Nov 2, 2019
The alarm rang at the unheard of hour of 6:15 AM and we rushed to get our teeth brushed, McDonalds for breakfast and ready to head to the nearby golf course where the hot air balloons were launching. We got there right at 7:00 AM to find a number of people already there and a few balloons already unfurled. Lucky for us it was not nearly as cold as it was before, a rather balmy 10 degrees below freezing but we were bundled up well so it wasn’t too bad.
The balloon regatta was one of Holly and Olivia’s highlights of the trip so far. Fifty colorful giant hot air balloon inflated and took off into the sky. One was even shaped as Humpty Dumpty. We were able to go right up to the balloons as they prepared to take off into the cold blue sky and we could feel the heat as the burners fired to generate the hot air. Holly could not stop taking pictures.
Sometimes an unexpected detour leads to amazing adventures! 
Page Hot Air Balloon Regatta 
Olivia loved the Hot Air Balloons 
Olivia got to sit in a balloon 
Hot Air Balloon being filled 
By 9 AM all the balloons had lifted off and although there were other events at the hot air balloon festival including a street fair and a kite flying event we had to head off as we planned to meet our friend Dana in Flagstaff for dinner and we had a long drive and some stops along the way.
First we stopped at Horseshoe Bend which is right outside of Page and costs $10 for parking. It is the scenic spot where the Colorado river bends around like a horseshoe in a deep canyon. It was quite nice but we didn’t have much time to linger as we had to hurry on as our next stop was the Grand Canyon.
I wanted to visit the North Rim of the Grand Canyon as I had never been there before but It would have been an extra 2 hours of driving so we just went to the South Rim. Holly and I had been to the South Rim before but we wanted to show Olivia. The Grand Canyon was just as majestic as ever but as this was our fourth major canyon scenic spot Olivia was not that excited. Olivia was much more interested in a young woman we met that was travelling the country in a converted schoolie, which is a school bus converted into a motorhome.
At Grand Canyon 
A quick stop at the Grand Canyon 
This Elk just strolling down the main road at the Grand Canyon without a care in the world.
We did a Chevy Chase visit to the Grand Canyon, stopping only for an hour to take a quick look and snap some pictures before going back on the road to Flagstaff arriving just before dinner. There we met our friend Dana, her husband Ricky and their two adorable daughters. They had a house on a large plot of land with plenty of room for our RV. They took us out to dinner at a local brewery and it was nice to be with friends and at a restaurant that was not Olive Garden. After dinner it was time to head back and go to bed.
