Trip Around the World Mega Author Blog Hop: Ticket to Paradise

Welcome, everyone. YIPPEEE! I'm so glad you're stopping to vacation with me in the Grand Canyon. Fasten your seatbelts and don't look down if you're afraid of heights. First, we need to cover a few rules. Also, if you'll look to the right of the screen. I've added the list of authors on our tour so you can make sure you visit them all for some great getaways!

TOUR RULES:

1)  HAVE FUN!!!

2)  INVITE ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS!!! SPREAD THE WORD!!!

3)  THIS TOUR STARTS:  Monday, May 16, at Midnight (Arizona Time)

     THIS TOUR ENDS: Monday, May 23, at Midnight (Arizona Time)

4)  MEET AND MINGLE WITH ALL THE AUTHORS! EXPERIENCE A NEW DESTINATION AT EVERY STOP! PARTICIPATE IN EVERY BLOG CONTEST AND BE ENTERED FOR CHANCES TO WIN MULTIPLE PRIZES! EVERY BLOG VISITED IS ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY TO WIN!! YOU MUST LEAVE A COMMENT TO BE ENTERED IN CONTESTS. PLEASE INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS OR CHECK BACK May 24, to see if you were a winner.

5) PARTICIPATION AT EVERY BLOG IS RECOMMENDED. BUT REMEMBER: THE MORE YOU HOP, THE MORE CHANCES YOU HAVE TO WIN. EVERY AUTHOR IS WAITING TO MEET AND INTERACT WITH YOU, SO PLEASE BE SURE TO SHOW EVERY AUTHOR SOME LOVE!

6) DID I MENTION TO HAVE FUN?  WHOO! HOO!! HERE WE GOOOOOOOOOOOO!

I never truly understood the expression "A picture is worth a thousand words" until my husband and I visited the Grand Canyon in June of 2008. I want to share the experience with you. I had such a feeling of euphoria from the momment we turned onto the road heading to the tour office, and it steadily grew until I thought my heart would burst with the emotion. I'm so glad you're here to share my voyage with me. Now, if I can just get my donkey off his keester so we can hit the trail... 

We visited the West rim of the Grand Canyon. Unfortunately, due to errosion and deterioration you are no longer permitted to drive there but have to take a tour bus. Once there, you can't walk past the rope barrier that's up. This is due to the loss of rock and dirt along the side. This is the home of the Hualapai Indians. They were a wonderful people who very openly shared their heritage and love of the canyon with us. Including this beautiful site. Eagle Rock (located at Eagle Point) on the west rim, aptly named for its shape, is considered sacred by the Hualapai Indians. I can't describe how moving it was to view this up close and personal. I felt like the eagle was soaring toward me. There's a lot of myth and legend behind this rock about how it helped the Hualapai's find their home. An amazing site to be sure. My eyes watered.

This is also where the skywalk is, but it was expensive and hung waaaaaaayyy too far over the canyon for my liking. On the West rim is also Guano Point.

This is a weak visual to express to you the beauty and the amazement you feel when you stand and look out across the canyon. I just stood staring, mouth agape. Words escaped me. I hope my picture at least expresses a small amount of the emotion I was feeling. WOW!

The thing that amazed me the most was that the physical location was like looking at a painting. It was that gorgeous and majestic. The colors were so vivid and bright. The detail so perfect. It is truly a splash of God's perfection. The interesting thing about this spot is what goldmine it is in terms of money. Not just tourism either (okay, maybe now it's tourism). Guano means the excrement of cave dwelling critters - specifically bats! Although the pictures don't show it, there are caves that you can see in the sides of the canyon. The feces of bats is used for fertilizer and gunpowder. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of the pulley system that still stands there. It was used to take the workers down to the caves so they could gather the guano and send it back up. Pretty cool fun fact!

I hope you've enjoyed your vacation with me. My donkey is plum worn our from out treck across the Grand Canyon. If you ever get the chance, this place is a must see. I can't wait to go back.

Thanks for stopping by:)  Don't forget to visit the other blogs in our blog hop. Plenty of chances to win some awesome prizes.

Speaking of prizes!! Here's the awesome gifts I'm offering! You have three changes to win on my blog. Here are the awesome prizes:

1st place: $10 coupon to use on the Astraea Press website plus a paperback copy of my novella Wayward Soul plus 2 awesome bookmarks

2nd place: a paperback copy of my novella Wayward Soul plus 2 awesome bookmarks

3rd place: a PDF copy of my novella Wayward Soul plus I'll mail you 2 awesome bookmarks

UPDATE: After the wonderful response and support, I've decided to up my prizes. As of right now, we'll have the above prizes, PLUS, I'm adding a 2nd winner of the PDF copy of Wayward Soul and 2 bookmarks!! If I get to 75 commenters, I'll add a 2nd winner of the paperback copy of my novella Wayward Soul plus 2 awesome bookmarks! And if I get to 100 commenters, I'll add a 2nd winner of the  $10 coupon to use on the Astraea Press website plus a paperback copy of my novella Wayward Soul plus 2 awesome bookmarks! So send people this way!!

YEEHAW! Hope you packed your bags because we're just getting started. We still have a lot of travelin' to do! So click on the next button below to go to the next blog, or you can click the previous button to go the the prior blog. Happy Trails and have fun:)

~Kim

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