Room+23B

=Grand Canyon South Rim Hike= The Grand Canyon is a massive canyon located north of Flagstaff, Arizona. It is visited every year by hundreds of thousands of people. It has many layers of rock that are brilliant shades of red, white, yellow, purple, black and are made of many different minerals. The Colorado River runs through the base of the canyon. We had the privilege of hiking a little of the South Rim and it was AMAZING! We stopped and talked about the history of the canyon and all of the legends that were created to tell the story of the Grand Canyon. We also talked about John Powell and his expeditions to the Grand Canyon. We both loved going to the Grand Canyon. We had both been there before but it was when we were really little. So it was good to come back and actually get something out of it. We both loved hiking down the canyon (not so much coming back up though).We also loved hearing the legends of the Grand Canyon.\ Facts: 1. The Grand Canyon is around 277 miles long and can be up to 18 miles wide in some places. 2. The Grand Canyon has around 350 different animal species within it. 3.The canyon took 3-6 million years to form. 4. The Grand Canyon was once under water and was once a desert complete with sand dunes. 5. It was made a national monument in 1908 and became a national park in 1919. 6. Five Indian Tribes live in the Grand Canyon =River Trip= The Colorado River is one of the biggest rivers in the United States. It flows through the Grand Canyon and is part of the making of the Grand Canyon. It starts in Colorado and flows through Arizona, Utah, California, Nevada and Mexico. We were able to do one of the most awesome things someone could ever do. We were able to go down it on a little boat. We were on the boat for roughly 4 hours. We saw many of the amazing famous stops on the river and were able to stop and play in the water for 15 minutes. We even got lemonade! The view was breath-taking! Every turn your heart would stop. Going down the river was very new for the two of us even though we both see the river ever summer during family vacation. There was nothing we didn't like. The whole trip was relaxing and very cool and enjoyable. We hope to do it again. Facts: 1. The Colorado River supplies water to around 25 million people. 2. It is 1,450 miles long. 3. John Powell was the first to successfully map out the Colorado River. 4. More water than any other river in the world is exported form the Colorado River. 5.The depth of the river is anywhere from around 3-80 feet.

=Wupatki National Monument= Wupatki National Monument is a one hundred room Indian building that has been mostly reserved. It is located near Sunset Crater. You can see some of the ash from the volcano eruption. Some of the building has crumbled but you can still many of it's features including rooms, blow hole, and the meeting circle. It is made out of red bricks and clay. You can also seem many of other smaller buildings but they are not as well preserved. We were able to walk around the monument. We sat next to the blow hole and felt the cool, sweet air from the earth. We also sat in the meeting circle and quickly learned that if you whisper anywhere in the circle everyone can hear it. We even got to walk into on of the rooms! It was around the size of a small bedroom and very cool! This was also a knew learning experience for the both of us. We loved the blowhole and the meeting circle! The blowhole was like outside air conditioning. We also loved being able to actually go into one of the rooms because it has been so well preserved. Facts: 1. It has been around for roughly 10,000 years. 2. People thousands of miles away cam to Wupatki to trade food, animals, and plants. 3. The ash from Sunset Crater provided the perfect soil for growing crops. 4. It was once the tallest, largest, and richest Indian pueblos. 5. Wupatki means “Tall House” which certainly describes it well =Sunset Crater= Sunset Crater is a volcano that is considered active. At the site you can see ash and debris from it's last eruption. You can even see it at Wupatki. It is all black due to the ash and pink rimmed. There are many trees surrounding it so it hasn't killed everything like most people think. We walked around the base and learned a little about the last time it erupted and why the ash spread so far and why people were able to use the ash for growing very good crops. This was another fun stop because we hadn't ever been here either. It was mind blowing to see an active volcano and get so close to it! We both wished we could have stayed longer but we had to be on time so we're hoping to go back soon! Facts: 1. The volcano tephra was very helpful in growing crops because it held water very well. 2. Sunset Crater is a cinder-cone volcano. 3. It is part of the San Francisco Volcanic Field. 4. Trails leading to the crater were closed do to hikers. 5. The lava flow created and “ice cave” but it is off limits due to risk of collapse.