Oh, The Grandness of it All

I stayed in Albuquerque a bit longer than I had planned. The people I stayed with wanted to go hiking by the Rio Grande. I thought it would be worth delaying my trip to Flagstaff a bit. I was glad I went. We took their dogs and played catch with them, letting them swim into the river after sticks. It was a blast.

Then I made my way up to Flagstaff, AZ, where I stayed with an awesome guy. He and his wife have a beautiful home and allowed me to stay in the guest room. Unfortunately his wife, Kate, was out of town 'cause she sounds like she would be a cool person to meet. Dan, the husband, has done a lot of cool things in his life. Currently he is a river guide in the Grand Canyon on the Colorado River. Years ago, he was a special ed teacher, and we talked about those experiences a bit. He was more than hospitable to me and even gave me some tips for my visit to the Grand Canyon.

I visited the Grand Canyon yesterday and it was amazing, as you would expect. I walked along various parts of the rim, and made a short video that I had trouble loading. Maybe I will get it to work later.

The drive from the Grand Canyon to Phoenix was also incredible to see. I just can't believe how much the landscape changes as you progress through the country. I saw cacti for the first time. They are so strange looking, and they are everywhere.

In Phoenix, I stayed with some friends of my family, Michael and Jessica Reynolds. I hadn't seen them in years, so I caught up a bit with them and then headed for San Diego on Wednesday morning.