Memoir #1

	It was four in the morning on June 12, 2015. My alarm had just gone off, and I knew I had to hurry if my family and I were going to make it to our 8:30 flight. As I went through my morning routine, I could only focus on the great adventure I was about to go on. I'm lucky I didn't forget to pack anything! We left at six in the morning, and before I knew it we had been through two airports, flown over at least eight states, and were landing at the Las Vegas airport. The first thing that hit me when we stepped out of the airport and into the outdoors was the hot wind. I had never experienced hot wind before, because up until that point in my life the only wind I had ever encountered was either cool and refreshing or freezing and chilling to the bone. I had adapted to the daily temperatures of over one hundred degrees by the time I went to sleep that night, and I was sure I was ready for the lifetime experience I was going to have tomorrow.
	The next day, we woke up in our hotel room, had breakfast, got cleaned up, grabbed what we needed and left for our destination. It was only about a twenty minute's drive away from our hotel, and the whole time I was thinking what it would be like the first time I saw it. On the drive, we saw a small group of elk grazing on the trees off the side of the road. Of course, all the tourists were entertained and took pictures, but I could tell that to the locals, the elk were just like deer are to us here in Pennsylvania. Eventually, we found a parking space and were able to get out of the car. After gearing up in backpacks full of sunscreen and water, we set out on a small trail at the end of the parking lot.
	We had been walking along the trail for about five minutes when I could see a paved path ahead. Upon seeing the railing on the other side of the path, I knew that we were finally there. Running ahead of my parents, I got to the edge of the railing and was taken aback in awe at what I had been waiting to see for so long. The Grand Canyon. I was completely stunned for the first few seconds. It took me a moment to process what I was seeing, as it was completely different than anything I'd even seen in my life. For over a mile, right in front of me, was a huge hole in the ground. But it wasn't an empty hole. It had hills, ridges, ravines, rivers, wildlife, and vegetation inside. The detail I remember most, though, was just the sheer size of the entire thing. The fact that something that huge could exist purely because of nature, with no human interference at all. That's the thing I hold dearest to me about our trip, even to this day. How majestic nature can truly be.