Yes, I’m procrastinating when I should be working on Chapter 5 of my WIP … but with good reason.

I’m doing some research on the Grand Canyon.

Meanie that I am, I’m sending my hero and heroine down into the canyon, and although I’ve been to the Grand Canyon, it’s been several years since that trip and we never had the opportunity to hike down to the canyon floor. Which was fine with me, since I had enough excitement when my idiot husband decided to waltz out to the tip of a rock jutting over the rim of the canyon and ask me to take his picture. I’m surprised I even managed it, my heart was pounding so loudly and I felt physically sick. I’d post the picture for you all, but it was pre-digital, so I’ll I have to see if I can scrounge it up

from our boxes of photos.

So, here are some interesting facts for you. It takes between 4-6 hours to hike the South Kaibab trail to the canyon floor/Colorado river. And that hike down has an elevation loss of about 4360 ft. There’s a cool suspension bridge that stretches 440 feet across the Coloardo and looks a mite bit scary from the pictures I’ve managed to dig up.

Oh, and they don’t recommend you hike all the way down and back up in one day. Which poses a slight problem for my characters, since I assumed they would hike down and back up in the same day. So, now I’m faced with the possibility of having them spend the night down in the Grand Canyon, or press the boundaries of believability by having them hike down and back in one ‘loop’.

Would a frantic mother want to waste another day/night by waiting until morning to hike out of the Canyon? And what the heck would uncommunicative Keith and distraught Grace do during that time?

I’m sure you all would have some good ideas for me, ;), but I can assure you, they’re not ready for that just yet.