Braving the cold but still happy campers

Have I mentioned it was cold at the Grand Canyon? 'Cause it was. It was in the high 40's and low 50's during the day and it dropped down into the teens at night. You heard me, THE TEENS. Yah, I don't think it's natural either but there it is.

Thank God I still have loads of warm bigger clothing because I was all about the layers. At one point each night I would have 7, count 'em 7 layers on! I looked like the Michelin Man. Here's me in my furry hat, 2 hoods and about 5 layers of thermals and sweats, clutching a hot mug of tea like it's the last chopper out of 'Nam.

Here's Rob in the meantime showing off his warm-bloodedness rockin' his ONE layer. Although I'll have you know he did put on his jacket after the photo (and was getting some liquid warmth here).

Grover was pretty cold too. Do you see I've added a layer?

At night in our tent, my face would be absolutely frigid breathing in the cold air so we put a blanket over my face - despite the potential suffocation, it made me a cozy, happy girl. Despite the freezingness of the week, we still had a great time camping together.

Our camping spot: notice how freakin' far away our tent was after having to listen to 2 a-holes (SNL sketch anyone?) get in and pitch their tent the 1st night at 1:00 AM. Thank GOD they left early the next morning and it was super quiet and mellow after that - nobody was around, clearly no one else is as crazy as us camping in that weather.

Rob was master of the campfire. I don't think I would have survived each night without it. There is nothing better than a good campfire - I swear the food cooked over it tastes better than anything else and the conversation over a fire is always fantastic.

You can take the guy out of the city, but apparently you can't take a guy away from his Blackberry. Rob was even able to make his fantasy football picks while we were there.

All bundled up with a good book and a roarin' campfire - life is good.

Our campsite was like the Wild Kingdom - we heard coyotes late at night talking/singing to each other from far away. It was so cool to hear them echo each other - this one kept interrupting and we decided that must be the obnoxious coyote that nobody likes and doesn't get invited to parties.

Elk came walking right through our campsite a couple of times early in the morning and late in the evening. They would be like 15 feet away from us! Unfortunately we couldn't get a picture of the male with the huge antlers - it was awesome.

Same thing with deer - these pictures are taken right from our campfire ring!

Awesomeness. I love camping. And not just for the s'mores, although those are a good time too. Next up: the Warrens go hiking!