Arizona 2

The Grand Canyon in very thick fog.

The drive from Lake Powell to the Grand Canyon is a blast. We've just spent several days in the sun.
Except the temperature keeps dropping the farther we go.
At the Grand Canyon park entrance: 57°F. That's not much!
650 feet past the entrance gate, the fog starts rolling in.
Half a mile farther, visibility is under 65 feet...

We can't see... a thing! And we mean nothing at all.

The poor tourists who only have one day here feel obliged to pull out their cameras anyway. It's hilarious!

Luckily, the very next day it's full sun and clear views.

Henri's inner pilot is itching, and we go back and forth for a long time about a helicopter ride, but it's just way too expensive (about $1,000 for the five of us...)!
The kids have their afternoon snack front row for the takeoffs and landings: deafening noise and maximum adrenaline. The choppers are less than 30 feet from us and our hair is flying in the wind.

We spend the afternoon walking the Rim Trail between Mather Point and Verkamp's Visitor Center. An easy stroll of a few miles along a path lined with explanations of the Grand Canyon's geology.
The kiddos love walking through millions of years! Brass markers have been set into the ground to explain each period of geological formation, with a "sample" of the rock in question, weighing a few pounds, next to each marker. As Alexandre puts it: "I just walked 2,000 million years, I'm exhausted!"

Grand Canyon 2

If you're camping at the Grand Canyon, we recommend the Ten X Campground, outside the park on the south road — so much cheaper, so much friendlier, and so much roomier!
We regretted booking our first night (last minute, to boot) at the park's official campground: Mather Point.
We spent all the other nights at Ten X.

Our legs are getting restless: we need a real hike, and it'll be the South Kaibab Trail down to Ooh Aah Point! (As in "Ooh! Aah! How beautiful!").

Along the way we pass a youth work crew going up and down the steep slopes with wheelbarrows full of dirt to rebuild the trail! We thank them and wish them luck!

Here, hikers are advised not to go down and back up in the same day. Too hard physically. The risk of death is real (see here).

We also come across our first tarantula, crossing right in front of us. We keep a safe distance: "No, Juliette, back up! It's a pretty tarantula!" Juliette loves every animal!

Once again, the kids went for the Junior Ranger badge, attending a talk in English by an old ranger about the Grand Canyon.
They were very fidgety and didn't listen much, and of course the ranger spotted them (and wasn't too thrilled)!

Imagine the kids' horror when they realized, as they went to pick up their certificates, that this same ranger was the one handing them out! "Oh no! He's never going to give it to us!" Luckily, the kiddos were saved by a very welcome union-mandated break.

As they nervously watched the old ranger walk away, a nice lady ranger gave them their certificates. They swore they'd clean their room every day!

Airplane Museum "Planes of Fame"

On Route 64, between the South Rim's south exit and the town of Williams.
We make this nice stop and spend more than 2 hours visiting the museum.

A great museum for the whole family; the kids take us on a journey and try out the flight simulators.

Right here, I tell myself my next career will be in the world of aviation. Starting to make choices is already something.