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!