Grand Canyon Extravaganza

Last week I went to Havasupai (an Indian reservation Waterfall Oasis in the Grand Canyon) with a group of 27 people my age. We hiked 10 miles down to our campground in the dark cool early Monday morning hours. Rested on a picnic table for an hour for the first time in nearly 30 hours!!!! Ahh. Then it was go, go, go for the rest of the day! Waterfall #1: Havasu falls

Played and swam here for most of the morning and then we went over to the two new waterfalls created by last year's flood. Rock Falls and the unnamed falls above it. At Rock Falls most of the group jumped off the 30 foot top. I opted for going behind the waterfall and standing on the ledge and jumping through the water fall, if you look close you can see me right in the waterfall as I jump through. So exhilarating and FUN!

Then back to the campground for some FOOD and SLEEP!!!! Lucky me I got the hammock! Super comfortable sleeping spot for overly exhausted and sunburnt me!

TUESDAY: Mooney Falls

A majority of this day was spent exploring the river around Mooney Falls. But to get there first we had to climb further down the canyon wall using chains and spikes as grips and lifelines. A little intense at times, but we made it to the bottom and it was sure worth it!

My favorite part was wading through the river and exploring all the smaller waterfalls that came off Mooney. The cool water felt glorious and it was so exquistitely pretty!!!! Love this place!

Wednesday - relaxing day swimming at Havasu Falls
I spent the day swimming laps and soaking water into my sunburn and applying layers of aloe vera and getting ready for the hike out of the canyon once it got dark and cooler. Here is a pic of our favorite picnic table at the campsite - the cool water felt so refreshing during the heat of the day (upwards of 100 every day).



Sad to leave this place of splendid beauty. But it was time to go, so we packed our bags, said our goodbyes, and hiked under a starlit sky. The 10 miles up and out were quite intense and involved a lot of rock climbing when we occasionally veered off the path and 2 painful miles of steep switchbacks, but I made it, we all made it. HOORAY!!!!!

Here's a pic of the gang I went with. Such a good group. All so friendly and nice and fun-loving! We had a blast together. The only complete group picture we got was on the drive there, we stopped at the Hoover Dam! Hooray for new friends and spontaneous vacations!