Day 6: Grand Canyon
Hey everyone! Today everyone woke up when the stars were still out at a brisk 4:00 in the morning, but we all were so happy because it meant that we got to hike the canyon! We were told the night before we would have 15 minutes to get ready so we slept in our hiking clothes to save time in the morning. There were 3 hiking options- 1 mile, 3 miles, and 6 miles! There was such a variation of what hike people chose to do. The sun began to rise as we were headed towards the hike! We also ate breakfast on the way! We all had some yummy bagels! The easy part was going down, going back up was the challenge! Once each group reached their point of no return we took LOTS AND LOTS of pictures! Once we were finished with our photoshoots we headed back up the canyon. Every step was worth while with the breathtaking views all around us. Today we learned what true teamwork was along with never leaving anyone behind! It is something that the TWB participants will never forget!
The 3 mile group ready to take on the canyon! We were all super excited!
The 1 mile group was so ready for the beautiful views!
The group posing in front of the Bright Angel Trailhead! The sunrise made the picture!
The breathtaking views of the Canyon! Pictures will never do it justice!
The 6 milers ready for their long hike!
Once we were in the Canyon, we stopped for many pictures!
...and more pictures!
2 miles down for the 6 milers!
Manny striking a pose at the bottom of their hike!
...and Taylor...
...and Claire...
...and Will...
...and Daniel...
...and the rest of the 6 mile gang!!
6 miler group heading back to the campsite post hike!
After the canyon... we ran to SHOWERS AND LAUNDRY!
YAYY for clean clothes!
The best bus driver ever, Boyce, helping with laundry!
Charley and Emma folding their clean clothes for the next week!
Making friendship bracelets while waiting for our laundry!
We can't forget the DEATON STEW - oh my goodness, this mixture of whatever is heavenly.
The cooks helping set up!
We finally got to call home for the first time, many happy tears!!
Shopping time at the Grand Canyon!!
Time for a SING ALONG!
Our musicians doing a little practice before the sing along!
Time for research presentations! Samantha is up first!- San Antonio
Next up is Jonas!- The Alamo
Next is Kendall!!- The River walk
Megan is up!- Texas
Braylen is ready!- Schreiner University
Emma giving all the information on her research!- New Mexico Military Institute
Mara presenting on the UFO's!
Blythe giving her presentation of the Grand Canyon!
We all got to call home, which was the highlight of many peoples day today! Not being able to call home for 6 days was super hard, but we pushed through! We get to call home very few days for the rest of the trip! A little over 2 weeks left!
Today was also the first day we were able to do laundry (this was much needed as some were running out of underwear)! This was a big learning curve fore some as they have never done it before. Keeping up with their washing and drying loads were a struggle for some. After the best shower of our life and doing much needed laundry we got to explore and go souvenir shopping of course. Some of us even stumbled across a Starbucks for a sweet treat! Between lunch and dinner if we weren't shopping or getting Starbucks, others were climbing trees, hanging in the hammocks, and taking much needed naps.
Tonight we had the opportunity to eat back of the campsite OR we could go get dinner at one of the local restaurants. Many of us chose to get pizza from a local tavern and even got the counselors a thank you pizza! After dinner we all gathered to walk to see the sunset over the Grand Canyon! Of course more photoshoots occurred and we finished the day with a sing-along (remember quantity is more important than quality). We spent another night under the stars, many in hammocks and others in sleeping bag, it was pretty cold, actually colder than many were expecting! As we all drifted off to sleep we were excited for tomorrow’s Vegas trip.