Our next stop was Bryce Canyon.  This is the lodge where we stayed.  We had our own private cabin right on the rim trail.  So, all we had to do was walk out our door, grab our back packs and get hiking.

After our Rainbow Bridge trip, we came back into Page, Arizona to find a laundromat.  We found one right next to this Mexican Restaurant.  After the laundry was done, it was Margarita time for Margaret. This drink may have been named for her.  

The next day Peggy and I went on a float trip on Lake Powell down to the Rainbow Bridge. This trip was alot of fun. Lake Powell is a very cool resort which is a huge oasis in the middle of the desert. We were on the water for about 2 hours to get to Rainbow Bridge. Once we reached land, we hiked more than a mile inland to see this beautiful bridge.  This is a great excursion if you are ever at Lake Powell.

We rode this Hummer all over Navajo land to get to the Secret Slot Canyon on Saturday afternoon.  It was only Peggy and I and the guide because we had the last tour of the day. This tour was one of the most interesting things I have ever done.  Our guide was very knowledgeable about all of the animals in the canyon.

After breakfast in Cameron, we headed straight north to Page, Arizona to Lake Powell.  this is the resort where we stayed for two nights. The first day there we took a hummer tour that took us deep into the Secret Slot Canyon on the Navajo reservation. The tour turned out to be a private tour because it was just Peggy, myself and Brian, our guide.  

We left the Grand Canyon and headed North towards Page, Arizona which was our next stop.  We had to pass through Cameron, Arizona as soon as we got out of the Grand Canyon.  Cameron has a huge old trading post with great food.  So, we stopped and had a Mexican breakfast there.  Yum!

We got to the Grand Canyon on Thursday and hiked the rim trail for about 4 miles.  We had a great time at the El Tovar and the food was good, too.  The only bad thing was their air conditioning system was sort of wonky and we couldn't get it regulated.  But, that was just a small snag in our wonderful stay there.  

Our friends Tom and Atticus have rescued a 16 year old white schnauzer.  They have opened their home and their hearts to this old boy. If you are following our blog, take a peek at their blog as well...it will do your heart good.


http://tomandatticus.blogspot.com/2012/05/will-update.html?spref=fb

Once we leave Chicago we will be headed towards Flagstaff, Arizona.There are wild fires burning South of Flagstaff near the Phoenix area. We will need to keep our eyes peeled for these. There are also wild fires burning in Colorado. Thus are the worries of the Rowdy Girls as they prepare to jump into the void....stay tunned.

Peggy and I meet in Chicago on Monday morning. Little did we know when we made these plans that the NATO conference would be going on. We are staying downtown at the Palmer House Monday night and taking a train to Flagstaff on Tuesday morning.  This picture was taken on Friday when Police tried to stop a demonstration march from crossing the Michigan Avenue bridge. This is going to be a real travel experience.

Peggy gets on the train this afternoon in Martinsburg, West Virginia.  This old historic train station has been the focus of much renovation over the years. 

I found this video online this morning and thought it really explained so much about the Grand Canyon.  This is a view that you would get if you took one of those helicopter rides over the top and down the river.  Now we all know that isn't going to happen.  

This is where our suitcase is headed.  We are going to stay two nights right on the rim. This hotel was built around the turn of the century after Teddy Roosevelt visited the Canyon.  The hotel is on the end of one of the Santa Fe railroad spurs which is no longer in operation. It is very rustic but it seems to fit right into the landscape.  The food is known to be good and the views are unsurpassed.

Enough about school and onto the good stuff.FedEx is coming today to pick up the whopper that we are sending out to the Grand Canyon....jacket, poles, boots, hats, socks and maps. Once the suitcase goes it really starts the clock ticking. 

Just had to walk back down memory lane and post a few pictures from honors day right before graduation this year. You can see David, my new colleague from Texas, and our entire trial team with all of their awards from this year.  These kids were really spectacular this season.  I couldn't be prouder.

I have broken out tiny Judy.  She is my netbook that I take on vacation. I fired her up this morning and she is running like a champ. Of course I will need to bring all of tiny Judy's accessories with me. That means her external mouse and power cord. Tiny Judy is small and light weight albeit slower than my full size HP laptop from school. But....she is itching to get going.

There is no mountain climbing in my future.Maybe we should just rent a video or sit on the canyon floor and watch others scale these peaks. I am all about vicarious thrills these days.

I spoke to my sister last night and she is busy packing things to put in my whopper suitcase that I am shipping out to the El Tovar Hotel.We have hiking boots, poles, raincoats, desert hats, etc...for all of this hiking we are going to be doing.I have held the line at going up and down any mountains. We did that in Ireland.Been there done that.   

Now that I am back from New Orleans, I need to get serious about our vacation.