Final Grand Canyon Tour Day.....

The final day the kids were to ride did not go as expected but then life never does right? We woke up to this....

Which quickly turned into this......

And it basically snowed sideways all day.....

The kids of course are kids and so even after a little disappointment in not being able to ride today, they played in the snow and then we loaded them all up and took them to the movies to see Heaven is For Real. We walked around the new REI store out here and also found a coffee shop with couches and a fire place that made AMAZING hot chocolate and coffee. So in the end we had a great time. We felt everyone covering us in prayer. Nobody got hurt, the riders were safe and protected on the highways and we all learned one very important thing......in the whole big picture we are just a tiny little speck. Only for a short season do we get to be here impacting people for Christ; so get out there, see Gods creation, meet some fascinating people who have their own stories to tell and love on them along the way. We even  met a man who was from the Philippines who was on a four year bike tour around the world. Crazy right! The kids thought he was so cool ha! 

Thank you again for all your prayers and financial support to give Ryanne and her team the opportunity to experience something so rare and so amazing. They are a great group of kids who just love seeing their surroundings from a bicycle. Blessings!

Day Five.....

This day was so sunny and warm, now mind you we still had wind so bad our faces are chapped and feel like leather but hey you can't have everything.

The ride on Thursday took us through Indian ruins and all kinds of really cool landscaping that was changed by a volcano eruption.....

No T.V, no internet, no cell service, no video games....just kids riding and pushing themselves to be their personal best all the while never leaving any one rider behind was a blessing to watch.

The faster riders would wait at the top of the hard hills and wait for every last rider cheering them on as they climbed to the top...

Whats a 300 mile ride if you can't stop and enjoy all of Gods creation and also the Indian ruins that stand to this day...

Getting ready to descend down into the valley.....

Look closely at Ryanne's hair.....she is standing over a natural blow hole......the air coming out was so cold. It was a really cool thing to see.

Dan & Cameron climbing to the top....they climbed I think roughly 3,000 ft.

At the end of the day a storm rolled in and with it came freezing temperatures and snow. We piled into a hotel room and called it a day. The kids are super bummed not to get to ride today the last day. We are hunkered down waiting out the storm to see what the day holds. 

Day Four......

This day would be one of our favorites.......the kids rode the South rim of the canyon and Ryanne also completed a 60 mile ride....mostly climbing hills that had no end in sight. This was her record ride.

The sun came out, the winds calmed a bit and we had this view the entire day. Happy faces again!!

This day was also filled with fun stops along the way.....

Ryanne's support crew....Nathan is the best! He was always smiling and loved cheering all the big kids on.

The kids got to look at a model of the canyon and see where they had ridden from that day.....

We climbed to the top of this tower and got a birds eye view of the canyon....

That's looking down from the top of the tower with the Colorado river below...

This has been one of those adventures we will talk about for many years to come. It has not been without it's bumps in the rode but what good story doesn't have that right? We have had vehicles with flat tires, lost keys, lost wallets, minor dents in motor homes, hurricane winds that have sent us running for cover and now snow but it's all good. We have stuck together and found joy in even the hard stuff.

And we have a group of kids who can say they saw part of our amazing country all by bicycle. How many people can say that?

John and Sandy prepared all the meals and that was no easy task for 30 people some who were so hungry from riding they could eat a horse when they got into camp.

Part of the support crew. Nathan, Chloe and the smallest supporter is Alena.

Day Three......

After a brutal ride from over 8,000 ft. down into the valley of wind so strong Ryanne was literally riding sideways, we landed at a camp site in the middle of nowhere. You know the kind horror movies are made of. Ya' it was that scary. The winds were so strong we could not set up tents so we did what any resilient cycling crew does and we packed everyone into the few motor homes that were along for the trip. Our family was in with a group of ten others...ya' it was interesting. I'm pretty sure this was the night we were all really grouchy and nobody was talking when the lights went out. ha!

We woke up to freezing cold temperatures and high winds. But that did NOT stop the team from pitching in and getting started with the day.

Despite the cold wind and lack of sleep everyone was excited because this was the day they would get to ride to the Grand Canyon....

Jim getting an action shot of the riders going by....

It was a HUGE treat to watch Ryanne and Dan do this ride......the team work it took was unreal.

We arrived at the Grand Canyon and started setting up camp......

Morgan and Selah found time for some football and the kids ran and played until the sun went down and we realized it was going to be the coldest night yet. I think it got down to 32 degrees which in a tent feels like -10 ha!!

Day Two......

The first official ride day started bright and early on Tuesday morning....5am to be exact. It was bright and cold!!!!

The riders bottles and snacks for the ride being prepped.....

Ryanne getting ready to roll......

Looking forward to a great day!!

I was a support vehicle so Dan & Jim are getting my car all ready....

We started each morning with a devotional, a few fun facts about the Grand Canyon and also prayer....

There were a few melt downs along the way. This is about the point she was wondering what she got herself into......

They rode to the summit which was at over 8,000ft. It was freezing cold and unfortunately for the kids they hit wind gusts up to 40 mph. It was a brutal day where a LOT of pep talks took place. You know when you have to peddle down hill with all your might and you barely move, it's going to be a rough day.

Lunch was dropped wherever we had space and the backdrop was beautiful!

I have had hardly any internet or phone reception so I am behind in keeping you all up and so I apologize. I will blog more tomorrow morning with more updates and pictures. the kids are doing amazing and we appreciate all your prayers. As of tonight (Friday) we are in a hotel because a storm has rolled in and they are predicting 6" of snow tonight. More to come!!