We didn't start the fire

It's been an interesting few days here at the Grand Canyon. I'll start with the most recent, and work backward. Currently, we're scrambling to find alternate plans since the North Rim of the Grand Canyon is on FIRE and is CLOSED and even if we could do our second backpacking trip (scheduled to start tomorrow) we would either asphyxiate from the smoke pouring down into the canyon, or a piece of ash would lodge in Kevin's eye (not unlike the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale), or we would stroke out from the 113-degree heat.

So, we're currently looking for a hotel in St. George UT and planning on heading to Zion a few days early to enjoy a backpacking trip or two ahead of schedule. Ranger Pat, both tremendously helpful and tremendously bald, offered us several nice hike options, so what had been a major disappointment is looking surprisingly positive.

Also, Kevin mentioned "buying 10 books" and "vegging out" all day, which sounds pretty nice too.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday we completed our backpacking trip down to the bottom of the canyon. It was surprisingly safe and not difficult - as undifficult as hiking out of a mile-deep chasm could be. There were only a few moments where we faced any kind of peril:
(1) when I tripped on a rock and nearly fell off of the South Kaibab trail.
(2) when we spotted yet another rattlesnake, which was much more angry than any we'd seen before
(3) when we realized it was 110 degrees in the SHADE at the campground.
(4) when Kevin wanted to play in the Colorado River and I thought we'd get hypothermia.

The first night in the campground was a test of epic proportions. We were exhausted (having driven 5 hours from Bryce Canyon and hiking 6 miles straight down), but mostly we were hot. Well, I was hot. At midnight it was still well over 100 degrees, and while the Thermarests are awesome in any other situation, they were beastly that night. So, at midnight, I climb out of the tent, get up on the picnic table, and proceed to pour water on my head while trying to fall asleep. The combination of exhaustion and sleep made my brain feel as if it were spinning in my head, and the starry night only contributed to my vertigo. Also, I had a suspicion that sleeping on the picnic table would expose me to scorpion bites. I also considered walking 10 feet to the cooler creek, to fall asleep there, but I thought better of it - mostly because I'd have to put my boots on again.

Our next two days hiking were fantastic, though. We spent most of Saturday trying to keep cool in the 110-degree-in-the-shade heat. I spent most of it sitting in a creek, until I discovered these little fish were swimming up my shorts. We did see another rattlesnake, which was much louder than the first. We saw several deer and some interesting birds. The single largest problem we encountered was the loud and cranky man in the site next to ours - at 4:15 a.m. he was up and grumbling. Afterward, I was up and grumbling.

By far, however, the best conversation of the trip occured when we pulled into the Bright Angel campground (at the bottom of the Canyon). The ranger who met us asked us a few questions, learned we'd started our hike at 4 p.m., and suggested that we "sleep in" the next morning, hanging around the campsite until 4 the next day. Sleep in?? Don't mind if I do!

Last words (before we (may) die)

We're not really going to die at the Grand Canyon (where we're headed tomorrow), but there's an outside chance. We've had a few strokes of bad luck. Kevin noted, "maybe this is the trip where everything goes wrong."

But, have no fear. We will not die. I'm just pragmatic, is all. Plus, I can't die - I have too many loose ends. I'm in the middle of a book, for example.

We've learned some crazy things in the past few days, though. To wit: Edgar Allen Poe came up with the big bang theory. Also, Geraldo Rivera is Kurt Vonnegut's son-in-law.

Bryce Canyon is nice. It's astronomy week, so we've had a fill of special space-related talks.

Kevin says "hi" to everyone. (And he only threw rocks at the snake to hear it rattle again. He's very defensive on this.)

Now, for some exciting news

Well, I guess it's not terribly exciting, especially if you saw this headline and were expecting something like, "we're preggers!" or "guess who just won the lottery!"

But, KJ and I did see a REAL, LIVE rattlesnake on a trail we took yesterday. It even rattled at us, which was the only confirmation I needed that we were facing death square in the face. And, in the face of death, KJ decided his best move would be to mock it - yes, he threw a handfull of dirt and sand and rocks at the rattlesnake. (Do I need to remind anyone that rattlensakes are poisonous?? Because they are. And where we were - if anyone were bitten, they were DEAD.)

I exaggerate a bit. Yes, we saw the snake; yes, KJ taunted it. But we really weren't in much danger. I think the snake might have been too "cool" for us.

In other news, we're at Bryce Canyon with my parents, which is all kinds of tremendous fun. We explored some crazy slot canyons in the Escalante National Monument yesterday. It's been nearly 100 degrees every day, and the sun feels like lasers pointed right toward us. We've had great hikes and avoided sunburn, however.

And, for anyone who wanted to know: we did get our tire fixed. It was $13, and it was perfect.

Our first full day: in which we learn to change a flat tire

Click on photos above to view larger images.
Photos, from left:
Kevin tries to get the spare tire out of our rental car.
Kevin successfully jacks up the car.
Kevin and our friend (and erstwhile park ranger) Kirk, out to Tower Arch.
Kirk explains to Kevin the finer points of geologic studies.
Amy in front of


Well, we've made it to Moab and Arches with little trouble.

Except for that flat tire that Kevin discovered at 7 a.m. this morning.

So, we're in town getting it patched up. The repairman told Kevin, "well, bless your heart. Come back in half an hour." I'm not sure if that's a good sign or a bad sign - while a half hour is great, I'm concerned this guy thought Kevin required blessing. We'll think positive and count our blessings that we were within 30 miles of civilization when this occured.

In other news, we're getting acclimated to the altitude and enjoying time with our friend Kirk, who works here. We're planning on (not) heckling him at his campfire talk today and (not) getting lost on his Fiery Furnace hike tomorrow. This is fair, since he has been (intentionally) lying to me all afternoon about mountain lions and park ecology.

We'll have sporadic email contact and internet access, so feel free to drop us a line. Until then, enjoy these photos.

Travel Plans & Comment Feature

So, a quick list of our travel plans to begin tomorrow.

June 14 - 17
Arches NP
June 17 - 20
Escalante Petrified Forest State Park/Capitol Reef NP
June 20 - 23
Bryce Canyon NP
June 23 - 26
South Rim, Grand Canyon
June 26 - 29
North Rim, Grand Canyon
June 29 - July 2
Zion NP

Also, I changed the comment feature: anyone can comment, no account needed. Because that's the only thing that's holding you back, right?

ACC drinker of the year

So it seems that kids at Duke just can't handle their liquor drinks.

http://sports.bostonherald.com/college/basketball/view.bg?articleid=143535

breakfast of champions

Vacation officially has started.

"Vacation?" you may ask. "Amy, I thought you've been on vacation for over a year!"

While I will neither confirm nor deny my vacationing status, please be on the lookout for the upcoming entry: Amy Davis, Laziest Woman on Earth.

Until then, I'll settle in with my big bowl of Fruity Pebbles and grow my hair out. Hey, I'm not doing anything else this summer.

I should note that my very responsible and adult husband settled in for a big bowl of ice cream for breakfast, which promptly absovled me of any guilt I felt about how neon my cereal was.

happy birthday, big guy

In the words of a birthday card Kevin received today:

"Happy birthday to you.
All I can say is happy birthday."

Diet Coke and Mentos

Like half of America, we too have decided to video and post our Diet Coke and Mentos experiment.

For the seventeen percent of the United States who hasn't heard of this, it's pretty amazing: take a roll of Mentos, throw them into a two liter of Diet Coke, and watch a 12-foot geyser erupt.
We tried it twice. While the first time was certainly the most exciting, the second video has better composition.

check it out here:

www.unc.edu/~amydavis/mentos.avi

New Jersey and you: perfect together?

As the headline implies, we've arrived to the Jersey Part I portion of the summer. We're here only a few days - we fly out to Salt Lake City early Wednesday morning.

Thursday, Friday and Saturday were full of sad good-byes to Chapel Hill friends and places. While we're planning on return visits in early and late July, it won't really be the same. As anyone can attest, I'm pretty much the worst ever at good-byes; if my farewell to you was awkward, I apologize sincerely. To compensate, I'll try to be a better emailer than you'd expect.

Unsurprisingly, only Abby Gray made me cry.

Jersey Part I means our second pull-out bed, our first long drive, and Kevin's first birthday with anyone other than me in three years.

It also means our first water ice of the summer. Oh, baby. My spidey sense tells me someone's falling off the wagon.

Beta Handbag

Click on photos above to view larger image.
I spotted some pretty hideous bags at the dollar store at Target last week, but they did have some nice bamboo handles. I harvested the handles and whipped this purse-like-thing together quickly. It's just a trial run, though, since I don't have all the materials I would need to finish it off here at the Gray's. It's knitted with black boucle on Number 2 needles, so it has a nice thickness.

When I make the bag again, I'll probably make it wider. But this would require some serious engineering prowess on my part.

That mischievous look on my face? I'm planning something tricky.

Flickr Photos

I'll try to post new photos to my Flickr account. We'll see how it goes. Here's the link

www.flickr.com/photos/amydavis/

Super Soft Seafoam Scarf

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Another quick knit, with yarn I've had for a while but never gotten around to using. At one point, it was going to be a scarf for KJ, but along the way I decided it was too feminine for him. I knitted this bad boy up all over town: at Nice Price, at Smith Middle School, and at home.

Mother/Daughter Scarves

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Some interesting yarn was on sale at Knit-a-Bit this week, and I couldn't resist. First up: matching mother/daughter scarves for Abby and Tina. It knitted up super fast. I never have good luck with novelty yarns, but these seemd to work. It's a great weight for the summer.

Crashing at Casa Gray

Click on the photo above to launch my Flickr photos from this week.
I don't know what's harder to believe: that we're leaving Chapel Hill on Saturday, or that we've been with the Gray's for only four days. We've done so much while we've been here: had battles with fallen branches, visited Spence's Farm, gotten ice cream in the country, roasted marshmallows, tried to learn to knit, and had a lot of fun.