Here we are, kids. The Graaaaand Canyon.

So after Phoenix, we had a choice: We could either drive straight to Las Vegas and spent most of the evening there, or drive to the Grand Canyon and get to Las Vegas really late. We opted to drive to the Grand Canyon, because we all really wanted to see it, and there's not much for minors to do in Las Vegas anyway. So we began our epic journey to the Grand Canyon. It was a long drive, but along the way I got to see some of the most beautiful scenery I've ever seen in my life. Lots of open plains, rock faces, and mountains. It was absolutely amazing. Plus, we got to see David attempting something called "car surfing" in the back of the van as it went over bumps (basically just David standing up int he back and losing his balance as the van went over bumps). Anyway, we got the the outside of the Grand Canyon, and Mr. Cieremans realized we were running out of gas. Great. And in order to get to the place where they sell tickets, we had to take our big huge touring van down a dirt road with huge bumps and some of the steepest grade I've ever seen a car drive. Needless to say, our car was probably not too happy with us. And I seriously feared for my life :) After that we got to the place where they sell tickets, and realized that they stopped selling tickets at 5:45 and it was about 6. So we could not see the inside of the Grand Canyon - just the outside where we were now. Oh boy, that's great! But we took a picture anyway, then we took the van back to the entrance. At this point, we really needed gas, so we tried to find the nearest gas station. Have you ever tried to find a gas station in the middle of Arizona? There wasn't one for what felt like 100 miles in either direction. I was very scared that we would be stranded in the middle of the desert. But eventually we found one, and we were on the road again headed towards Las Vegas via the Hoover Dam. I had never seen the Hoover Dam either, so I was excited. When we got there, we stopped to take some pictures. It was amazing! I couldn't believe how big it was, and the architecture was incredible. We also ran into an adorable little puppy that was being walked by some other people at the dam. Awwwwwww! So cute! Anyway, after that we drove across, and it was only about a half hour - 45 minutes to Las Vegas. Saving that for the next post.
Nicole