So I figured since I disappeared for a few days and had the freakin time of my life, I'd share with you people.
Basically my trip was this:
First, we went to Sedona, Arizona for a day and a night. There, we took this thing called the Pink Jeep Tour where they basically take you offroading onto the cliffs and rocks of Sedona. Take a look:
That's me on the left with my brother next to me (yes, he's 3 years younger and 6'2" and crazy tan, let's not talk about it) and my mom. The backdrop is the red rocks of Sedona.
The next day we drove to the Canyon, and got to take pictures from the top of it. Take a look:
Then we continued on to Las Vegas where we stayed for a night. It's a very in-your-face city if you haven't been, and it wasn't that interesting not being 21 yet.
The next day we got flown from Vegas in a dinky little 15 person airplane to this cattle ranch in an upper finger of the canyon for a night where we went horseback riding, ATV riding, shotgun shooting, and hung out with the cowboys, who were actually really fun. At that point we were 80 miles from the nearest hospital (which is a good barometer of how far you are from civilization). Here's a view of the canyon from a lookout point on our ATV ride:
So then we stayed the night at the ranch, and got helicoptered into the bottom of the canyon the next day. It was insane to see. We rafted the canyon for 3 days and 2 nights. The 2 nights we slept in cots under the stars, didn't even need tents. It averaged around 100 degrees in the middle of the day, but the water was around 50 degrees. It was FREEZING. But we still went swimming. We also saw some cool things on hikes, like we got to see 1,000 year old Native American cave drawings. Here are a few good shots from the trip:
That's my brother and I with these 2 girls from the OC that were in our group.
Overall, pictures can't do this wondrous place justice. They just can't. But I was blown away by what nature was able to create. The things the guides showed us on this trip were just plain mind boggling. Nature can do some crazy things. O and the rapids were intense. A few of us almost got thrown off the boat, although nobody ended up falling off. We faced a few insane walls of water though. I know you guys probably don't give 2 shits about the vacations I go on, but I figured since I thought it was just crazy, I'd share a bit with you. If you ever considered this vacation or didn't but now think maybe it's a good idea, it really is a great idea. Just don't bring your cell phone, you won't be needing it. We were 250 miles from a hospital while in the canyon trust me, there's no service out there.