The past few days have been interesting, to say the least. I honestly didn't think I'd be able to post until tomorrow evening. But that's just the latest in the unexpected parts of this trip. The drive to Four Corners then to Phoenix was honestly quite uneventful and really boring. I would have gladly taken just boring, but then life decided to throw me a curveball.
When we left last Saturday, we made it to Illinois before I realized I had left my National Parks Pass that was purchased just for this trip sitting on my desk at home. Dad had to overnight it to the place we were staying at in Phoenix. We get to Phoenix, but no pass. Dad calls me to let me know they tried to deliver it but since we didn't have the apartment number, they took it back to the distribution center. Oh joy. Now, it's 7:00 in the evening, I need to use the pass the next day, and no idea how to get it. Let's call it Claire's Freak-Out #1.We finally get ahold of customer service and they hold the pass for in-person pickup, but Kim had to be the one to get it since it was addressed to her. This may not have been possible, but it worked out. So, off we went to the Grand Canyon, pass in hand, thinking that everything else should go smoothly.
Sure. We got to the Grand Canyon and got a campsite without any problems. That's when we start to set up the tent...I burn my shoulders in a matter of minutes (yay). We get everything set up and put in the tent and decide to make dinner. We brought a little camp stove with butane gas tanks...but quickly realized we brought nothing practical to light it with. Chris had his knife and flint, but let's talk about how fun THAT was. In the meantime, as we were both sitting in the car trying to figure out what to do, DinoCrow (seriously, it was massive) swoops down from the sky, busts open a package of Ramen that was sitting on the picnic table, and proceeds to take off with the Ramen in its mouth. Wonderful. A bird just stole my dinner. Stupid bird.
The next morning, everything seemed to go smoothly getting packed up and out. I thought we had left enough time to get to Zion National Park in time to get a campsite. There were three times as many there as there were at the Grand Canyon, so surely we would be fine. Wrong assumption. We get to ZNP, and the ranger at the gate said there were still a few places left. But, it's a 12 mile drive from the entrance to the campsite. By the time we got there, everything was full... a.k.a. Claire's Freak-Out #2. I think I cried at least twice, maybe three times, and did what I always do when I freak out - call my dad. Between Dad and Chris (who also maintained a level of chill I wasn't able to achieve at this point), we managed to get a campsite about 10 minutes from ZNP but it also includes access to a pool, bathrooms, showers, and WiFi.
But in the midst of all this, I can be thankful for several things. I got to stay with and catch up with my friend Kim, who I haven't seen for 12-13 years. Chris and I got to see the Grand Canyon at sunset (and take an exorbitant amount of pictures!). I thought that was amazing until we saw the stars - an amount of stars I've never seen in the sky before. Chris and I just sat outside for a while and watched the stars. Chris even got to see a shooting star...which he was over the moon about!
I have seen so much of this amazing country and we're nowhere near done with this trip. I have seen God's handiwork in so many things and I stand in awe of His Creation. I'm so thankful for the safety we've had, the ease of the driving (though, at times, boring), and the amazing things we've gotten to see. I'm so glad we set out on this trip and I honestly can't wait to see what else we come across!
No comments:
Post a Comment