GOOOOOOOOOOOOOD MORNING AMERICA!!!!!!!!!!!!
First things first....Happy Sweet 16 to Hunter Wood and Allie Binkley!
Our Sleeper of the day is......Scotlyn McDowell
Dopey's here again to tell you all about our 5th day on the road. After a cool night of watching UFO’s at the New Mexico Military Institute, we got an early start on our way to our next stop, Arizona. This morning we ate a nutritious breakfast consisting of Nature Valley bars and grapes, followed by some lukewarm water. As we rode to Arizona, most of us caught up on sleep and listened to many corny jokes on Ty and Josh’s morning talk show. Today’s hot topic was favorite ice cream flavors, where we learned that Ty has a Cookout milkshake fetish and has tried every one they offer.
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| Welcome to the Grand Canyon State!! |
A few hundred miles down the road, we were asked how we felt about hitchhikers, and whether or not we would mind picking one up. Not even five minutes later, we saw GRANT DEATON on the side of the road and invited him in!
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| We found Grant!! And of course he immediately gets a mic and starts with the jokes. |
Once we arrived at the Petrified Forest National Park, we took our usual group picture with the sign and Callie Smith told us that the state of Arizona is best known for its sunny weather and being the home of the Grand Canyon…which we found ironic because it rained on us as we were leaving.
Our very own Abby Christian shared with us that the Painted Desert stretches over 160 miles.
Ethan Manning told us that Theodore Roosevelt created this National Park.
As we drove through this gorgeous place, we fixed our pizza wraps (pepperoni, parmesan cheese, marinara sauce, and a tortilla) for lunch, which tasted better than expected. Following lunch, we traveled through the winding roads in Arizona leading up to the Petrified Forest.
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| You can see why they call it the Painted Desert |
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| BEAUTIFUL!!! |
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| Our view from the vehicles today |
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| Brison Bingham just might rule the world one day |
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| Sarah Kate Rankin and Hundley Rhyne sporting some Carolina themed shirts in Arizona |
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| Sydney Craig and Landon Wright |
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| OH NOOOOO!! Brad Olson better catch Grant Swicegood before he smears the painting that is the desert |
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| Listening to research...and Grant's corny jokes |
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| Sloan Edemann cannot believe how gorgeous it is |
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| A little love from Avery Clark to Morgan Bostic |
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| Liz Cox, Kaytlin Teal, Grayson Jackson, Olivia Andrews, Allie Binkley, and Avery Lowrance |
Ethan Manning told us that Theodore Roosevelt created this National Park. We spent our time at the Petrified Forest taking pictures, sweating, and spending over an hour in the gift shop checking out expensive pieces of wood. Apparently, our accents were very entertaining for the cashiers.
Leaving the forest, we were approximately two hours from our first BYOD (buy your own dinner). Our meals varied from foot-long subs to three McDonald’s cheeseburgers in preparation for our hike in the Grand Canyon (just kidding).
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| Petrified forest where wood becomes rocks and stranger become friends |
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| Our amazing counselors, director, and bus driver |
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| The Grumpy group |
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| The Dopey group |
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| The Sleepy group |
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| The Bashful group |
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| The Happy group |
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| The Sneezy group |
After our dinner, we finished out the day by the Canyon. We arrived just in time to see the sunset and calling it the Grand Canyon does not do it justice!
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| Pictures are not enough to explain this amazing sight |
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| Thank you counselors for bringing us on this unbelievable journey |
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| In awe of the canyon |
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| So happy to be here and so ready to hike! |
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| Ain't nothing to it but to do it. #canyonhike2016 |
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| WE MADE IT |
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| That's a huuuuuuge hole behind us |
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| Kayleen Smith found her hiking buddy in Carson Little |
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| Posing with Mr G |
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| This pretty much sums up our feelings about the hike tomorrow morning!! |
