Belo West Coast Trip 2013: June 8 Grand Canyon, AZ

At breakfast, everyone was pumped for our visit to the Grand Canyon. After a scenic drive, we arrived at Grand Canyon National Park. We piled out of the bus and climbed the stairs to catch our first glimpse of the canyon. It's beauty and vast size left us speechless. Everyone's first instinct was to take out their cameras to capture the wonder of the canyon - it was almost as if the Grand Canyon was a celebrity and we were the paparazzi photographing it from every possible angle.

After the initial photo shoot of the canyon, we gathered together to stretch for our hike down into the canyon. We hiked 1.5 miles down dusty trails with pit stops along the way to admire the changing surroundings. We noticed that the color of the rocks changed from white to pink and then red by the time we arrived at our final stop, the location of our group photograph. However, as we climbed back up through the red, pink, and, at last, white trail, we became sweaty and exhausted. When we finally got back up to the top, we felt like we had accomplished a great feat. Many of us were thinking, "So where is the food?"

After eating lunch at the canyon lodge, we spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the various scenic panoramic views of the park. We ended our visit to the Grand Canyon by eating a nourishing dinner of spaghetti and meatballs and salad. On the bus ride back home, we felt surprisingly energized and completely at peace - the sun was setting over the mountains and lighting our faces with a soft glow.

There was one last surprise waiting for us when we arrived back at the hotel. Nils's 17th birthday was celebrated with a special birthday treat. Everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to him. We are excited to continue our journey through the stark desert landscape of the Southwest as we head towards Las Vegas tomorrow!

Martin, Czech Republic