Hot days and hot nights

Last weekend, I went to the Grand Canyon with the guys from Waterloo. Then we went clubbing with the intern from Illinois and her roommates.

I got up about 5:00a. I met the guys at their apartment and we left just before 6:00a. Andrew drove both ways, 9-ish hours total. The drive there was rather uneventful except for almost getting pulled over. The cop probably figured the paperwork was too much of a hassle when he saw the Canadian plates on the car, so he passed us and pulled over the truck in front of us.

We payed the $25 to get into the park and drove a bit and stopped at the first lookout area (the park, like the canyon, goes on and on for miles). We parked semi-legally and took a look over the rail. Yup, it's a big crack. Then we decided to find a trail to hike. We got back in the car and drove around a bit. While we were in the car, we decided which trail to hike. We settled on the South Kaibab Trail, which was back where we started from. We parked, took a shuttle to the trailhead and headed down the trail...without first filling our water bottles.

We hiked down about an hour, careful not to step in the mule poo, past the ranger station. The rangers were concerned about how far we were going to hike with so little water. As we started further down the trail from the ranger station, one asked us again how far we were going. We assured him we were just going another 15 minutes or so.

The hike up was about 4 times harder than hiking down. We stopped many times, whenever we found rare shade. I was the slowest of us three, as I found my back aching if I went faster.

When we finally made it back to the top, we found the drinking water and drank like horses. By then we had had enough of the canyon and were ready to drive home, stopping only once more for a photograph of me in my white coat for the class video yearbook.

It wasn't until we were hiking back up that I had realized I hadn't eaten since 5 o'clock that morning. I wasn't particularly hungry, but I knew I should eat. I must have been out of it, because I couldn't decide where to eat. We passed almost every imaginable fast food place on our way through Flagstaff, but I couldn't decide. So we kept on going and I ate a hearty dinner at home around 6:00p.

At home, I showered and did some miscellaneous chores around the apartment. Without napping, I headed back out around 8:30p to pick up the guys and meet Jennifer and her house mates at their apartment.

We talked and played Jenga and Catch Phrase. Then we headed to Scottsdale. Someone had the idea to try a place that was a little more bar-like and less club-like. Sugar Daddy's turned out to be a place filled with older women and crazy guys. Even though the cover was $5, we split pretty quick.

After being unable to find a particular club in Scottsdale, we decided to head to Mill Avenue in Tempe (home of Arizona State University). The bar was ok. I mostly just stood on the wall. I wasn't in the mood to party after going to the Grand Canyon, but I was glad to be with friends.

We headed home at 2:00a when they stopped serving booze. Back in Mesa, we had some great Mexican take-out from a local restaurant. Meal #2 (they had 20 or so different meals) was a burrito and a taco. Yummy! We ate the food back at Jennifer's apartment and headed home. I called Debbi to say good morning and good night before going to bed at 4:45a, nearly 24 hours since I woke up the day before. Good times.