Arizona April 2010

April 2, 2010 - April 8, 2010

During my trip back to Milwaukee, Wisconsin this year, to visit with family and friends, we decided to take a 6-day trip to Phoenix, Arizona and spend time with Andy and Andrea who are living there.

Camelback Mountain, Phoenix, Arizona
On Saturday, April 3 we decided to do an "easy" hike at Camelback Mountain. Andy, Satcha and I were looking at the different trails to decide which one to do. There are 4: 2 easy and 2 difficult. We talked about doing one of the 2 easy trails. But, when we got to Camelback we only found 1 trail starting point, the Cholla Trail. So we hiked that one. Well, it was the most difficult trail to hike!!!

Cholla Trail
Length: 1.5 miles
Elevation gain: 1,200 feet
Difficulty: Strenuous and difficult
Description: This trail is recommended only for experienced hikers. There are steep, rocky sections with drop-offs on both sides.
Camelback Mountain Cholla TrailWe started the hike around noon. It was a sunny, hot day. My Mom and Dad, Andy, Satcha and I climbed the trail stopping to take pictures and breaks along the way. After about 1 hour and a half Andy convinced my Mom and Dad to head back down while we continued. The three of us continued for about a half hour more and decided to go down when we got to a point where we had to start rock climbing. It was a difficult hike that we didn't expect to do, but it was definitely worth it. The views from the mountain were amazing.

Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, ArizonaSomething interesting happened on Sunday, April 4. Satcha and I were sitting in Andy and Andrea's apartment when all of the sudden it seemed as though the building started to sway. It felt like we were on a boat, that rocking feeling. It lasted about 30 seconds to 1 minute. We didn't know what it was. I thought at first that it was just the wind, but it didn't seem right that the wind could rock a building. Satcha thought that it was from a construction site close to the apartment, but there we didn't see any construction around. Later that afternoon we heard that there was a 7.2 magnitude earthquake that hit the Mexican peninsula of Baja California. We had felt the tremors. It was a very strange and helpless feeling.

Sedona, ArizonaSedona, Arizona
On Monday, April 5 My Mom and Dad, Andy, Satcha and I drove to Sedona. We spent the day enjoying the stunning views of the Red Rocks of Sedona and the city. These eye-catching red rock formations, that have a red and orange color, tower over the city. It was a nice, relaxing day that allowed me to enjoy the scenery.

Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
On Tuesday, April 6 My Mom and Dad, Satcha and I drove to the Grand Canyon. It was supposed to be a 4 hour drive that converted into a 5 and a half hour drive. We were going to take the route near Williams to get to Grand Canyon National Park, but because of a car accident we had to go back to Flagstaff and drive from there.

Hermits Rest Route, Grand CanyonWe finally got to Grand Canyon National Park around 3pm. We parked and took the shuttle bus to the Hermits Rest Route. I got my first sight of the Grand Canyon from the Hermits Rest Transfer on the Rim Trail. WOW!!! AMAZING!!! It blew me away how big and beautiful it was. I never expected the Grand Canyon to look the way it did. It was breathtaking. We waked the Hermits Rest Route along the Rim Trail stopping at all the view points to enjoy the views of the Grand Canyon. We stopped at Pima Point to watch the sunset. It was beautiful how the sun changed the colors of the Grand Canyon to a deep red and yellow. It was stunning!!!

It was really cold, too. During our walk it was around 40º-50ºF (4º-10ºC),Pima Point Sunset, Grand Canyon but when the sun set it got down to 32ºF (0ºC). It was cold and we weren't dressed for it!!! Once the sun set, we hurried to the shuttle bus and took it back to the car where we cranked up the heat while we drove back to Williams where we stayed the night.


South Kaibab Trail, Grand CanyonThe next morning, Wednesday, April 7, we reserved a 2pm helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon. Before the helicopter we went back to Grand Canyon National Park and hiked the South Kaibab Trail to the Ooh-Ahh point. This trail goes down into the canyon. It's a pretty steep hike down and back up. I took in the landscapes every step of the way. When we got to the Ooh-Ahh point I sat and enjoyed the moment. They were incredible views.

The helicopter ride was the highlight of the trip to the Grand Canyon. Helicopter ride over the Grand CanyonWe took the Grand Kingdom Helicopter Tour which is about a 1 hour ride that starts at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon near Grandview Point and does a loop over the gorge. From above we saw the density of the forest that goes right up to the rim of the canyon. Once we got to the rim and started flying over the canyon an indescribable sensation came over me...it was like I wanted to just scream from how incredible the views were. It's so difficult to describe the sensation you get from viewing the Grand Canyon this way. We saw the different colors of the Little Colorado River from above (brown and turquoise blue), we saw parts of the canyon that still had snow and of course we saw all the beautiful colors of the canyon (red, yellow, brown). WOW!!! WOW!!! WOW!!!

I definitely recommend, besides hiking the trails, taking a helicopter tour and viewing the Grand Canyon from above. They are both incredible sights and from above you get an idea of how big the canyon really is!!!!!

Someday I would love to go back to the Grand Canyon and spend more time hiking. A trail that caught my eye and seems fun was the hike down the South Kaibab and up the Bright Angel. Someday...

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4 comments:

Unknown said...

Thank you for including us on your travels/memories. The scenery is incredible and looks like you had a great time together!

Unknown said...

Love the memories. I can't believe we took the rim! Mt. Everest...here we come!!
Love,
Mom

Anonymous said...

Cristi!
Qué fotos tan impresionante y qué lugar tan increible! Tus padres y tu hermano estan muy guapos ( bueno, y vosotros también claro!).
ahhhhh, y me encanta tu blog actualizado! Es mucho mas moderno!! A ver si te puedo copiar algo...(je, je)
TE QUIERO MUCHO AVENTURERA!!!
un besote
Tirma

Andy Hecht said...

Who hot dumped on my ipod?!?!?!?!