EXTRA, EXTRA, READ ALL ABOUT IT! The Dopey’s are back today
with the day five blog!!!
This morning we woke up at 4:45 to begin our trek to the
Petrified Forest National Park and The Painted Desert. We loaded up the bus,
and after getting some rest during the beginning of the ride. For breakfast we
enjoyed some delicious Wal-mart brand muffins and clementines. Blueberry,
banana nut, chocolate chip, and double chocolate chip were some of the favorite
flavors from this morning! Every vehicle had enough food this time!!
Our early crossing from the middle of New Mexico into
Arizona was definitely a long one! After hydrating for the last couple days in
preparation for our Grand Canyon hike tomorrow morning, it was hard to go three
hours without a stop at a restroom. BUT WE MADE IT! Water, Gatorade, and
believe it or not, Pedialite have been our best friends for the past 5 days! We
have had reviews on the flavor of said Pedialite tasting like salt and/or
medicine. Due to these drinks and our much awaited bathroom stop, our bladders
were about to explode!! We wish this were an exaggeration…
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| TWB does not approve of this rest stop on the border of Arizona! |
We can’t forget our bus scare! We were told that we would be
stopping on an on ramp to allow our bus driver to check a belt on the bus.
However, we saw a hitchhiker, and after a quick poll, we decided to pick him
up. Lo and behold, the one and only Grant
Deaton climbed on with a cardboard sign labeled ‘Grand Canyon.’ We welcomed
him back to Trip 1 with wide smiles and a round of applause!!!! We love Grant!
After our stop at a rest area on the New Mexico and Arizona
line, we enjoyed a lunch of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with chips. Our
lovely cooks forgot to pack knives on the vans, so an extreme improvisation
occurred so we could spread the peanut butter and jelly onto the sandwiches. A
library card and credit card (however, Tyler Sellers used a pretzel stick,
smart man) served us well in our afternoon meal as we munched on our tasty
sandwiches and continued to drive through Arizona!!! Yes, a library card!!
A bumpy ride through Arizona brought us to the Petrified
Forest National Park!! We all were sure to kiss the rock at the entrance of the
Petrified Forest National Park for good luck!!
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| Counselors at the Petrified Forest National Park! |
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| GROUP PICTURE! |
As we drove through the park, we gawked at the mounds of
rock formed by Mother Nature herself in the Painted Desert. Beautiful colors of
red, brown, grey, green, purple and orange filled our eyes as we stared into
the distance, barely believing we were looking out at something real!!
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| Pictures of the Painted Desert do NOT do it justice! |
Today’s presentations included the UFO incidents in Roswell,
done by Ashley Weinstein of Charlotte; the Petrified Forest, done by Nick
Richard of Mooresville; and the great state of Arizona, presented by Erin
Sherrill of Cleveland. After taking many, many pictures with an amazing
backdrop, we climbed back into the bus and van and continued further into the
park to see the largest petrified tree in North America.
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| Ashley Weinstein presenting her research on the Roswell UFO Incidents! |
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| Nick Richard informing us about the beautiful Painted Desert! |
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| Erin Sherrill filling us in on the great state of Arizona! |
Driving down Route 66 was such a fantastic experience!!! We
stopped in Flagstaff, Arizona for the cooks to buy groceries at Safeway (yes,
it’s not Wal-mart; yes we were all surprised to be stopping at some place other
than Wal-mart) for the next few days. We had our first meal out at a wide
assortment of options including Chipotle, Panda Express, McDonalds, and
whatever else was available in the Safeway shopping center before boarding the
bus and driving the rest of the way to the Grand Canyon!
After a two-hour drive, we finally arrived and unpacked the
bus and vans, set up camp, and had a long discussion (including a lengthy
safety talk) about the hike tomorrow morning. We start hiking the canyon at
3:30am!!!!!! It’s important that we beat the heat and get to see the sunrise in
the canyon!
The view is absolutely breathtaking, and we will inform you
all about it tomorrow after we experience its beauty physically via our hike.
We are all looking forward to hiking tomorrow, but more importantly, we are excited
to call home and take long, hot showers!! Don’t forget to answer any strange
phone numbers tomorrow, as it may be your loved ones! However, keep in mind
that we are currently in a time zone that is about three hours earlier than
time at home.
Until tomorrow, which for us happens to be very shortly
(approximately 3:00 in the morning), the Dopeys are signing out.
-The Dopeys
***The Wi-Fi signal at our campground in the Grand Canyon is
very spotty, there is no service, so the pictures will be uploaded as soon as possible! We are working on keeping the participants safe and hydrated! Tomorrow's blog will be delayed as well.***
