For our second full day off at the canyon, we all decided to go our separate ways. It's not that we are sick of each other, but we all had different intentions and varying states of health. We all planned to get up for sunrise, but only Michelle and Emily started heading over (our camp site was as far away from the shuttle bus stop as possible). Since it was still dark out, the girls got lost and only Michelle ended up making it to see the sunrise. Emily opted to get a couple more hours of rest before setting out on a second hike. 

While Rebekah was still sleeping and Michelle was out, Emily got up and headed to Bright Angel Trailhead to begin her hike. She wasn't sure how far she'd go, but eventually decided to go all the way to the bottom. As a side note for our readers, it is NOT recommended to hike all the way down to the river and back in one day. However, that advice is probably for the average American (quite overweight and really out of shape). Emily was prepared with lots of food and water and she was not alone on the trail. She felt safe at all times, but definitely was tired by the end of her 15-mile roundtrip hike. She got some gorgeous shots of the river and was able to see some rafters launching. Needless to say, she was more than a little exhausted at the end of the day.

Michelle and Rebekah both went west toward Hermit's Rest, although they did not go together. They each saw some great views of the river and of the Bright Angel Trail that Emily had hiked. Rebekah also spent part of the day moving camp. We were not able to reserve a site for 3 nights in a row, so after 2 nights, we had to move next door. It was a pretty easy move, but still a pain. 

Another cool part of the day was that Michelle and Rebekah were able to see four elk up close and personal. It just so happened that two males and two females were lounging in a camp site just a few spots away from ours. The two males had huge antlers, but seemed very docile and harmless. Unfortunately, they weren't able to get any photos since Emily had the camera. 

As usual, we ended the day with lots of food and, of course, ice cream!!!