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The drive to the Grand Canyon was short- a whopping two and a half hours. Checking out of the hotel and fighting traffic was more time-consuming than our actual travel. Lily was quiet most of the trip and laid on the back bed, complaining that she didn’t feel well. I wondered if it was too much junk food and made plans to cook a few meals over the next few days to get us back on track with healthier eating.
I had checked on the supplies that we had when we packed up the motorhome this morning. Sammy was doing swimmingly well and seemed to be enjoying his home. I added fish food to the list of items that we were going to need soon. Toilet paper and food were the other items that we needed to replenish, and soon. There were a few rolls that would last us through today and probably tomorrow, but not much food other than a few boxes of crackers and some half-empty bags of chips.
I was starting to feel weighed down and gross from all the greasy food I had been eating and decided that a nice, clean salad would be beneficial for all of us. While Lily rested in the bed, I climbed over into the passenger seat next to John, setting my notepad and pen on my lap while I buckled my seatbelt.
“How’s she doing?” he asked, nodding back to Lily.
“I’m guessing that maybe all of the junk food is making her sick. I know that I’m starting to feel the effects of it,” I laughed and rubbed a hand across my stomach, convinced that I had already put on ten pounds in less than a week. Maybe this was why I shouldn’t go on vacation.
“Me too,” he said, patting his stomach. I rolled my eyes at the thought of him thinking that he had an ounce of fat on his body. He was probably one of the healthiest and leanest humans I had ever met. Even though he was a dad, there was no dad-bod for this guy.
“Oh, please,” I snorted. “You could live off of cheeseburgers and fries and not gain an ounce. The rest of us, well, we need to eat a few salads to balance out these carb-heavy meals.”
“A salad sounds delicious,” he commented, turning to look at me. “I was planning to stay in Williams, Arizona tonight, but since Lily doesn’t seem to be feeling good, I doubt she’s up for a long trip there. Maybe we stop and look at it, then head on to New Mexico?”
“That’s fine with me,” I agreed. “Hopefully, her stomachache will pass soon, but it wouldn’t be terrible to get some of the travel out of the way while she’s sleeping it off. I can drive for a bit too if you want. Give you a break.”
“That would be nice, thank you.”
I smiled, pleased that he was ready to let me help out.
“Where in New Mexico were you planning to stay?” I asked, looking down at my list of things that we needed. It would be best to stop in a big city with a Walmart or a decent grocery store.
“It’s a little out of the way— a couple of hours—but I was planning to go up to Taos. From what I’ve researched, it’s beautiful up there, and I thought we could go check out the Rio Grande Gorge. It’s the tenth highest bridge in the US and sits six hundred feet above the Rio Grande river. They have boat tours that I thought about signing up for if you girls are interested. We can rent a boat and hang out in the calm part of the river, or we can do the tour, which includes white water rafting.”
“Do you think Lily can handle that?” I asked, feeling a little nervous and uneasy about it.
“They say that it’s fine for children six years and older, but I’ll admit, I feel a little nervous about it myself.”
“Well, we can always decide once we get there,” I sighed heavily, feeling the weight of responsibility sitting square on my shoulders. Lily wasn’t my child, but that didn’t stop me from wanting to protect her.
“Are we going to stay in the motorhome tonight?” I asked, going back to planning dinner.
“I was thinking about it if that works for you? I didn’t rent a hotel and don’t know if we could get one with this late of notice....” His voice trailed off.
“No, that’s perfect. Sorry, I wasn’t suggesting that we get one. I wanted to make dinner tonight, so I was checking to make sure we weren’t going to be on the go again.”
He nodded his head in understanding as he pulled off at the turn to the Grand Canyon.
“I want to at least see it before we pass by. Maybe we can stop by again on our way back home when Lily is feeling better?”
“I’m sure she would like that.” I looked out the window, excited and anxious to get out and see it. I had never been to the Grand Canyon before, and it was one of the few things on my bucket list.
“Do you want me to go wake Lily up?” I asked as John found a parking spot.
“Sure, I think she should see this.”
I unbuckled and got up, surprised to find that Lily had just woken up.
“Where are we?” she asked sleepily, running a hand over her face.
“The Grand Canyon,” I said, sitting down next to her on the edge of the bed. “How are you feeling?”
“I still don’t feel well,” she said sadly.
“Do you want to get out and go look at it before we get back on the road again?”
She nodded and scooted off of the bed as I got up. We walked outside to join John, the heat immediately pounding down on us. It was barely ten o’clock in the morning, and it felt like it was easily over a hundred degrees outside already.
We walked over to where a crowd of people were standing, and I felt myself reaching over to grab Lily’s hand. She wasn’t a small child, but I had this immediate fear when I saw the steep edges and sharp drop-offs just below the railing. Either she didn’t feel good enough to care, or it just didn’t bother her that I was holding her hand. We made our way to the railing and stopped. The view was breathtaking and unlike anything that I had ever seen before.
The canyon was painted in shades of red and orange with purple highlights depending on where the sun was beating down on the rocks and trees. I leaned forward slightly, one hand holding onto the rail while the other held onto Lily. My stomach dropped as I looked down, the ground beneath us barely extending a few inches past the railing. There was a sharp drop that would be certain death if this railing wasn’t in place, and someone took one wrong step.
I pulled back, feeling John’s eyes on me, filling with a hint of curiosity and concern.
My heart was racing, the blood rushing loudly in my ears. I wasn’t a daredevil and didn’t enjoy living life on the edge, but there was something about the adrenaline coursing through me that made me want to do it again. I pulled in a slow and steady breath before I leaned forward again, feeling the same rush that I had a few minutes ago. This time though, it was different. Instead of the fear overruling everything, it was the tingle in my body as I flirted with danger.
“Can I go back to the motorhome now?” Lily asked, looking up at John as she let go of my hand.
“Sure, sweetie.” He squinted his eyes and studied her face before lifting a hand to her forehead. “You feel a little warm. Are you still not feeling well?”
She shook her head no, not having the energy to answer him.
“Well then, let’s get you back inside so you can rest.”
I took one last opportunity to lean forward and face my fear as I stared into the vast darkness beneath me before turning and walking back with John and Lily.
Once inside, I asked John to give us a few minutes for her to get comfortable so she could rest. He studied the map, making sure he planned the stops that he wanted to make on the way. According to Google maps on his phone it was at least an eight-hour drive to Taos.
Lily changed into her pajamas and laid down in the bed. I pulled the curtains closed around her and hung up a few towels to further block the light from her. She had already fallen asleep by the time I was done, so I quietly climbed off of the bed and pulled the covers up around her.
I did a quick check on Sammy as he hung out in the sink, still living his best life. I was honestly surprised that he was still alive, but thankful, nonetheless. I had checked online and found that he should be fine without needing his tank cleaned for two weeks. By that time, we should be in New Jersey, and it would be easy to do at Charlotte’s parent’s house.
I grabbed a couple of bottles of water from the fridge and took them up front, setting them in the cup holders.
“Do you want me to drive now or later?” I asked, taking a swig of water.
John turned to look, smiling when we saw me.
“Which do you prefer?”
“It doesn’t matter to me.”
“Well, I was planning to head to Albuquerque and stop there. It’s about six and a half hours from here. That’s the next big city that we’ll hit before Taos, which isn’t a big city by any means. That will put us there around dinner time, and if you don’t feel like cooking tonight, we can always stop and eat while we’re there. It’s only two and a half hours to Taos from there.”
“How about I take this stretch and get us to Albuquerque, then you can take the last one to Taos?” I offered.
“Sounds like a plan.” He smiled and got out of the driver’s seat. “Are you getting hungry? It’s barely ten-thirty, but I don’t know if there are many places to stop for food once we leave here.”
“I’m not, but we can grab some stuff at the gas station when we fill up if that works for you?”
“Deal.”
I smiled and climbed into the driver’s seat, feeling on top of the world.