Day 7. We woke up to another snowy morning at the Grand Canyon! Jordan had left earlier for sunrise and as the kids and I got up, I got them dressed and started packing up the room. We had 1.5 hours to drive to get to worship so we needed to be dressed, packed up, fed, and checked out by 8:30. Jordan got back from sunrise around 7:45 and we rushed to get everything finished and to the food court to grab a quick breakfast. The snow was really coming down and I was nervous about the drive. As we were on our way out, we came to a Road Closed sign.
One of the park attendants told us that there had been a 15 passenger van that rolled over and the road would not be plowed or opened on Sunday. So, we turned around and went back to the Visitor Center to see if we could get a confirmation that the road would remain closed, and indeed it did.
When we first passed this section of the park as we were trying to exit, it was a complete white out because of the heavy snow and we could not see the canyon at all. Minutes later after we turned around and passed this section again, the snow had stopped blowing and the clouds were clearing and I got to get out of the car for a minute and enjoy this gorgeous view. It was breath taking.
The peaceful moment passed and we were back on the road! 🙂 They told us the road exiting the park south was open and would be plowed all day, though, so we went that route. It added a few hours of travel to our day and caused us to miss worship. Unfortunately, there aren’t many congregations of the Lord’s church in this area so we were not able to worship Sunday. The kids did great with the extra driving and Jackson surprised us with counting to nine all by himself! We have been spending so much time singing Bible class songs, ABC song, and practicing counting with Jackson while in the car- so much intentional, focused learning time!
We made it to Page, AZ where we enjoyed a nice Mexican food restaurant before hitting up Horseshoe Bend. Horseshoe Bend parking lot was under construction so we had to park a mile or so away and shuttle to the trailhead. I had read that the trail was made ADA accessible and paved in 2018, so we took the double stroller along with us instead of the kid carrier backpacks. Turns out, the publication was wrong, or maybe I was wishfully reading and made a mistake :). The entire trail was sand, dirt, rocks, and mostly uphill. The double stroller was not made for this, but we made it to the overlook and it was pretty! The wind was strong, though, and it was cold. Jackson cried to go back and I had to take the kids back before sunset anyway, because the shuttle stopped running at 6. So, Jordan helped me get back up the hill with them, and the kids and I shuttled back to get the car. Jackson ran the entire way (about .5 mile) back to the bus and loved it. It was a great opportunity for him to get some energy out! Emmalyn tried to walk, and wanted to, but she was so slow! 🙂 After we got the car, we were able to park in the parking lot since the workers were gone and it was then open. We sat in the car for a couple of hours waiting for the sun to go down and Jordan to hike back. Honestly, Momma was quite tired of trying to entertain at this point so we watched Blaze and Paw Patrol on repeat and snacked on anything they wanted! Luckily the sun peeked through the clouds just in time for Jordan to see a pretty sunset and get a great picture.
Next stop was our hotel for the next two nights, but it was 1.5 hours away, and it was snowing. I was nervous but we made it just fine. While we were sitting in the car, I found and downloaded the UDOT app which tells the road conditions in Utah. We found it helpful. Also, Google Maps did not tell us that the roads were snowy, but it did make the route yellow and red in the worst areas. If you’re traveling in the winter, I highly recommend staying up to date with the local weather and road conditions. We also are carrying a gas can, water, food, and blankets in the car…just in case. Praying we will not need to use any of those things in an emergency situation.
Live Moore Fully 