No outfit pictures today, as on day 16 we went to the Grand Canyon. Quite honestly, my warmly bundled outfit was not worth documenting (not to mention we had to be up, dressed, and waiting at the train depot by 8:45am to catch the train to the Grand Canyon, and apparently Egyptomaniac is not an early riser or photographer when on vacation).
So instead I'll just share some of the pictures I took throughout the day:
I think of everything we had planned on this trip for Child to see, as parents we were the most excited to show him the Grand Canyon. We wanted to make the day as special as we could, so rather than just drive into the park we decided to take the Grand Canyon Express train. It was about an 1 1/2 hour train ride, complete with a guide, live guitar and banjo folk music, wild elk sightings, and an old fashioned train robbery. As a little boy obsessed with trains, this was about the coolest thing imaginable for Child. It was a most perfect way to get to the Grand Canyon, if you ask me.
It was bitterly cold once we got there, but Husband said this was actually a good thing, as during the summer months apparently the park is absolutely packed with people. I will say it was relativity un-crowded which was nice. But the cold, snow, and ice did make it harder to enjoy the views. I was terrified of Child slipping on a patch of ice and falling, and it was so cold it was hard to stand in once place for any length of time--we had to keep going back inside the buildings to thaw out frequently.
Look Ma-- no barrier! If I would have taken 5 steps back, I would have plummeted to my death here. Husband was having a hissy-fit while he took this picture, as I'm not the most stable on my feet sometimes.
My coat is the Lands End Cire Down Parka, in sz. XS. I haven't bought or worn a winter coat since I moved to Texas 9 years ago, but I was so, so, so happy with this purchase! I loved the color, loved the fit, loved the warmth, loved the price! First off, the sleeves were long enough--hooray! I loved the quilting and the details on the coat too. It has faux fur trim on the hood, but the trim is detachable without being forced to remove the whole hood (though I was kind of fond of the fuzzy trim, personally). And it was warm! Very warm, without being super bulky. In short, I felt like a much more expensive coat than I actually paid. I love it when that happens!
Sadly, about half way through the day, Child developed a pretty severe case of altitude sickness. He became very tired and listless and got an intense headache (he's never had a headache in his life) and he ended up sleeping through the entire train ride home, the rest of the night, and on through almost the entire next day. It frightened us pretty badly, as in times past even at his sickest Child has never been like that. It was absolutely awful to see him in so much pain and so completely out of it. At several times during the day he was actually crying tears because his head hurt so bad. We called the family doctor, but apparently there isn't much to be done for a child with altitude sickness.
Fortunately, once we started heading back for Texas and out of the high altitudes, he started feeling better. It is just sad to know Child's first memory of the Grand Canyon will always be linked with being sick.
I adored the Grand Canyon when I visited and I plan to go back someday to do more hiking, at least some day-hiking along the rim or maybe even the two-day guided descent. I didn't realize it was at an especially high altitude though--poor Child! I am pretty good at dealing with thin air (I visited Tibet for two weeks and only had mild symptoms for the first two days) but my aunt also gets really sick when much above sea level and she couldn't risk the Grand Canyon.
ReplyDeleteI know--living so close to the Gulf of Mexico, altitude isn't something I even thought about before the trip. But many of the places we were in were 7000 ft. above sea level. It was a tough thing getting adjusted to, that's for sure!
DeleteYour pictures are beautiful! I've never been to the Grand Canyon and seeing your pictures makes me want to go visit. I have a little boy too (turning 6 in a few days - I can't believe it!) and he would love the train ride. I'm sorry your little one got so ill. I hope he still had happy memories of his train ride to the Grand Canyon despite being sick on the way home.
ReplyDeleteSo sweet of you to say! I think Child was so sick he doesn't recall the really bad days, and just remembers he had a bad headache on vacation. And we must have had our kids around the same time then because Child is turning 6 at the end of February! It's so incredible to think that just yesterday they were little babies!
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