t h e T E M P O R A R Y f i x: FIRST THING'S FIRST...

Upon coming up with the idea for this blog…we also decided we needed to get away. And that meant on a budget, of course. We threw out ideas…San Fran, Portland, New York, Palm Springs, Santa Cruz…etc. All places we have been, found deeply inspirational, and would like to revisit. But on our tiny budget…a little unrealistic. So we looked to locations that were within driving distance. Being in Southern California, a desert location was really all there was to offer in the middle of August, until we came across The Grand Canyon. One of us had been before at a young age, an age where little was appreciated unfortunately. And the other had never been at all.

Here’s how it went down:

:: Left after work on a Friday at 6pm…heading to Needles, CA. 4 hour drive.

:: Spent the night in Needles at Motel 6. You cannot, I repeat, CANNOT beat $39.99.

:: Woke up at sunrise and made the last 4 hour stretch to The Grand Canyon.

:: Stopped at a few souvineer shops on the infamous Route 66.

:: Arrived, blindfolded the one of us who hasn’t seen the canyon, walked her up to the edge…removed blindfold and filmed her reaction. Priceless.

:: Explored the Village on the South Rim…had ice cream, of course.

:: Headed to our reserved trail ride through Kalibab National Forest with the friendly folks at Apache Stables. $53 for a 1-hour ride. It turned out to be a private adventure since we were the only ones there. Score.

:: Wandered around the museums and lookout points at sunset.

:: Arrived at our campsite at Mather Campground, $18 per night. Cleanest camping bathrooms we’d ever seen.

:: Built a fire.

:: Roasted a few weenies.

:: Made s’mores using all 4 flavors of marshmellows we were able to find, (strawberry, chocolate mint, coconut and plain. Coconut won.)

:: Woke up Sunday morning, headed to breakfast at the Bright Angel Lodge, not before seeing 6 elk making there way across the street through the village.

:: Packed up camp, made the 7.5 hour drive home.