Location: Grand Canyon National Park, AZ
Written by Jenny Blosser

June 15, 2005

            We woke in Chinle , Arizona at the Cottonwood Campground to the sound of Elwood on the guitar and Myron singing “Keep on the Sunny Side”.  We had a hearty breakfast of eggs, bacon, and hash browns while we tried to ignore the hungry dogs roaming our campground.  We loaded the coach and drove 1 ½ hrs. to Window Rock, the capital of the Navajo Nation.  We toured the Council of Chambers, equivalent to our House and Senate.  They have a mural painting all the way around the room explaining their native history.  Next we crossed the block and toured the Executive building, but were not able to meet the President and Vice President because they were both gone.  However, we did get a chance to go into the President’s office and sit in his big blue chair.  We also got to meet last year’s Miss Navajo Nation, which is similar to our Miss America. 

            Lunch was ready for us at the Navajo Nation Inn, where we had delicious Navajo tacos.  The soft, spongy shell is like a tortilla, with layers of beans, meat, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, and a little hot sauce in it for flavor.  We went to the Navajo museum and looked at the native art, then briefly stopped at a small market, where people bought gifts and jewelry to take back home.  Turquoise is the main stone used in their native jewelry. 

Five and a half hours later we found ourselves in the breath-taking Grand Canyon .  We set up camp, and since we had an hour before supper was ready, some of us decided to take a short hike and see a little bit of the sunset over the Canyon.  It was an incredible sight.  I never could have imagined the size of the canyon unless I had seen it myself.  After mac ‘n cheese, we gathered around the fire for a devotional, led by Mrs. Hostetter.  We shared our thoughts and ideas about the trip so far.

            For the night, a few of us decided to sleep under the brightly shining stars, and no city lights could block them out. I gazed at them and realized how far we had come in such a short amount of time, and how fortunate we really are to be able to go on this trip and experience everything we have done.