What a refreshing day yesterday was! We're nearing the end of our trip (I can't believe how the time has flown) and understandably, some of the natives are starting to get restless. Yesterday however was a terrific day. Everyone was in good spirits. Thanks to Nick, we planned to have Christmas in July and it turned out to be a tremendous success. The first thing upon arriving to Chino Valley, Arizona, we went to a thrift store. There we managed to find a Christmas tree, candles to set the table, a Santa suit, and several Christmas sweaters. All three of the girls picked out dresses to wear as well. The best part was that the owner was generous enough to let us borrow all of these things! Dinner was perfect. Mark and Mike cooked a delicious meal which was served on the church's flatware, complemented by warm apple cider. We opened our gifts one at a time and it seemed that for everyone we were either laughing or cheering. I was so happy to have Jon as my Secret Santa. On one of the particularly challenging rides, he was describing to me some of his favorite children's books to keep my mind off of the intensity. For Christmas, he gave me a few of the classics to start my own collection including the Tale of Peter Rabbit, Curious George Rides a Bike, and Love you Forever. He also gave me several pieces of fruit to enjoy presently. It was perfect.
Aside from the excitement of Christmas, so many outdoor adventures have been happening. Sandy, Jon, Nick, and I swam across Lake Powell (a dammed portion of the Colorado River) and jumped off of the cliff on the other side. We also climbed up Angel's Landing in Mt. Zion, visited the Holoo formations in Bryce Canyon, and travelled to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. All of the national parks are tremendous. Even after riding everyday, we still manage to wake up early and muster up the energy for a hike. When we first got to the Grand Canyon, I will have to admit I wasn't very impressed. Through Utah we passed so many amazing formations, it was a little anti-climactic. SeHee, Nick, and I, while riding to the campsite though, decided to pull over and see what the other parts of the Canyon looked like. Boy was it worth it. We climbed up under the pine trees to what we thought was the highest cliff and to our surprise found two even higher cliffs. The drop straight down never ceases to make your belly drop. You could see so far around you, a little of the river in the distance, the entire cliff capped with forest, and beautiful mesas jutting out against the sky. Every time the caboose decides to stop and explore I never regret it. There's no rush to get to our destination, we have all day (except in this crazy Arizona heat).
Well, the oven did not work yesterday, so I think I'm going to head over to the church and put the flour and sugar I bought to good use. Hooray for making day-after-christmas cookies!
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