Each time we tried to discuss our ambitious plans to take the day trip, our brains froze. We truly got no further than “put them in the RV, have lots of food and water, and follow the navigation.”
Tim and I brought our family to Scottsdale to see our dear friends, Julie and Aron, who had just moved here. Our visit had been set for a while; the whole RV plan was truly last minute, but transformed the entire journey from Trip to Adventure, and yesterday was no different.
So without a set idea of where we’d stop for gas or eat meals, Julie, Aron, Tim, and I put our children—all 8 of them aged 9 years to 18 months—in the RV at 6:45 a.m., and headed off to Grand Canyon.
The rides there and back were a blast! The children occupied every space: some up in the high queen bed watching videos; some at the table with crafts, some in the back bed constructing Lego masterpieces. They moved as if through centers, shifting partners and activities along the way.
Dads occupied the front cab, driving, navigating, and baby holding (on rare and very short occasion—it’s the weird RV reality that sometimes little ones sit in the front seat for a minute or two).
Moms occupied any place we could sit. Mostly we walked between the centers, making sure no one fell off high spaces or crawled under low spaces. We kept up an ongoing conversation with each other, broken and distracted, but perfectly enjoyable—that satisfying mom-style of conversation that seems hard-won in the midst of so much busy. Every once in a while we sat down, nauseous from the motion, and looked at the passing landscapes out the window.
We arrived to Grand Canyon at 12:15, joining the masses (5 million people visit Grand Canyon each year) at the South Rim visitor center. We laughed during the trip up, imagining ourselves at Grand Canyon all of five minutes, à la Clark Griswold.
Our visit lasted closer to 4 hours. As we had so many little people with us, we let the Junior Ranger program be our guide. We’ve become accustomed to searching out the Ranger desk, getting the guidebook, and letting the children lead through the visit (within reason). It makes for a memorable and more in-depth experience.
After we watched the Grand Canyon movie, we saw Grand Canyon itself: colorful, sweeping, vast. It’s so big, my mind wants to miniaturize it; I can’t really conceive of it’s expansiveness. But it is beautiful. Another of God’s creations that cannot be adequately captured on camera, but is best seen, heard, touched, and smelled. (We have talked of returning for a couple weeks to really explore and get to know it more intimately.)
We searched out lizards, squirrels, ravens, and horses, filled out Jr. Ranger guides, and finally returned to the Center for the Ranger Oath. Clint Augustine, Park Ranger, made this one especially fun; there is something about so many children in one group makes for a bit of whimsy.
Even as we headed back to Scottsdale, the night drawing dark and long, children asleep here and there, that sense of whimsy remained. We all sighed a few times, and laughed again, asking, “Can you believe it?” Our wonder at that point was no longer at Grand Canyon, but at the realization that we had actually made it there and back with 8 kiddos, smiles intact.
Follow by Email
