They made some good points.

 We woke up to a shockingly cold Friday the 13th, with temps in the low 30s and a forecasted high of 62. We opened the windows to a slowly unfolding scene of the Grand Canyon, as the sun highlighted different rock formations on its rise. 

We didn’t have to wake the girls.  They were up and at ‘‘em before we had even scheduled to wake them.  The rooms were clean and cozy with no discernible noise.

Unlucky Charms shirts to celebrate Friday the 13th

We bought a cookie each for our lunches, and this one Jane claims was the size of her face.

She was right. 

We made sack lunches to have for our adventures, so we didn’t have to struggle finding food in the park. 

I had an audience. 

We headed out of room to see the sights by 7:30 in the morning. 

Carmen indicating on the map where we were going to start and finish our bike ride. 

The view from behind the hotel is stunning.

We stopped for hot coca and coffee before we started the day. 

Vintage Carriage in Hotel Lobby

Before our bike adventure, we hiked to Mather Point. Puns are the game of the day, and “they have another good point” is one that abundantly applies here. Also, variations on “What’s the Mather?” Applied here. 

We tried to take pictures but Grand Canyom defies photography. It’s so big and so varied, pictures just reduce the scale. We appreciated how much the view and character change in either direction. 

Joel exercising his first amendment rights in the appropriate designated space.

Mather point

After a hike to Mather point, we got fitted for bikes.

 We biked from Hermits Point to Hermits Rest. The scenery was stunning. Our bike tour guide taught us about the history, geography, and formation of the canyon. 

We were told that rock squirrels (like this one shown) were the most dangerous creatures in the park.  They also carry rabies and pneumonic plague. That version of the plague kills 50% of those who get immediate and effective treatment and 95% of those that get no treatment. We steered clear of this guy, although he definitely was g afraid of us. 

Carmen proved to be the group expert on the wildlife of the canyon, knowing the snake unique to the canyon, the smartest bird in the canyon, and the fastest bird in the canyon. Our fellow bikers were barely up to the challenge, but it proved to be no challenge for us. 

Jane and Carmen picking pine nuts off of piñon trees in the park. Each visitor is allowed to pick no more than 25 pounds. We didn’t get close to our limit. 

Our bike tour guide Ryan. He’s out of a job now. They’re discontinuing live guided tours after this. This was his last hurrah. It’s a huge loss. He was amazing but he finds out today if he got the job as a national park ranger. Fingers crossed for Ryan. 

Carmen collected a stack of different brochures from the park rangers. Her teacher asked her to come back with those for their upcoming study of national parks. 

We enjoyed staring off into the Abyss, another great point. 

After we returned from the bike ride, we are our sack lunches and did some shopping before returning to the room for naps. Now we are off to the Rim Trail for a couple of hours before our reservation at El Tovar restaurant. We are going looking for big horn sheep.