Day 5- Petrified Forest and Painted Desert

Day 5: Petrified Forest and Painted Desert


Hi family and friends! This morning we woke up at 5 and started our trek toward Arizona and the Painted Desert. Our breakfast this morning consisted of yogurt parfaits with Cheerios and blueberries, courtesy of the Grumpys. This was a nice change from our usual granola bars or pop-tarts.





 Our bus ride consisted of cards games such as Go Fish, ERS, and drug dealer. The Painted Desert was a breathtaking stop as we saw the colors of the hills change from purples and reds to grey and white. Our brief ride (24 miles) from the Desert to the Petrified Forest was a scenic ride but tough for those with sensitive stomachs because of the many twists and turns. 


Our goofy counselors falling off the cliff 

Painted Desert 




We then took a quick walk up and around the Forest, taking pictures and posing on the trees. On the first day we were given wooden characters of our groups (Grumpy, Sleepy, Sneezy, etc.) and were told to have them on us at all times. Unfortunately, most of the groups at the Forest today left theirs on the bus!! As a punishment, Josh decided we had to walk in a Conga Line the rest of the trail. The Sleepy group was the only group who actually had theirs. 

The boys kissing the rock for good luck!






The crowded gift shop allowed us to buy post cards to send home and stickers to add to our water bottle collection. After exploring the Forest we continued driving until we got to Flagstaff, our dinner for the night. Some of us ended up going to McDonald’s and the rest visited Safeway, a grocery store with a delectable delights like the deli section and a Starbucks.  After our early dinner, around 4:00, we continued driving until we reached one of our most coveted destinations, the Grand Canyon.
Friends for life!

Hanging at the Canyon!

Grand Canyon sunset


Counselors Caitlin and Heather love spending time with us participants!


We found Grant at the Canyon!!!

We arrived to the canyon around 6:30 pm, with just enough time to see the sunset. After snapping a few pictures, we headed back to our campsite, as we bed down outside again tonight. A lot of participants were excited that they were able to hang their Eno hammocks! We prepared our healthy snacks and clothes tonight as we will be waking up SUPER early (around 3:30 am) to get started hiking the canyon.

MORE PICS TO COME LATER