Day 10: Here's a Story....

 ...bum bum bum....  (hope you started singing the Brady Bunch theme song)


It is the last day on my walkabout.  I don't have much planned, except going to another museum,  shopping a little more, looking at the wildlife around the South Rim and taking a Mule Ride!

I definitely cannot get enough "looking" at the Canyon.  I truly am going to miss it.  

I have spent a fair amount of time just sitting and staring out at this beautiful sight.  

*****

Having grown up watching The Brady Bunch, I definitely HAD to ride a Mule at the Grand Canyon.  Ideally, I would have gone down into the Canyon and stayed at Phantom Ranch. Sadly, to do that one really needs to book that ride a year in advance!  Remember, I just set up this trip six weeks ago.  

My Mule adventure, which was three hours long, took me through a huge 

Ponderosa Pine forest and to the Abyss Lookout.  

I felt my inner Brady kid smile!  

No LONG faces here! :)

NOTE:  Yes, I was violating the rules!
No cameras are supposed to be used while on the Mules.
I couldn't help myself!  

Willow

 Here's my ride.  His name was Willow.  He was pretty sweet except he didn't want to get up as close to the mule in front of us as he was supposed to.  He like to have a little more room between us and his friend in front.  I have my 'motivator' on my wrist.  Here's a little fact that all women might appreciate knowing IF they are going to go on a mule ride in the future.  Go to the bathroom before you get on your mule, even if you don't think you need to pee at all!!!  I swear, if you use your motivator and the mule starts to trot, it's hard to hold certain muscles as tight as you'd like to be holding them!  Did I say too much?  Sorry, but that's true and no one warned me!  Maybe I just need to ride a horse or mule more often.

Rules for riding the Mules:   You have to wear long sleeves, and long pants, have a hat, a bandanna, and can only carry things that go around your neck.  Your toes must be covered, no sandals.  Cell phones are to be off and no pictures while riding the mules.  You need to be able to focus on what you are doing.  AND, they weigh you before you can even get on the mule!  Again, true!  You have to be over the age of 12, over 4'' 1', understand and speak fluent English and weigh under 225 lbs.  That wasn't a problem, but I did HAVE to get on a scale!

I really did enjoy the mule ride because it is something that I couldn't do back at home.  And, my inner Brady kid was a happy camper.

*****

Wildlife 

adorable, but devilish, squirrels

Hummingbirds that look like little golden cigars flying through the air.
A Rufus or Allen's Hummingbird

 I wouldn't usually post such a poor quality picture, but I snapped this and didn't think it was in the frame.  I was surprised today when I saw it on my computer enlarged!  So I am checking this bird off my Birds I've Seen List!  :) We DO NOT have these in Indiana!

 I believe the above and below picture show a Peregrine Falcon.  It's tail just doesn't look right to be a Red Tailed Hawk.  We have these at home, so I've all ready see this, but still WAY COOL!

*****

The California Condors were just so great today too!  

Did I mention in my last post that they have a wingspan of 9 1/2 feet?

Are the largest bird on this continent and are scavengers?  

Amazing!  

In these pictures you can actually see their number tags.

decent picture of the number tags

 Definitely not the prettiest bird around.  But amazing to see in the wild! 

I learned that the young birds have all black heads and their heads turn pink by the age of 2.  When they reach 6, they are colorful on their heads and that's the age they can mate and reproduce.  

They will lay just one egg about every 2 years, caring for their youngster that whole time.

*****

A few last photos of my day/trip

The train that brought me here a week ago

El Tovar and Thunderbird Lodges
I had the honor of staying at both these and Maswik during my time here.

Thunderbird Lodge
My room is the dark one on the bottom...I could see the Canyon, through the Elk!
There are baby elk here too.

No longer as afraid of the edge!  

You might want to enlarge this picture...I am sitting on the rim stone wall
and that is the bottom of the canyon a mile below....I wasn't sitting like this for too long!  

The South Rim, with visitors along the edge...don't think I've taken many pictures
like this to show what it was like, again enlarging this picture is best.  

While shopping I saw these three shirts.  I liked the sayings, but not enough to dish out $$$.

Advice from the Canyon

Advice from a Mule

Advice from a Trail

 The sun started to set on my last night....

 What I learned today:

     *That I can conquer challenges in life

     *That Nature REALLY IS Beautiful!

I started this adventure asking Who Am I?  I wanted to remember who I was BEFORE I became a Wife and a Mother.  Who is the ME in my core?  Yes, I still love making others happy.  But life is too short and I need to remember I matter too.  This trip has helped remind me of many things that I enjoy.  I am happy that I went away, but my new questions are: How do I return home? and How do I remember to think about me?  Hmm.  Life is full of questions. I guess we are always searching for answers.