Arizona's Grand Canyon National Park
Watching the light from the setting sun fall on the many stratified layers of the Grand Canyon was something that called for silence and reflection. Our group was now at our second-to-last state along our Route 66 journey, and each of us silently reflected on all we had learned, seen, and experienced. Perhaps it was the feeling of being so small compared to the deeply vast canyon, or the gentle breeze wafting through the air as the sun began its descent in the sky, or maybe even the little birds flitting between the ponderosa pines and juniper trees, that did it. As the deep hues of red, orange, pink, and tan started emanating from the sedimentary rock of the Grand Canyon, an unspoken competition began for who could get the best pictures. If the stunning view wasn’t enough, a bighorn sheep suddenly came into view a little way down in the canyon. Vivienne was ecstatic that she’d brought her telephoto lens for her camera, and jogged along the Rim Trail that circled the top of the Grand Canyon to get a better shot of the animal.
After an innumerable amount of pictures were taken (it was evident from the first day of our trip that we were all avid photographers and would need to buy extra storage on our phones and SIM cards for our cameras), and many steps walked, Angela, Olivia, Tyler, and I walked back along the scenic Rim Trail to our van. We chatted about our journey so far while munching on Tyler’s homemade trail mix, a very tasty combination of nuts, seeds, dried fruit, chocolate chips, yogurt-covered raisins, pretzels, and satisfyingly sweet jackfruit chips. Angela, ever the deep-conversation starter of our group, led a philosophical conversation, mentioning the people we’d met, places we’d visited, lessons we’d learned, and how it all tied together to teach us different life lessons. We all piped in with our own reflections, realizing how much we had gained from our Route 66 trip—and it wasn’t over yet! As we climbed into our van, Olivia cranked up the music, and Tyler handed out extra trail mix (it was a big hit!). To all of our amusement, Tyler began trying to work out how our discovery of delicious jackfruit chips fit into Angela’s philosophical viewpoint of our trip. With laughter, music, and great (yet hilarious) conversation, we drove off into the night, checking off yet another must-see destination on our list and heading toward another.
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