Grand Canyon West Rim

With my antibiotic eye drops doing their job, we decided to continue with our plans. We wanted to leave really early for the Grand Canyon today and be home in time to swim all afternoon. As we have become acutely aware, rarely do things go as planned with 3 little ones.

I forgot to mention that Peanut lost one of her teeth in Sedona which was a very exciting event indeed. The event got more exciting, however, when we realized I forgot the tooth in the hotel (which had been given to me for safe-keeping). I told Peanut, "Look the Tooth Fairy and I have a really good line of communication; I'll let her know I blew it with the tooth, and I'm sure she'll leave something under your pillow anyway." She twinkled back an understanding glance. Then I asked her if it was okay for us to wait until Las Vegas because her dad would really want to be a part of this. She said, "She'd rather not, but sure."

When I tucked her in she had a little note in her hand. I asked her about it and she quickly hid it and said, "Shh! This is for you to read tonight!" Well, Tomcat and I ran down to the casino gift shop (and to try our luck with the 25 cent slots) and we found her a little Las Vegas license plate with her name on it. Back in the room, I slid it under her pillow and quietly removed the note. Here's what it said, "Dear Tooth Fairy, I lost my tooth! Oh no! Will I ever find it? Would you mind if I got a present anyway? I even don't care if the present is a penny! Love, Peanut".

Clearly, I underestimated the Lost Tooth excitement, as she was up at 4am thrilled with her present. We got her back to bed and by 4:40am she was up again, this time with Little Man in tow. We ended up separating them and they finally got back to sleep. They slept until 9am, but Doodle had Grandma up at 5:00am, bless her. Furthermore, I had promised the kids Room Service at least once on this road trip and was reminded that I still hadn't done it. Dang! Now we were doing it in over-the-top Vegas?! We had a feast to say the least and it was enjoyed by all. But we didn't get out the door until after 10:30am at which time we were reminded that we'd promised Doodle she could say good-bye to Tay-Tay back at the In-Laws. So we popped by there on our way out of town, had a very nice quickie good-bye, and were finally on our way!

Who goes to the West Rim anyway? No one I know. The South Rim is what everyone thinks of when they think of the Grand Canyon. The North Rim is where they go when they want less traffic, or they're up in Utah and don't want to drive 5 hours around to get to the South Rim. When I found out that the West Rim is only a couple of hours from Vegas, I was so there. I'd seen pictures of the newly built Skywalk and have wanted to walk it ever since. Surprisingly, it's not actually part of the National Park, but run by the Hualapai tribe. It was fantastic and worth every penny!

You know that roller-coaster thrill? It was like that. We each had to wear hospital slippers over our shoes to keep the glass floor pristine. The kids loved this. In fact, they were digging the entire thing; they even talked us all into lying down on the bridge! What an optical illusion -- as you got down, the canyon seemed to get farther and farther away and as you got up, it came up with you! We eagerly bought the overly priced photos they took, but since all belongings must be left in a locker prior to entering, these were the only pictures we were going to get.

There were Hualapai dancers, drummers, food, easy but rewarding hikes and a genuine friendly vibe from everyone we met. There's something to say for getting there long after the tour buses have gone home.

Another bright spot was the drive back to Vegas. The light was perfect for pictures of the giant Joshua trees in Joshua National Park, giddily moving along the bumpy, curvy 20 mile stretch of gravel road before hitting the highway. We were all queasy by the time we got back to the hotel.