heading back home. On the way we saw a huge Elk peering into the bus at us, our first glimpse of the local wildlife!! We were dropped off at the campsite, but unfortunately Mum and Dad got off at the wrong stop and were lost in the pitch darkness and had to enlist the help of a friendly employee to get them home!!

The next morning we went to check out Yavapai Point, named after one of the Indian Tribes from the area. It was a fantastic place, you could see right down to the river where the trail ends and there is a ranch where people who have braved the hikers, mule riders or rafters can stay. There is also a suspension bridge over the river to give access to it, and I think this was the moment when I realised just how far away the canyon floor is!! The Grand Canyon can’t really stand up to Bryce in terms of beauty and sheer alien weirdness, but what it lacks in that way it makes up for in

sheer size - Neither I, nor all the photos in the world can describe to you just how big this place is!!

There was an information centre at Yavapai point, and Mum and Dad got a few numbers to call to try to arrange a helicopter flight in the canyon. Dad had been itching to do one, but I’m not sure Mum was so enthusiastic - in fact terrified would be a more appropriate description!! They managed to get one for a good price, but it meant they had to leave pretty much straight away, as the weather was pretty good, they decided to take it. Hel & I decided to take the opportunity and start sorting out our stuff into what was going back home and what was coming round South & Central America with us, a job we were not really looking forward to, but it needed doing nevertheless! A couple of hours later and the timing couldn’t have been better, all our stuff was packed, the four helicopter riders