Fall Break Travel Diary

Life's been a little rough lately and as soon as I realized the girls had a fall break from school coming up, I knew that I wanted to get away from "normal life" and escape somewhere where I could focus just on my family and not all the other things like cleaning and chores and stress. 

We'd been talking about the Grand Canyon for a year or so so we decided to go for it! It was exciting too because when I was 19 years old I worked at a lodge near the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and I've never been back since! So we booked a night there. 

We took some back roads on the drive down and the views with the hum of the road provided a kind lullaby to drive to. 

Over all it was a gentle drive, considering the temperaments of some of our children... (also thanks to the DVD player in our new van 😂) And we arrived at Jacob Lake Inn and transferred four sleeping kids into the hotel rooms.

But then we woke up in the morning. And then we looked out the window. And then we saw it.
Snow.
 SNOW!!
I was not prepared for that at all! I had tried to check the weather but it wasn't working and so I never did but I figured it was fine- it never snowed while I worked there during October. But there it was nonetheless- powdered all over the pine needles and red bark, covering the earth- turning the Kaibab forest into one big frosted cake.

I wanted to be sad (because I hate being cold) but then reminded myself that this was part of the adventure, an interesting page in our story. The Harrison's- stuck in a snow storm with only jackets! So we got ready and put on layers of any clothing we had and went to the lodge to eat breakfast.

The food was great and it was a HUGE blast from the past to walk in there. Nearly everything still looked the same, smelled the same. Yellow woods, colorful rugs, sweet rolls, young staff members busily working, wearing their white polo shirts and green aprons. 

The store- where I worked.

Breakfast was a circus, however. It ended in a screaming Rose (sigh) and crying Johnny and EVERYONE in the dining room starring at us. So I didn't fully get to take my time there. The girls got some colorful rocks and a stuffed bat at the gift shop and then I purchased a bag full of cookies from the store. I ran into one of the owners and she still remembered me and my name! But then for some reason I felt too shy to reach out to anyone else. And so on to the Grand Canyon we went.

And for fun, a photo from back then and one from this trip:

We drove through the winter wonderland. First there were acres of burned forest, draped in grey fog and snow- it was spooky! But then that opened up into pristine white meadows and lead into full forests of pines.

And as we pulled into the nearly deserted parking lot of the North Rim, we could see orange walls dropping below us off to the left. There were large black ravens everywhere and whenever they took flight the alarmingly loud sound of their flapping wings was the only sound we could hear.

It felt like a bit of a ghost town. Covered in snow, the lodge was closed, the tavern, the deli. There were cabins everywhere. We trudged through the slush and found a trail and decided to take on the challenge and push the double stroller up and down it, with steep cliff side drop-offs on either side. There were people there too, we weren't the only ones but in the end it was only several groupings of people. I decided to count that as a blessing from the snow. ;)

So we made it on the trail. It was cold and wet but not the worst and the view of the grand canyon was, as always, AMAZING. It felt like the first time I'd ever seen it! I can't believe that I hiked that rim to rim. It made me want to try again. Buck loved it and the girls even seemed to think it was cool so that was nice.

June kept getting tired, haha. Reminds me of another little girl I once knew. ;)

 Rose was a bit touchy and wouldn't put on a coat and stayed in the stroller so sadly she doesn't have a photo at the rim but I did get this selfie of us with the "puppy dog" she picked out at the gift shop.

Johnny was also in the stroller the whole time, but I made him take one photo in the parking lot. ;)

And another time comparison photo from 2005 till now.

After ooooing and awing we headed back north to stay a couple days in St. George Utah. 

Cookie in a cloud. The best kind!

We got into St. George as the sun was setting and it was like a totally different planet there- warm, snow-less, palm trees. Wonderful! We went to eat at a buffet because- kids- and then checked into the hotel and eventually we all went to bed and it was a decent night. We had a hotel suite with two rooms so that was glorious.

The next day we had a slow start. It involved Johnny and Rose crying at the hotel continental breakfast. And then Rose throwing a tantrum for another hour in the hotel room. But finally, by NOON Rose and Johnny were asleep so Buck let me take June and Hazel on an adventure. And I'm so glad we did!
And some random hotel hang out photos from the morning, pre-tantrums. 

We drove to Dixie Rock, an area of red rocks and bounders, like the surface of mars! The girls LOVED running all over them, climbing, exploring, going through little tunnels and caves. We explored for quite a bit and went in pretty far. I was also trying to find “fat man's crack,” which is a lovely nickname for this slot in the rocks that people try to squeeze through. I had done this back when I was 19 and wanted to show the girls. And we finally found it! And decided to climb through it and up it. It's truly a claustrophobic nightmare! Haha and I barely fit, going sideways. It was quite the adventure getting in and out. But I enjoyed it and so did the girls!

But it goes up so by the time we were out we were now up on top of a whole new level of rocks. And we couldn't figure out how to get back down to where we needed to be to get back to the car.... so we got kind of lost and the girls were tired and we didn't have water or anything. But you know what? It was a welcomed problem and challenge that didn't involve a crying child so I was thrilled to be in that mess!

We did, of course, eventually find our way back, get some red rocks for Buck, stop for some smoothies and then go back to the hotel.

Should be called "fat man's NIGHTMARE."

Writting "H's" everywhere she could.

One last comparison :

Meanwhile, Buck, the champion dad and husband, back at the hotel.

Once we were back, we all went swimming! It was an outdoor pool, under the sun and framed with the red rocks and palms. The water was warm and all the girls were happy and Johnny slept. I didn't mind the hot tub either.

After that we got “dressed up” and then went out to dinner at a “fancy” restaurant (Olive Garden, haha, the girls' request) and ate dinner there. Came back without any major tantrums, praised God, and then got the kids in bed.

The next day we packed up and then stopped at a crazy park for the morning. It's a dinosaur themed “all abilities park” with a splash pad, climbing, swings, zip lines, and a train! It was a fun time and wore out everyone.

And then we got in car and drove home. The drive back was a bit more treacherous with Johnny crying more and Rose more on edge too. We stopped at a gas station where the girls ran all over the store, Hazel and Rose wrestled on the floor, Johnny cried, June spun the sun-glass display around in a million reckless circles and I nearly lost my mind. The rest of the way home I sat in the back of the car trying to calm Johnny. Fun times.

There were some stressful moments, of course, but over all I am SO happy that we went. Those stressful moments were in a new place, not in my house and I wasn't alone, ever. I had Buck with me. It felt good to see the beautiful earth and make new memories and remember old ones. And most of all, I felt, for a few days, a little bit more like myself again. It felt like a does of medicine that removed the dark glasses that seem to darken my view lately. So I am grateful that we could run away for a little bit.