We left Dead Horse state ranch and headed for Flagstaff by way of Sedona. Sedona is both attractive and likely expensive. It had a high dollar feel to it that kept me from even opening the door on the van. Drive through, enjoy, and move on is an effective approach when encountering such towns.
We made it through Sedona in little time and began the climb into a more alpine environment. Of course there was a vista point over looking the canyon we had just whipped our poor van out of. We stopped as they also offered bathrooms.
Once out of the van I slowly became aware of a clicking sound just like the sound of a small rock caught in tire tread ticking against the road. In fact I thought that was what I was hearing until it dawned on me it would take at
least 100 tires to account for the clicking I could hear. I scanned the trees but saw nothing. It had to be small. It turned out to be a small secada bug. We took in the views and the turned our attention to the Indian trinket booths. On the way out Elise and Kat stopped at a booth and bought a bit of Indian jewelry.The clip below taken somewhere between Flagstaff and The Grand Canyon sums up our day time travels with our children. There were not enough naps and far too much shoe play. The trip totaled over 12000 miles of this.
A few miles later we were in Ten X campground in Kaibob National Forest. Kat has been great when it comes to finding campgrounds as this one was just outside the gate to the Grand canyon. Only 5 miles; only ten bucks. Camping inside the canyon was booked and we were worried overflow would fill Ten X. As it turns out we had a choice of sites. A little after nightfall the remaining sites had filled. We were fortunate to be early. Our site (54) was awesome. It was both large and private with a bathroom not far away. A hard combination to achieve. There was no electricity, but that was OK.
As it turned out we were early enough to set up camp and have time before
the sun set to see the canyon. It was surprisingly moving. Although, I have been to the Grand Canyon before, I was moved. Perhaps it was in part having the kids with me, as Trey's reaction was of surprise and awe. I believe a lot of that had to do with the way the park is set up. The canyon creeps up on you. There is no indication of the canyon until one enters the edge of a view point. Nice.
The kids had Kat in a state of fear. They were running, jumping and hanging
on the safety bars at the cliff's edge. It was like they had been in a car all day or something. Heh. With night coming on we headed back to the camp so the kids could play in safety. On the way we noticed a commotion near the road. Elk! I got Elise so as to have her in the photo, her nick name being Moosey. 
It also meant that Kat got behind the wheel of the van to keep it from blocking traffic! Banner day. After we got back to the site I had the kids gather a few small sticks and built our first camp fire. The deserts we have been in have been too dry for campfires.
Off to bed.
Now that was some adventure!
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