Grand Canyon
Day 4: Friday 12

We came to a big waterfall called Deer Creek Falls that was really powerful and a little chill. Every time you would try to get closer the power of it would push you away, we did this right before we hiked to what was called the patio. You had to do a pretty steep hike then hold onto the side of the canyon and kind of shimmy across it, if you fell it was certain death. We came to 2 more waterfalls there. It was a fun hike and it made me really want to go canyoneering again. I was able to chat with a few of the other travelers, one of which had wanted to do the trip for over 25 years. His name was Bob from Boston, he brought his friend Bill. Bill had never once been camping our done anything outdoors in his life so he had a crash course!

Deer Creek Falls

 

Hiking straight up

 

Made it to the top!

 

I had to take a picture, it's a boy thing to pee off cool places 

 

Cool picture of Dave at a waterfall we found at the top

  Next we up to a really cool waterfall called Hidden Elves Chasm, this was one of my favorites by far. You could swim across the water and climb up and then jump off into the water below. It was pure bliss! It was funny because Mike jumped and lost the go-pro but was able to find it again.
We did a short hike to a really warm waterfall, it felt like a bath and we were all able to play in it, though we couldn’t jump from the top. We made Staci pose with an invisible husband. We were all hoping she and Joel would hit it off ;)

Jumping off such a fun waterfall...and the water was warm!

 

Mike with the go-pro, luckily he found it again!

 

Just another waterfall to play in!

 

Dan photo-shopped the two....such a cute couple 

During our bathing time that night a bunch of boys played in the water with a ball and even though it was freezing I decided to swim around for a while since I was already cold and wet, but I felt clean after-wards! After that a group of us played a few rounds of Boce ball on the beach, it turned out to be a pretty hilarious night, I never thought Boce ball could actually be fun. That night we were all sitting around after dinner and one of the travelers with us, an older man named Stan showed us the dance, “the wobble” we all busted a move and had a dance party on the beach. It was actually really funny.

The boys playing in the water

 

Getting our groove on

 

Listening to our guide play the guitar at night, such a great experience

Grand Canyon
Day 3: Thursday 11

This was the biggest day for waves. We hit some class 8 and up to class 10 waves which were nuts! I was able to jump up front for the biggest one called Hermit. It rocked us! The waves were 15-20 foot waves that just pounded you but you couldn’t get that kind of thrill anywhere else! We were basically cold and wet from 7:30 a.m-4:30 p.m. Everyone was shivering but it was worth it! Dan rode the biggest of the day called Crystal rapid. It was a pretty dangerous wave and they got slammed! I for sure thought we would lose someone. There were a few times we all came close! Later that day I rode a pretty big wave on the very front and almost got ripped of the boat but my dad caught me with enough time to grab the handle. Dan rode another huge one that hit them from the side, he was completely covered and I couldn’t believe he was able to hold on!

Ready to go! Apparently I look like an Asian tourist

 

 The rain rolls in...dun dun dun

 We almost lost them

 It was very cold

Taking another bath in the river. Freezing

Grand Canyon
Day 2: Wednesday 10

We came to a really cool slot canyon, where we were able to hike through it and our guided Wiley and Joel played the guitar and told us stores.

Kelsi and Aubrey doing some Ninja moves

 

Walking through the slot canyon

We came to a spot where the Little Colorado River met with the Colorado River, though there was a big difference! The Little Colorado River was bright blue and really warm. We were able to go down what they call the gauntlet which basically felt like an amazing water park. We all made a huge train which didn’t really turn out to great but it was hilarious. Dan lost his hat but was able to find it which was impressive! I was floating by when Kelsi said, “wait for me”. She belly flopped into the water and got high centered on a rock, I couldn’t stop laughing.

 We lost half the train, Dan lost his hat but was able to find it!

 You would sink into the mud and felt like the matrix

River Rafting the Grand Canyon: July 9-14
Day 1: Tuesday 9

We had a great scenic drive from St. George to Marble Canyon Arizona. We stopped at some Indian dwellings in the rocks which were pretty cool, especially since we were the only ones there. We all stayed in the Marble Canyon Lodge that night which was a little ghetto and part of it had burned down but it was an adventure.

Exploring the rock dwellings

The burned down restaurant at the lodge

We got up early and met at the beginning point. We organized all our things and got our instructions then we headed out on the river. It was awesome because they allowed the whole Bishop clan to share one boat and the other travelers to take the second boat. I wasn’t ready for the freezing water but it was awesome! We hit some pretty good waves and had a blast getting to know each other better. We went to a place called Redwall cavern, it was a vast chamber carved by the river with awesome sand. Dan even tried a little bit of bouldering.

Let the adventure begin!

 

 

Redwall Cavern, pretty impressive we got almost everyone in it

First War Wound, Aubrey got kicked by Papa Brent

The view everyday 

We stopped for the night and made camp. It was hot so we didn’t need anything to sleep with. The best was watching everyone take a bath in the freezing 50 degree water though it definitely did help. I just didn’t brush my hair all week and kept it in braids every day. Nights were some of my favorite times, we had delicious meals, everyone gathered around, people playing the guitar, sleeping under the amazing stars in the Grand Canyon. That can’t be beat!

Dan eating some delicious food before dinner

 

One of many nights sleeping on the beach