Justin Manalli. Justin lived with us for a short time in the summer of 2006.
















On Friday morning we decided to go to the Grand Canyon.















Merris, my sister, was willing to let us borrow her mini van for the trip. We are very grateful to Merris because her mini van is much more comfortable than our Civic.

We arrived in the quaint town of Williams, AZ on Friday night. We checked into an old motel and tried to get some sleep. Underfoot was not too keen on the idea of sleeping on the floor, but that’s what happened. We got up early on Saturday morning, in an effort to beat the crowds and the heat. Underfoot, Justin, and I went to the train depot to investigate the possibility of taking a train to the park instead of driving. We opted to drive when we found out the train tickets were 70 dollars per adult! We hit the road and enjoyed banana bread and blueberries.

We were pleased to learn upon our arrival that the park was having a free weekend, so we didn’t have to pay the usual 25 dollar entrance fee.















The free weekend in the park translated into a very crowded weekend. There were lots of people in the park. We were able to walk around and see all sorts of beautiful views.

On our way home we decided to stop for something to eat in a small town in northern Arizona- Camp Verde. We ended up in an authentic Mexican restaurant. The owner of the store was from Guatemala and the food was divine! Across the street was the local corn festival. Underfoot played on the jungle gym while I learned about photoelectric cells. We saw a 1923 John Deere single cylinder gasoline engine that powered a homemade ice cream operation (the ice cream was good too!)














On Wednesday Mama took it easy and planted 10 rows of corn. Mama gave Underfoot and I haircuts on Monday for Family Home Evening. This week we harvested two watermelons and three cantaloupe, along with about two dozen tomatoes. We have 5 egg plants growing and a number of flowers that may yield more fruit.


















We found a way to reduce K2’s heat rash by putting baby powder on him after each bath. This week we celebrated our 1 year anniversary of being here.