April 17th around 4pm my friend Tori and I set out for the Grand Canyon. We were driving a little over 9 hours just to see the sunrise.
We had only been driving for about two hours when we decided it was time to stop and eat. We were driving through a city when I yelled "That place has burritos!!" Tori changes lanes and whips into the parking lot. The place of choice was called the Donut Palace. It doesn't sound like a place to eat burritos, but we decided to check it out. Turns out the Donut Palace sells donuts, burritos, unidentified cookies, boba, cigs, and other misc stuff. We ordered our burritos and hit the road again. (They were surprisingly delicious and just like that the Donut Palace found a place in our hearts.)
We had a lot of fun on the drive. We bonded over music and shared a moment to "Ghosts" by On An On. As we were driving we saw an exit for Mexico. I really wanted to go, it was torture to be able to see Mexico but not go in. All of a sudden Tori said..
"Should we exit for Mexico?"
Me: "..... Ummm... Ehhh...."
We pass the exit.
Me: "Well I have immediate regret."
Later on as we were driving, we passed dinosaur statues at the gas station
Tori: "Do you want to see the dinosaur?!"
Me: "YES!!!!"
She has to quick slam on her breaks and turn in.
Me: "No regrets this time."
We had to make a stop in Phoenix to pick up her good friend Grace. As we were exiting we saw a building with glowing purple lights.
Me: "I bet that purple light is something bad."
It was around 11pm when we picked Grace up. I took over driving around 12 am or so. I learned something very valuable. I cannot drive at night. The roads were so curvy and dark that sometimes I questioned if I was going to drive off the road. Eventually I exited off the interstate and started driving on the backroads. There was a sign for Elk but I didn't think anything of it. All of a sudden there was an elk right by the car. I calmly said "shoot" and drove into the other lane. Tori and Grace shoot up from their sleep and freak out. I explain how an Elk almost destroyed the car. Tori decided to take over driving then.
We finally arrived at the Grand Canyon around 3-4am. We pull up to the park entrance and no one was there to take our money. So we just drove right in.
"We just got into the Grand Canyon for free."
We started driving around the park trying to figure out the best place to see the sunrise. We picked a spot and decided to take a rest while waiting for the sun. We then heard a ranger telling a car next to us to follow him and he will show them where the best place is to see the sunrise. So we decided to follow him too.
I've never been to the Grand Canyon, but I am so glad that we took what someone might call a wasteful trip to go see it. It took my breath away.
After enjoying the sunrise and taking my pictures, it was time to make the trek back to San Diego. The rest of the drive can't be summarized. Words wouldn't do it justice. Let's just say there were three slap happy girls who were pretty high on life driving for 9 hours straight (minus some pit stops.) (("How many times did you squat?")) It's an adventure I will never forget.
"Always choose the adventure."
