Grand by name...

As we entered the Petrified Forest this morning, the ranger asked if we'd been before. Mike replied no, and then corrected himself, saying, "oh, actually, Laura has". I protested it had been thirty years, but he exclaimed, "Welcome back!" with a broad smile. "Not a lot's changed!".

My parents spent three weeks driving us round the west coast of the US in 1983. I remember it was 1983 because it was my job to buy the newspaper which would reveal the results of the general election - and I had to ask a passer-by for help because I couldn't believe the three-inch thick tome was all one copy...

That was Yosemite, where I also drove my bike into a tree. I also remember fondly playing Dungeons and Dragons with my brother in the back of the car as we drove to Hoover Dam. But I have no memory of the vistas of either location. My only memory of the Petrified Forest was a disappointment that it wasn't a Wizard of Oz style haunted wood (Logs that are made out of stone, oh my!). So are formed the neural synapses of an 8-year old on the trip of a lifetime. I'm not expecting too much from the boys...

But the Grand Canyon was different. I remember the hotel room with the log fire, the chipmunk eating crackers, my dad getting us all up for sunrise. I remember the geology museum, the native American crafts, the semi-precious stones. I remember the view, the air, the sheer scale. And I remember swearing I would come back.

Today we watched the sun set from the very same geology museum. I can't wait for tomorrow.

Today's Stats:
Started driving: 08:10
Finished driving: 17:15
Miles: 242
States: 1
License plates: 45 total - 6 to go.
North Dakotans traveling to the Grand Canyon: enough :)
Favourite placenames: Two Guns, AZ, swiftly followed by Twin Arrows, AZ.
Newly sworn-in Junior Rangers: 2