Tuesday morning Ray, Ken, and Randy got up at 4:30 a.m. to head back up to the Grand Canyon. They got the last bus that goes strait
to the hike around 6:00 a.m. They then hiked down to the river (on the Kaibab trail), a 6 mile journey that descended 4800 feet. There was very little shade and no water along the way. Ray said his knees have never hurt so bad. The elevation at the bottom is comparable to Phoenix AZ and the temperature was about 98 degrees (but it was 15 degrees cooler than usual per the park ranger at the bottom). They were down to the bottom by noon. The trail goes down the south rim, then they crossed a bridge to the north side where the campground was. Ray soaked himself in the river, drank lemonade and they just relaxed and set up their
camp. There is a ranch down there called Phantom Ranch, that is where he got the lemonade. There was no water stops along the way, so they had to pack it all down. But there was clean water at the bottom so they could refill their bottles. The rangers put on a program for all the hikers that evening talking about how the Grand Canyon was formed. Ray said there was about 100 people down at the bottom. They took two Zatarans black beans and rice mixes and cooked them on Ray’s small camping stove for dinner.
Back to the Grand Canyon Adventurers - Wednesday
morning the boys got up bright and early, made oatmeal for breakfast and headed out on the Bright Angel Trail. The literature that they had said to plan on 7 to 12 hours to hike out. What ever goes down must come up. This trail did have a couple of shady water spots to stop at. Ray said the whole hike was the hardest hike he has ever done, yet they are smiling in all the pictures.
This is the photo when they got done.
Then they had to drive back to Flagstaff. Ray’s legs were cramping up about the last mile so he just sat with them elevated all the way home. Ken’s legs started to cramp right 
as they got to Flagstaff so then Randy had to drive. They got home around 4 :30 p.m. We were all glad to have them back.
This concludes part 2
to the hike around 6:00 a.m. They then hiked down to the river (on the Kaibab trail), a 6 mile journey that descended 4800 feet. There was very little shade and no water along the way. Ray said his knees have never hurt so bad. The elevation at the bottom is comparable to Phoenix AZ and the temperature was about 98 degrees (but it was 15 degrees cooler than usual per the park ranger at the bottom). They were down to the bottom by noon. The trail goes down the south rim, then they crossed a bridge to the north side where the campground was. Ray soaked himself in the river, drank lemonade and they just relaxed and set up their
camp. There is a ranch down there called Phantom Ranch, that is where he got the lemonade. There was no water stops along the way, so they had to pack it all down. But there was clean water at the bottom so they could refill their bottles. The rangers put on a program for all the hikers that evening talking about how the Grand Canyon was formed. Ray said there was about 100 people down at the bottom. They took two Zatarans black beans and rice mixes and cooked them on Ray’s small camping stove for dinner.Back at the condo we just hung out with the kids. They played outside most of the day. (No pictures Ray had the camera) but this one is from the other day – everyone with popcicles. We 
stayed at the Wyndom Vacation Resorts. Ken and Louise have a time-share and so every year we usually go somewhere for a week. It makes it so nice! The condos are nice and have everything that you could need for a week minus food. There is a kitchen in each unit so the "girls" each took a turn cooking a dinner and a breakfast. We had 2 condos that were right next to each other. Each had two bedrooms and a loft with 2 twin beds. Each unit also had a hot tub. We were right across from the Activities Center and we even had a little grassy park in the back yard. Two of the nights they put up a great big screen and showed kid movies. We could see it through our living room window. The kids had fun going to them. It was kind of like a drive in, minus the cars. They also served popcorn and drinks at the outdoor movies.
stayed at the Wyndom Vacation Resorts. Ken and Louise have a time-share and so every year we usually go somewhere for a week. It makes it so nice! The condos are nice and have everything that you could need for a week minus food. There is a kitchen in each unit so the "girls" each took a turn cooking a dinner and a breakfast. We had 2 condos that were right next to each other. Each had two bedrooms and a loft with 2 twin beds. Each unit also had a hot tub. We were right across from the Activities Center and we even had a little grassy park in the back yard. Two of the nights they put up a great big screen and showed kid movies. We could see it through our living room window. The kids had fun going to them. It was kind of like a drive in, minus the cars. They also served popcorn and drinks at the outdoor movies. Back to the Grand Canyon Adventurers - Wednesday
morning the boys got up bright and early, made oatmeal for breakfast and headed out on the Bright Angel Trail. The literature that they had said to plan on 7 to 12 hours to hike out. What ever goes down must come up. This trail did have a couple of shady water spots to stop at. Ray said the whole hike was the hardest hike he has ever done, yet they are smiling in all the pictures.This is the photo when they got done.
Then they had to drive back to Flagstaff. Ray’s legs were cramping up about the last mile so he just sat with them elevated all the way home. Ken’s legs started to cramp right 
as they got to Flagstaff so then Randy had to drive. They got home around 4 :30 p.m. We were all glad to have them back. This concludes part 2
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