At last, we hike!

Today I finally went on my hike!  This is a picture I took about 3/4 of a mile into the Canyon.

I also talked to the HawkWatch International people and got a lot of good information, though there happened to be a slow point in the day when I showed up, so I didn’t get to see any hawks actually tracked.  I *did* wish I had brought a pair of binoculars, though; the three people there on Raptor Duty had some mighty spiffy portable telescoping equipment that made them look very awesome and official.

Not to mention, I rode in my very first helicopter!  It had never occurred to me until we actually got to the airport that I had never been in a helicopter before.  It occurred to me once I was in the air that I never wanted to be in a helicopter again.  Nonetheless, it was beautiful to fly over the Canyon, over to the North Rim, which consists of another ecosystem entirely from any other part of the canyon.  It was an experience.  But have I mentioned, “NEVER AGAIN!!”?