to get energy one must exert energy
Pop... my eyes awake wide open... wait, what's going on because it's still dark outside. I can't be up... I like sleep, there's no way... try to go back to sleep, just try. But it didn't work. I looked at my watch and it was 4:30AM!!! What's going on!? I hate getting up early and I couldn't even fall back asleep so I just layed there until the sun came up. I hopped down of my bunk and headed outside. I was impressed because after all that hiking I only had 5 hours of sleep! It was sort of crazy. Amy studied medical in Penn State University so I asked her why and her one response was "to get energy one must exert energy"... well, let's just say that this has never happened again. Never in my life have I ever woken up so early except for when I was worried about something! I think the reason why I woke so early is because my legs were still hurting so bad.
Dave came over to me in the Lodge to ask if I was going to hike to the falls with him. I looked at him and my Uncle and asked how far away it was... John responded that it was about 8 miles. I didn't think I could do it... even though it was going to be mostly flat land I didn't think my legs could handle the exertion! So sadly I passed and Dave did the hike himself... the rest of the group stayed behind.
So in the lodge we all grabbed our sack lunch that we got with our stay at the bottom and mossied around to the Colorado river where we just relaxed. Nancy and I were convinced that it was in the 60's and Amy and Amy were convinced it was in the low 40's... in the on photo there is a pic of Nancy and I infront of the River and there is another photo of Amy and Amy with books all bundled up in flease.
So the bagged lunch they gave us wasn't too exciting. It was a bagel, summer sausage, an apple and a beverage. So it really didn't satisfy my palate. But I did with what I got and was just happy for some food.
Wondering around the bottom was pretty cool because you got to see a lot of history. There are stone fixtures that looked like they were once whole but have since crumbled and art work from the Indian tribes that once habitated there. It's a very peaceful place to just go and be by yourself.
After wondering around we headed back to the lodge... my mom has a post card collection dating back to 1936 and the rest of my family loves postcards... I get them everywhere I go. So we went back to the little convenience store where I bought some post cards... to be delivered by mule (that's what's stamped on it because it takes the mule train up the canyon). At the cash wrap I was talking to the guy who works there and asked him what the temperature was... I was astonished. Here I am hot and he tells me it's only 57 Degrees F!!!! I looked shocked and he said yeah, it feels colder doesn't it. I told him that I thought it was in the 60's... he didn't look amused and he said he has been miserable down there because of how cold it was and then he saw my feet and didn't understand how I had sandles on.
The one thing you can plan on getting from your trip to Phantom Ranch is some family fun time. See my family isn't that tight and family oriented. Sure we talk to each other but nothing to the extreme! But they have what's called happy hour where you can go and play games like dominoes and pictionary. We had a lot of fun... then we got kicked out so they could served dinner.
Just like the night before Dave ate first by eating his fancy, schmancy steak while the rest of us got our $20 stew.
Well, Dave told us that he had a great time hiking to the Havasupai falls and he met up with a nice couple who were heading that way themselves.
The site that Phantom Ranch is on used by Native Americans; pit houses and a ceremonial kiva dating from about 1050 AD have been found there when walking around you can see the Indian drawings.
At the bottom of the Canyon you come upon small cabins and people milling around lauging outside. You're just excited to sit down and take a load off after the long hike.
There are two types of lodgings and two types of meal accomodations. One type of lodging is a cabin. In the cabin you get your own privacy with your family... you get your own cabin...but there are not bathrooms in the cabin so you must use communal bathrooms for showers and neccessity purposes. In the dorms you have 5 bunk beds where they are separated into male and female dorms. The beds were in small quarters and you felt clostrophobic...but the beds were really comfortable. I slept so well that night, I woke up so refreshed. I even woke up before the sun came up and was not able to go back to sleep...and if anybody knows me they know that I don't wake up before 11 let alone before sun rise! In the dorms you don't have the privacy but you do have a bathroom inside the building.
For meal accomodations you can get a stew dinner option or the steak dinner option. the steak is $10 more and I highly recommend that. Everyone but one person in our group got the stew and Dave looked so happy after he got his steak. We had 2 meals of stew and it sort of got bland after a while. If I were to do it over again I would have gotten atleast one night with the stew. You also get a bagged lunch provided each day too with bagels, summer sausage and some cheese and you can also get breakfast.
Room Type Summer 2007
Dorm, per person $34.16
Breakfast, per person $17.50
Sack Lunch, per person $10.14
Steak Dinner, per person $35.61
Veggie Dinner, per person $22.60
Hiker's Stew Dinner, per person $22.60
Duffel Service $60.83 each way
