In October we traveled to Arizona to see some good friends from college. We last saw them ten years ago when they only had six kids. How many do they have now, you ask? Eleven. Yes, eleven. And guess what else? Their firstborn is a girl, and the next ten are boys. I'm not joking! These people are real and they are amazing beyond description and we are blessed to call them friends. And we had such a wonderful time catching up with them and exploring the beauty of the southwest.
Tucson is a dry yet colorful place. The green cactuses and scrub brush declare life in a seemingly barren land, and the blue sky offers a fluid backdrop to everything. We loved hiking near Pusch Ridge and looking back over the city. We even found a thorny devil along the way!
We also visited Sabino Canyon. I never got tired of looking at all the saguaro cactuses. They are such fascinating plants. Caleb was particularly excited to be walking through the Sonoran Desert, which he'd read about in a book, and was thrilled when we spotted a mule deer and a hawk. We ate lunch near a dam, which proved to be a perfect playground, and it was a great miracle that none of the boys were soaked by the end!
Our friend Josh was at Bethel with us, and both Eli and I were friends with him independently of each other. Josh was a friend we stayed in touch with even after he left Bethel to get married and move across the country, and he offered a listening ear and sage advice when Eli and I were figuring out our relationship before dating. Josh stood up in our wedding and he and Krissy are lifelong friends, even if ten years go by in between seeing each other! They are people who love Jesus and love each other well and they have shined brightly in our life. It was so good to see them again and meet the rest of their beautiful children!
Since we were in Arizona, we had to take a day to visit the Grand Canyon. Our kids are really interested in the national parks, plus it's The Grand Canyon and we simply couldn't let the opportunity pass us by. So we drove from the southern part of the state to the northern part and traded in our shorts and T-shirts for pants and coats. But we couldn't have asked for better weather to see the canyon. It was sunny and perfect. Simply perfect.
Someone described it to us as a giant ditch that isn't too interesting after you've seen it once. I beg to differ. That's like saying that nothing in creation can capture your attention again and again. But that simply isn't our experience. Going on safari has never grown old. Finding chameleons has never grown old. Hiking to the waterfall has never grown old. Seeing the peak of Mt. Kenya from our front porch has never grown old. These are God's unending gifts to us, and may God forgive us on the day we cease to wonder at His creation around us!
The Grand Canyon was a marvel. Every view was a scenic view. Every color was eye-catching. Every panorama was indescribable. It was a mighty and magnificent ditch.
We're in an amazing season of life with the boys. They are old enough to do more things, like hiking for awhile, and can appreciate the activities we do. Even Asa can mostly keep up now. So we hiked a mile down into the canyon and a mile back up. We didn't want to go further because we didn't want to realize too late that we'd asked too much of the kids. But it turns out we could have gone further because everyone had lots of energy and stamina and did the whole hike with ease. We were so proud!
We went down the Bright Angel Trail, which is a popular trail and had a decent amount of people on it, but which offered incredible views of the canyon walls. Such texture we saw!
On our way back up, we took a break to work on the national park workbooks a park ranger gave to the boys. As we were talking about the local wildlife and drawing pictures of the canyon, the mule train came around the bend and passed right in front of us! They were returning to the top of the canyon after carrying down supplies to the camp below and then carrying trash out. It was so cool!
I really liked Asa's picture of the canyon. I tell ya, there was so much texture to be seen!
We headed to the Rim Trail for sunset and it did not disappoint. The colors of the canyon were totally different at the end of the day and we stood in awe and wonder all over again. Also, it was quite chilly!
I happened to notice that the shadow across the way looked like a hiker and it was an added bonus to the day.
I mean, the colors...
So it was a magical and memorable experience. I'm so thankful that Eli picks up shifts at the ER while we're in the States so we can afford to do things like visit national parks!
On a different note, we stayed at an Airbnb that was a working alpaca farm. Totally random and totally fun!
After the Grand Canyon we drove down to Phoenix to see more friends for a quick 24-hour visit before flying on to the next place. But in that quick visit we were able to hike to an overlook of the city, and the boys found a chuckwalla! The adventures never cease.
Sometimes I wonder how much the boys will remember of these experiences. I personally have a terrible long-term memory and don't remember much from all the vacations my family went on. Case in point: I was at the Grand Canyon in high school but don't remember much except that it was snowing and everyone was complaining of the cold. It's a bit sad that I can't remember more, but I take lots of pictures to help with that, and I can only hope our boys will have better memories than me. But even if they don't remember much, I hope the one thing they will always hold onto is this: we live in a big, wide, diverse, and beautiful world, and it's worth seeing if you can. There is no time or energy wasted on letting ourselves see all that God has created and marveling at it together.
No comments:
Post a Comment