Friday July 20, 2012

We heard rain several times in the night, but no thunderstorms.  We woke up early and I went to the lodge to sign the boys up for a mule ride on the canyon rim.  The boys slept in – 9:00!  We went to the lodge for a late breakfast.  We drove down to the campground to do laundry and the boys played cards until the laundry was done.  The boys each had a soda and a candy bar.  We drove back to the cabin and Dave decided that he wasn’t feeling well – could be an altitude problem or maybe something he ate for breakfast.  He took a nap while I took the boys on their mule ride.  Theo rode on Snoopy, Dan on John D (short for John Deere), Alex had Madonna, and I had Buttercup.  We took a lovely ride along the rim and into the woods.  The boys really enjoyed the ride.  Madonna kept trying to sneak a grass snack along the trail so Alex had to keep pulling up on the reins.  Buttercup tried a few times, too – the trail leader said that those two mules were best friends and they seem to do everything together.  Alex went into hysterics when Madonna passed gas into Buttermilk’s face!  (Freud said that potty humor was alive in children from 5 to 15).  We got back to the lodge and I took the boys in the truck out to Cape Royal Point.  It was another fantastic view of the Canyon and from one viewpoint we could see the Colorado River way below us.  We got back to the cabin and Dave had decided that he would skip dinner and just have a couple of bagels.  Alex and Dan opted for Chicken Parmesan, Theo stuck with the pasta bowl, and I had a grilled Portobello mushroom with lentils and rice.  The boys shared an ice cream sundae.  We got back to the cabin to pack up and I cycled the boys through the shower.  They played another game of cards and I read to them again.  They must have been tired, as they didn’t take too long to settle down.  Sleeping was nice as we could hear rain on the roof – always good sleeping weather.  Apparently, it rains most afternoons or evenings here as the hot air from the floor of the canyon rises to meet the cooler air on the rim.  Tomorrow we head to Mesa Verde.