Sunday morning a
Rancher walked in our dorm, and yelled, “5:00 wake-up call!” I rolled out of
bed, and when I say rolled I mean it. I was sore. I don’t ‘artificially
exercise’ (e.g., run when no one is chasing me, ride a bike with no destination); my motto is ‘the world is my gym’. Today I was second-guessing
that motto. Walking was slow, and going down stairs was painful. We were all
feeling it, but this was our day of rest, and we were going to take advantage of
it (along with lots of Ibuprofen).
Meals at Phantom
Ranch are reserved 13 months in advance. Running the Ranch is a
logistical nightmare, as they have to carry every single item in and out by
mule, including the garbage. So the meals are well-orchestrated, with the exact
same menu 365 days a year. Our breakfast was served at 7:00, and consisted of scrambled eggs, pancakes, and bacon. All meals were
served family style, and were delicious.
After breakfast the mules arrived with duffels, and the girls went to feed them apples. They loved it.
We spent some time
in the Canteen, writing out postcards that would get mailed out by mules in the
morning. Yes, we sent three to our home as well. A mule-delivered postcard isn't one you receive every day!
After breakfast, we
went on a 2 mile hike. The girls were in good moods despite their sore
muscles. I think it was the Canyon air.
We spent some time on the Colorado River beach. The sand was as fine as you would find in Florida, which was surprising. Annelies found herself covered with sand, which required a little bathing afterwards.
After our hike we went back to Phantom, and had lunch on a rock in the creek that Annelies had been eyeing up since we arrived. We picked up our pre-packed lunches after breakfast.
The weather was absolutely perfect during our stay. Sunday was sunny, and around 70 degrees. This is one of my favorite
photos from our three-day adventure; it shows the inner canyon well. I didn't have to take this photo 30 times to get it perfect; this is how it looks all over the canyon.
At 5:00 we went to dinner; same menu as the night before.
The day seemed to fly by, although we did absolutely nothing. Paradis read a lot, and played cards. I knit, finishing a cowl. Annelies made more friends. Scott simply enjoyed the quiet. Around 7:00pm we
were getting a little tired so we went to bed. We had a long hike ahead of
us in the morning.
Day Five: 0 miles (481 total); $0 on gas
($44.65 total); 0 states (3 total); $172.36 Lodging ($797.32 total); $149.42 Souvenirs ($488.71
total); $0 Tourist Traps ($155.80 total);
$0 Redbox ($2 total); 0 fights (0 total); 0 injuries (1 total)
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