Well, after I wrote last night, Sharla and I made it back to our room. As I took off my boots I suddenly discovered why I had been limping so markedly all day! Earlier in the morning I had kicked the suitcase with my right little toe and, after walking and leaping and praising God a little bit, I had stuffed the foot, sore toe and all into my boot for the day. When I took the boot off, I discovered that my little toe was badly swollen, and at least 3 colors of purple! I think I broke it! Anyway, it was some better today – moderately happy in my boot for the short walks that we took.
We hit the road about noon Navajo time (see yesterday’s blog for the explanation on that), and headed for the Grand Canyon, with a few stops along the way, to sightsee or to do a little shopping at the roadside stands. (I actually prefer to buy Indian crafts from those kinds of places instead of the visitor centers. We are often able to talk with the person who actually made the item, and sometimes they will even sign them.) One of the stops was the Little Colorado Gorge, which is a steep, 1000 foot deep gorge that attaches to the Grand Canyon. If it wasn’t for the Grand Canyon being so close, this gorge would be a major tourist spot. Anyway, Sharla actually stood right on the edge to where she was looking 1000 feet straight down past her feet! (She doesn’t like heights, and a lot of this trip and the climbing and hiking has been a challenge that she has done marvellously with!)
(By the way, in case you don’t know the difference between a canyon and a gorge [I didn’t before today], I overheard one of the tour guides tell his group that a gorge is deeper than it is wide, while a canyon is wider than it is deep. There’s your trivia for today – no extra charge!)
We made it to the Grand Canyon under thickening thunderclouds and looked over from all of the overlooks. There was just the right amount of haze to soften the countours, make the colors stand out nicely, and give you a really good sense of perspective and distance. We also got to hear a LOT of different languages being spoken all around us – people from all over the world were at the canyon today.
Tomorrow we are going to get an early start and hike about a mile and a half down the Bright Angel Trail into the Grand Canyon, do a bit of the rim trail, and go back to a couple of our favorite viewpoints to see them in better light. Then…we’re not sure yet, so you’ll have to wait until tomorrow to see where we end up.
By the way, I slept all through the night last night WITHOUT MEDICATION, and woke feeling very rested (a HUGE improvement since the start of this cold), and Sharla slept better, too. Still coughing, but not nearly so often or so hard. Thank you all for your prayers – God is good!
Love to all,
Pastor Will &
Sharla