New Toys!

We got some great new toys from REI this weekend, thanks to a gift certificate from some very nice friends and a big ol' REI dividend check! We bought a water filter for camping/emergency preparedness; I got a nice headlamp, a new purse, and my very own climbing harness and chalk bag! We also picked up some rope to keep in the car. So exciting! We didn't do anything all weekend but play with our new toys and look forward to putting them to good use. We're really excited about our up-coming adventure. We're headed for the Grand Canyon, Vegas, and Death Valley! We're hoping we'll be able to get a same-day permit to hike down to the Colorado River and camp in the bottom of the Canyon. We'll see, though. They may not allow us. If not, we'll still get some great views and we'll get to camp up at the top. It'll be quite a hike, but we'll take three days to do it if we can get the permit. In all, it's a 15 mile hike that goes 4700 feet down and back up again. We figure we'll go all the way down on the first day, 1/3 back up the second day (they have a place to camp there) and the last 2/3 on the third day. Then, it's off to Vegas! We're excited to get to see the M. family and maybe see a show. From there, we're headed to Death Valley for a few days. Unfortunately, we'll probably miss the spring wild flowers. I guess if you didn't get to see them last year, though, you'll never get to REALLY see them, anyway. We're SUPER excited, and ready for a great adventure. Just do us a favor and don't tell mom until we get back ;) Just kidding, mom! We'll be good! I was nervous with the idea of going down the GC until N. showed me how wide and slowly sloping the trails are. Piece of cake! I'll post pictures when we get to Vegas, if I can!