Day 5: Petrified Forest and Painted Desert
Hola, como esta the Dopeys are back with another blog! We
started out the day waking up at the New Mexico Military Institute, where we rose
at the amazing time of 4:30am. Fortunately, no one had been abducted by aliens. We loaded
the bus and had a delicious traveling breakfast consisting of strawberry and
vanilla yogurt parfaits topped with granola, which we all devoured. Except for
Maximus Pavone, who spilled most of his on his lap.
Maximus P. with his spilled yogurt
We continued on our journey to
the Petrified Forest National park, and made the typical stops at a Flying J’s
and Pilots. We drove through New Mexico and crossed into Arizona, and witnessed
a beautiful landscape of rocky hills, cacti, and lots and lots of shrubs. The
sight was truly something we will never forget. So was the sight of watching
Cameron S. crouching behind a bush doing “you know what” on the side of the
road. Not only did we get to enjoy the view, several truck drivers and vans
supported Cameron through honking and waving while laughing at him as he
handled his stinky business.
Cameron S. making a run for a bush
Welcome to AZ!!
Miss Beautiful excited to arrive in Arizona
Not too long after that incident we drove into the National Park, beyond
excited to see the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest. The desert was an
astonishing and very colorful sight that we all got to enjoy at a lookout spot,
where people took plenty of Instagram-worthy pictures.
Gathering around to listen to research presentations
Grumpy group
Dopey group
Sleepy group
Bashful group
Afterwards we drove further, the usual “about two hours," and were rejoicing when we pulled up to McDonalds and Safeway for an early
dinner. It may have made our stomachs hurt from overdoing it with some
Mickey-D’s and Safeway subs but it was well worth it and hit the spot.
A selfie in one of the vans
As we were heading towards our destination Bailey Earls
surprised everyone in the Carolina Girl van by having to pee so badly she went
in a Starbucks cup in the back of the van. Oh. My. Gosh, talk about a bonding
moment.
We continued onto our destination of the Grand Canyon
arriving just at sunset, where our whole group sprinted from the bus and vans
to get to the Canyon in time. Grant also surprised us by meeting us there,
which took everyone’s breath away… along with the Grand Canyon, we guess. The
sunset was well documented with many pictures of the unique and beautiful view.
We could talk all day about it, but there truly aren’t enough words to explain its
majesty. Gaston County showed its numbers through a large group picture with a beautiful
and indescribable backdrop. After enjoying the Canyon for quite a while we
drove to our amazing campsite where the majority of campers set up Eno’s in the
trees.
We are so excited to wake up at 4:00am to hike the Grand
Canyon. Tonight we pre-packed our breakfast and lunch to take on the hike. We
made sure to make protein and sugar heavy foods such as pb&j sandwiches,
bananas, granola bars and some Jolly Ranchers. It took a few campers a while
to settle down from all of the excitement but soon everyone was asleep and anticipating what was to come in the morning.
Well, it’s getting late, and the Dopey group is getting
sleepy, see you tomorrow for our Canyon stories!
