Patti's Grand Canyon vacation

[Patti from Kentucky]

After only three months, I've finally finished my Grand Canyon Photo Album.  It's REALLY big, so if you're interested, you might open the link in a new browser tab and come back to it on a rainy day. 

I dragged Jeane, both my sisters and one brother-in-law along on this trip; it was a 50th birthday challenge for me and everybody helped me celebrate.  We've done some tough hikes in our lives, but this was a REALLY tough one, but spectacularly beautiful, and everyone emerged with intact joints!

Anyway, here is the "navigate using the thumbnails" version (but note that there are multiple pages of thumbnails):
http://photos.bellhanley.com/Trips/Hiking/Grand-Canyon-2011

Within there you can click the slideshow button if you prefer a slideshow format, or click the main photo to view it in a larger size.

If you really don't feel like viewing the whole thing and are just interested in birds, here's a link (generated using keywords) to the birds of the trip:
http://photos.bellhanley.com/keyword/arizona-2011-bird

Patti

[Donna]

534 pics!!! This will take me until Saturday! Maybe by then, Shaky will be working on his Alaskan trip!! NO, it's more like this!!

[Patti from Kentucky]

534 pics!!! This will take me until Saturday!

Yeah...it's a bit excessive, but I took about 1000 pictures, and both of my sisters (some of whose photos I included) each took about 1000 pictures, so I really did trim down considerably from 3000 to 534.  Quite the nightmare weeding through that many, cropping and captioning!

[MAK]

   WOWEE WOW WOW!!!!  That's alot of pics and alot of effort.  Thanks for sharing Patti.   

[Bobbie Ireland]

I am going to sit back and relax this weekend with a nice cuppa tea - or something! - and watch Patti's fun. Without even looking, I BETCHA she hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, right, Patti? Do I win something?? (This will help me get over the fact that my family visitors are leaving on Saturday - boo-hoo!)

[Donna]

  WOWEE WOW WOW!!!!  That's alot of pics and alot of effort.  Thanks for sharing Patti.   

Putting that album together is like a JOB!!    I'm only on #208

[Kris G.]

Putting that album together with all the narration was quite a chore but beautifully done!  What a great adventure for your 50th and what absolutely gorgeous scenery!  Thanks for sharing it with us! 

[Donna]

  Wow, I just finished!! Man, you can take pictures!!! Glad no Rattlers amongst the massive selection of pictures you chose. Had I been there and a Snake or Lizard was on the trail...well, sorry to say, I would have probably jumped over the CLIFF!! Those signs would have been for me too!! Anyway, I enjoyed the 534 photos. You all had a great time. Oh and you saw a Peregrine??? NICE, now I would go for that!!

p.s How was the prickly cactus stir-fry?    Thanks

[Paul Hamilton]

It's just like taking a trip myself.  Maybe next year, I will finally go down into the canyon as you did -- the pictures certainly inspire me.  The place on Airport Mesa in Sedona where you saw the sunset is just a short walk from where we stayed on our trips.

Paul

[Patti from Kentucky]

Without even looking, I BETCHA she hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, right, Patti? Do I win something??

Yep, you're right...that's what made it appropriate for a 50th birthday trip -- I wanted to prove to myself that I'm still fit!  I'm not sure what you win, but you're certainly deserving of glory!

p.s How was the prickly cactus stir-fry?    Thanks

Jeremy actually added the prickly pear cactus to the rest of the vegetables he'd brought for a stir-fry, so I can't say that I was able to distinguish them very well.  He said they usually pick up the flavors of the sauce or whatever they're cooked in/with.  The texture was a bit cucumber-ish...kind of slippery but they had some crunch.

The place on Airport Mesa in Sedona where you saw the sunset is just a short walk from where we stayed on our trips.

Paul

I remembered, from your Sedona album, that you stayed somewhere up on Airport Mesa.  Your Sedona album actually inspired me to consider Sedona when I was trying to figure out what to do with the couple of extra vacation days we had to tack on after the Grand Canyon hike.

[Carol P.]

Oh, my goodness Patti. What a wondeful trip and a great way to celebrate your 50th! Good for you! :-)

Seeing all the different birds and flowers and critters and people and scenery was fun.  Thank you!!!  

[Bobbie Ireland]

Oh, my goodness Patti. What a wondeful trip and a great way to celebrate your 50th! Good for you! :-)

Seeing all the different birds and flowers and critters and people and scenery was fun.  Thank you!!!  

Me too! I loved it!