Room+24A

=Grand Canyon Trip Journal= Bennett Adamson and Brandon Blough

The Grand Canyon trip was amazing! We saw so many cool sights and had a great time. We hiked the South Kaibab Trail, rode a boat through Glen Canyon, saw the Wupatki National Monument, and finally went to Sunset crater to wrap up the trip.

Day 1: South Kaibab Trail
South Kaibab trail was our first stop and it was great. We hiked 3/4 of a mile down and 3/4 of a mile back up. Going down was steep and Brandon slipped a couple times :p. On the way back up it was really tough. We saw all the layers of the canyon, from the youngest at the top to the oldest at the bottom. We learned about DUDE(Deposition, Uplifting, Down Cutting, and Erosion) from our guide. The canyon was formed when the Pacific and North American plates collided. The trail was really fun and interesting. We saw mules and squirrels too. On the way down, you could see how much the Grand Canyon has formed. Like the layers of the side. The Canyon used to be an ocean. That is why there is sedimentary layers.

Day 2: Glen Canyon
After a good night's sleep at the hotel we woke up early and got on the busses. Then we went to Glen Canyon were we got on some raft/boat things and set off. The river was cool because it was the same one John Wesley Powell would have explored on his expedition. We also saw some Native American drawings on a rock face. The river would have been much more shallow 100 years ago but a dam has made it deeper and cleaner. We learned a few interesting facts about the dam too. The dam contains enough concrete to stretch from Phoenix to Chicago! Just the base of the dam is 300 feet wide! The boat ride was my favorite part of the trip.

Day 2: Wupatki National Park
After the boat ride we got back on the busses and drove to Wupatki National Park. We saw an abandoned Hopi settlement that was still pretty intact. Archaelogists believe that the village had once been a major trading post because items from all over North and South America have been found there. We saw a court were it looks like some kind of sport was played. There was also a hole in the ground that blows or sucks air depending on the atmospheric pressure. One thing that I found especially interesting was that the Native Americans abandoned the village for reasons nobody really knows. I also learned that one lady still lives in the Park, living a traditional Hopi life. Wupatki National Park was very interesting. One cool sight to see was the blowhole. It blows air up from the inside out. It changes in air every so often. One time it can be blowing out and the other time it could be sucking in. When we had came to the blowhole, it was blowing out towards us. One way we could test it was by pouring water onto the blowhole and it sends it back up to us. It was really funny how a lot of people got wet from the water coming back up to us.

Day 2: Sunset Crater
Our final stop during the trip was at Sunset Crater. It's called sunset crater because a long time ago a volcano erupted and left a crater in the mountain. I learned some really interesting facts about the landmark:
 * The lava would have been very slow, but deadly because of the toxic fumes.
 * Research is being done in the area about why pine trees are so prevelant in the harsh conditions.
 * There is an ice cave bar owners would use to get ice at in the 1800's.
 * The soil is comprised of a lot of ash.
 * A tornado once came through the area. Back when Indians lived here, they drew pictures on the wall. The pictures showed a scene, like a movie. This is one of the things Indians liked to do back when there were no TV/electronics to play with.[[image:TRIP24A7.JPG width="405" height="336" align="left"]]

In conclusion the trip was really fun and I learned a lot. One of our favorite facts was that squirrel bites are that most know injury out of hiking. When we were on the lake, i saw a waterfall. The waterfall was really cool cause it was small. The Grand Canyon is an awesome place that has changed over years. About a paper width each year. So in about fifty years it will be a centimeter taller. in all, this trip was really fun and i wish it would of lasted forever!