Room+5B

__**Cazlin Van Cleve**__ __**Kayla Scholey**__ **Grand Canyon Trip 2011 ** Bright Angel trail is a beautiful trail leading to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. It is a 50 mile round trip to hike the whole trail down and back up. A round trip on this trail would take about a full day or longer depending on the pace you are hiking at. It was a good feeling to know that we were part of the 1% of visitors who actually hiked past the rim of the Grand Canyon. Our group hiked about a 3 mile round trip. The trails in the Grand Canyon were first made and used by Indians to migrate and discover. Years later it was used for both Indians and miners who built the trails wider for the donkeys that they took down there. The government wanted to claim Grand Canyon as a protected national park so that is what they did but they had to move the Indians to a reservation nearby. Now the trails are used every day for visitors to discover the endless beauty of the Grand Canyon. It is such a breathtaking experience to hike the Grand Canyon! It was neat to see the drawings the Indians left behind on the rock walls of the Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon used to be a small ocean but it dried out because of the ongoing droughts and heat. Because of this, if you really look hard, you can see a lot of fossils of small aquatic creatures such as sea sponges and coral bits hidden in almost every rock. The Grand Canyon’s rock walls are mostly made up of a very popular rock called limestone. Limestone is very useful to humans. It is very hard and can be used in construction of things like counters, tile or things of that sort. We both loved seeing the beautiful sights and hiking past the rim of the Gramd Canyon! It was so amazing! 
 * Grand Canyon hike (Bright Angel trail) **

Top- a beautiful view of the Grand Canyon from Bright Angel trail Bottom- a fossil of a sea shell in a large rock

Horseshoe bend is an amazing, scenic river rafting area. It is called Horseshoe Bend because of the way it is shaped. If you look at a picture of it from above, you can see that it is a very large river going in a circle around a large mountain like rock in the shape of a horseshoe. It is peaceful and calm and if you focus, you can see amazing pictures and figures almost etched into the rock walls. There are also many caves hidden in the steep walls of Horseshoe Bend. It is also known as King Bend. The mountain in the center is nearly 1,000 feet high! The water was very cold and in some areas it was so shallow, you could see white fish swimming at the bottom. Our group went around horseshoe bend twice then we got to run around on an island nearby. I have never been on a river raft trip in the Colorado River and it was such an amazing experience for us! We would recommend it to anyone!
 * River raft trip on the Colorado River (Horseshoe Bend) **

Top- A picture of Horseshoe Bend from above Middel- A picture of the lake and the beautiful scenery Bottom- some people said that they saw the face of a bunny in this wall.

**Wupatki National Monument** Wuptaki is a very sacred and historic Indian reservation that has been preserved as a national monument. It is a beautiful sight to see and it’s really amazing to see what kind of homes the Indians would build and live in and the things they would do for fun and for work. The Wuptaki were the tribe that lived here originally until the area was claimed as a national monument and they were moved to the mountains nearby, where the still live today. Around 800 years ago, Wupatki monument was the largest Indian pueblo around. Our group walked around and saw some of the walls and structures that the Indians built and left behind when they were kicked off the reservation. We got to see and learn about the ball court, farming areas, homes and the kiva. We sat in the ball court for a little while and learned more about how the Wuptaki Indians used to live. The walls for the structures the Indians built were made from large rocks carved into cubic brick like objects. The farming areas were made in the dirt and enclosed with a couple of wooden posts and handmade wire fencing. This was where they grew all of their crops. The ball court was a large circular dirt area low in the ground and surrounded by tall brick/rock walls. This is where the Indians would play ball and have fun. The kiva was like a sacred meeting area for the Wupatki Indians. It had the same layout and design of the ball court but when someone would talk or even whisper from the other side the sound would travel and you can hear everything people in the kiva were saying. We had never been to Wuptaki national monument before the trip and it was an amazing experience for us.

This is a picture of the Wupatki Indians homes made from brick like objects.

**Sunset Crater National Monument** Sunset Crater is home to many volcanoes and amazing geological rocks forms. It is beautiful and has many trees and bright yellow flowers. In 1929, it was about to be blown apart for a movie scene but people disliked this idea and it never happened. Because people loved sunset Crater so much and didn’t want anything to happen to it, it was decided that the government would claim what is now called Sunset Crater as a national preserved monument in 1930. Sunset Crater is blanketed with ash and other volcanic rocks from erupting volcanoes nearby. Some types of volcanic rocks still laying around in Sunset Crater are created from a rock type called basalt. There are two different rock forms in Sunset Crater. One type is called Aa (ah-ah), and means lava that has dried and formed a jagged surface. The other type is Pahoehoe (pa-ho-ho), and means lava that has cooled and formed a smooth surface. Both of these names are Hawaiian. You will mostly find Aa at Sunset Crater. Our group enjoyed walking along a beautiful scenic trail through part of Sunset Crater and we got to see and learn about all of the geological rocks and volcanoes along the way. We also got to see the cave inside of Sunset Crater and I thought it was very interesting that inside the cave, it is always 30⁰F, no matter the temperature outside. we had never been to Sunset Crater before and it was such a beautiful and breathtaking experience for us and we hope many other people of any age can also enjoy seeing what we were able to see at Wupatki!.

Top- hills in Sunset Crater that have been covered in black ashes and volcanic substances Middel- The entrance of the cave that always stay 30⁰F that we got to see Bottom- a large crater at the bottom are of Sunset Crater