Havasupai Adventure!

I just returned from a CRAZY adventure...and as my good friend Lynde would say...all adventures have some good and some bad...but thankfully this one was mostly good:) On Wednesday morning I hopped in a yellow mustang with 2 complete strangers, and drove 10 hours to Arizona. We reached a parking lot, parked, pulled out a tarp, and slept (or should I say tried to sleep:) for a few hours on the ground. Just as the sun rose we put on our packs and mentally prepared for our hike to the Supai Village located at the bottom of the Grand Canyon!

We knew that the village was about 8-10 miles from the top, but being first timers it was hard to know how far we'd gone and how much farther we needed to go! So seeing this sign was incredible news!

The first thing I noticed when I reached the village was this LDS church! It made me SO happy!

                                                   

They even have a nice school...which I thought was pretty cool!

Most of all I enjoyed a DELICIOUS snowcone, taking off my shoes, and laying in the grass for a few hours!

We met up with the rest of our group and then hiked another few miles to our campsite! We found a perfectly shady spot with lots of good trees for hanging hammocks!

We set up camp and then headed to Havasupai Falls to cool off! The cold water felt AMAZING on our  tired legs and the site of it all was beautiful! I am still amazed at the color of that water!

On Friday we visited Mooney Falls! It was an adventurous rock climb to the bottom, but we were feeling risky!

After playing in the water for a little while we decided to hike down the river for about 4 more miles until we reached Beaver falls. 

We made friends with a frog, but weren't able to kiss it before it hopped away:)

We also took a shower under a mini waterfall...

and I took LOTS of pictures of the amazing waterfalls along the way. Hiking in the water was much cooler than our hike the previous day, but at times it was difficult to know exactly where to step! It took some major teamwork and trust:)

We enjoyed seeing some animals...

and I must have seen over 100 lizards! Thankfully I didn't run into any scorpions:)

Beaver Falls was one of the highlights of the trip for me, because it was there that I did something I didn't know I could do! Jumping off waterfalls! It definitely took courage, peer pressure, and inspiration from a good friend (you know who you are:)...and I had to start small! But I grew more confident and actually REALLY enjoyed it...and only suffered one battle wound!

On Saturday we started hiking out! We stopped at these beautiful waterfalls to cool off and do a little more jumping.

Hiking back was probably the hardest part of the entire trip! It was hot, mostly uphill, and very exhausting! 

BUT I DID IT!

This is my survivor picture! Do I look Stronger? Tougher? Braver? Dirtier? Happier? 

Because I am!

I can't say I did it ALL on my own...I was definitely surrounded by angels that last mile and a half...one of which was my hiking buddy Nathan! He kept me laughing and smiling the whole way!

Now that I am home in my bed...it seems a little weird that I spent the last few days camping with a group of people I hardly knew at all, and in a place I had never been...but I know that it was no coincidence that my adventure turned out the way that it did! The conversations that I had, the things that I felt, the people that I met, and even the hurt that I felt...was EXACTLY what I needed:) Thank you Havasupai! I'll be back someday:)