Three Men and a Dog: Day 3

Grand Canyon National Park

May 26, 2014

Our second day at the Grand Canyon was a laid back affair for a couple of us and a fairly intense adventure for the other two.

Grand Canyon National Park, AZ

Sunday had been a pretty big day for Pongo.  He had a lot of fun, but all that adventuring had worn him out a bit.  A slower day where he could recoup was in order.  Plus, my parents were going to visit at some point in the afternoon, so we spent a while at Mather Point then napped for a couple of hours at the campground.

Grand Canyon National Park, AZ

My parents are on a big road trip of their own.  They're driving down to New Orleans.  They were passing through from Las Vegas to Phoenix, so I insisted they stop by to see the Grand Canyon.  My mother has hiked from rim to rim, but my father had never seen it before.  We had lunch at Mather Point then I drove with them out to Desert View.  It was a short visit, but I was glad to be able to share the canyon with them.

Grand Canyon National Park, AZ

Sam and Jim, on the other hand, had a very different kind of adventure.  They hiked down the Bright Angel Trail to Plateau Point and back.  Jim estimated they hiked 12 miles with 3,400 feet in elevation change.  They had one bottle of water each between them and no food.  Geniuses.  They made it out OK, but it was a rigorous climb, to say the least.  The trail can be seen in the photo below, including Plateau Point.

Grand Canyon National Park, AZ

It was a epic adventure, to say the least.  I'm glad they made it out OK.

We spent the evening relaxing.  Pongo decided he really liked the purple blanket I brought along.  It gave him a home base, which was something he needed to finally get comfortable.  He slept on it every night for the rest of the trip, no matter where I put it in the car.

Grand Canyon National Park, AZ