TWB July 9th 2022 Experience: 2022-07-10

Participants words from the Grand Canyon!

Grand Canyon Quotes

“The Grand Canyon took my breath away (and the skin off my knees).”-Kara Dugan (Lincolnton, NC)

“The Grand Canyon was the most beautiful and breathtaking scene that I have ever experienced and hope to experience again.”-Maggie Black (Mooresville, NC)

“The most surreal and humbling experience I could be apart of.” -Quinn Moegling (Fort Mill, SC)

“The Grand Canyon was absolutely gorgeous, so gorgeous my nose wanted to bleed!” -Sarah Lambeth (Sanford, NC)

“The most beautiful hole in the ground I’ve ever seen!” -Grace Corripio (Belmont, NC)

“It was so big” -Aedan Corcoran (Belmont, NC)

“It was absolutely breathtaking” – Gracie Truesdell (Cherryville, NC)

“It took my breath away like Miles Teller did in Top Gun” – Tency Lynn (Beaufort, SC)

“Jaw-dropping” – Addison Massey (Rockingham, NC)

“it was really big” – Maddie McCabe (Cary, NC)

“After mile 182 it was a breeze” – Will Puckett (Augusta, GA)

“I had never seen a view like that in my life” –Lilly Felts (Mooresville, NC)

“Looking at the Grand Canyon is like falling in love with the Earth all over again.” – Josie Houchard (Belmont, NC)

“The view was unreal” – Jackson Collins (Boiling Springs, SC)

“The Grand Canyon was like a very exquisite painting.” – Meredith Tucker (Mooresville, NC)

“Hands down best day of my life!” – Amy Hyde (Belmont, NC)

“The Canyon was outstandingly breathtaking” – Baylee Parham (Robbinsville, NC)

“Next time I’ll do it barefoot” – Julia Kalinina (Mooresville, NC)

“ Quite Canyony” -Hunter Plaster (Shelby, NC)

“No one told me it was slippery” – Caroline Glenn (Raleigh, NC)

“The Grand Canyon is not hand crafted.” – Addison Dingman (Spartanburg, SC)

“It looked like my screen saver.” – Josiah Lester (Greensboro, NC)

“It was breathtaking… literally.” – Zoey Dellinger (Lincolnton, NC)

“It felt like it was a painting because it looked too perfect for real life “– Madeline Bell (McKinney, TX)

“It was bigger than I expected” – Natalia Galvez (Mooresville, NC)

“It was BIG” – Rocco Pavone (Gastonia, NC)

“I commend those who hiked six miles, could not be me.” –Katherine Taylor (Beaufort, SC)

“One of the most beautiful and most rewarding hikes, but man it was rough going uphill.” –Lauren Cutshall (Duncan, SC)

“Ice cream has never tasted better than after the six mile.” –Ally Nielsen (Indian Trail, NC)

“Maybe I want to be a geologist…” –Campbell Law (Raleigh, NC)

“The hike down was amazing, but the mule poop made the hike up difficult.” – BreAnn Jenkins (Kings Mountain, NC)

“The most incredible thing I have ever seen” – Amy Baker (Charlotte, NC)

“You’re never truly prepared for the hike back up” – Rachel Long (Gastonia, NC)

“The beauty of the Grand Canyon is unmatched you feel like you are in a dream and the group that I did the 6 miles with were a cool lively group that I was glad to take on nature with.” – Addison Gilbert (McAdenville, NC)

“Definitely the coolest placed I’ve ever pooped in, and I’ve pooped in a lot of places.” – Ryan “Poopy Ryan” Lubaczewski (Irmo, SC)

“One very big hole in the ground.” – Lauren Downey (Belmont, NC)

“Honestly seeing it for the first time after seeing pictures and art and references of it everywhere, its unreal.” – Elijah Vickers (Lincolnton, NC)

“The big canyon is pretty exquisite” –Ryan Joyce (Mooresville, NC)

“Didn’t break a sweat until mile 230.” –Eliana Phadke (Cramerton, NC)

“I’m pretty sure it’s just a giant green screen” –Alex Millspaw (Belmont, NC)

“It is the only place I will get up at 4:30am for…twice” –Aubrey McDuffie (Lake Waccamaw, NC)

“I wonder how many shovels it took them to dig it out.” – Sally Bumgarner (Lexington, SC)

“The Grand Canyon had me completely speechless. There is nothing I have seen that can match the beauty of it.” – Madelynn Hutson (Barnwell, SC)

“Those 48 miles hit different once we stopped sprinting” – Aaron Williams (Inman, SC)

“Dang, that looks like a canyon… for real”- Patrick O’Sullivan (Cary, NC)

“If you need something to compare the Grand Canyon to, it’s on the same level as Deaton stew.” – Meredith Harris (Gastonia, NC)

“Holy cow… this is really hard to paint.” – Audrey Painter (Belmont, NC)

“The hike was awesome…but the best view is at the top” – Sarah Herzberg (Mount Holly, NC)

“I am not a morning person but I would wake up early to see this again.” – Kiersten Sadler (Alexis, NC)

“You can’t explain how beautiful the Grand Canyon is… you just have to experience it yourself.” – Abby Dove (Whiteville, NC)

“No words can describe the beauty of the Grand Canyon- to think we live in the same country as it.” – Bess Thompson (Columbia, SC)

“It was so mindboggling!! The side of the trail without railing was a little unsettling though…”– Ashton Layh (Raleigh, NC)

“Beauty is pain” – Jason Pierce (Waxhaw, NC)

“You could spend a lifetime staring at the Grand Canyon and still not come up with the right words to describe it” – Camden Caldwell (Denver, NC)

“That hole…is big…no lie” – Stuart Thompson (Sanford, NC)

“It’s kinda funny to think about how a big hole in the ground had us fan-girling so hard” –Payton Loden (Mooresville, NC)

"It was alright" - Erik Micklow (Mooresville, NC)

"That was epic"- Raegan Kaufmann (Belmont, NC)

“Wow.” - Abbey Hymiller (Raleigh, NC)

Day 7- Las Vegas

Day 7: VEGAS!

Hello everyone!! Welcome to the first blog from the Sleepys! We are Abbey Hymiller, Aubrey McDuffie, Alex Millspaw, Sally Bumgarner, Gracie Truesdell, Ryan Joyce, Erik Micklow, Reagan Kaufmann, Sarah Lambeth, and Eliana Phadke.

Some of the group got an early start this morning by waking up at 4:30 to see the sunrise at the Grand Canyon before heading to Las Vegas. Sadly, the sunrise was mostly covered by clouds, but it was still a gorgeous view. Some treated themselves to coffee and snacks at the tavern after seeing the sunrise. Others slept in until 7:00, except Audrey who woke up at a late 8:30 after breakfast had been served. Our delicious meal consisted of eggs, toast, oranges, and sausage. After breakfast, we all packed into the small bathroom on our campsite to get ready for Vegas! We all looked amazing in our Vegas attire. Shoutout to Kiersten and Addison for sharing their hair straighteners! Once everyone was ready we packed up to leave. This process took a little extra time today because some people took ten years to get their duffles ready to be put on the bus. Us Sleepys got the packing job done quickly anyway.

We left for Las Vegas soon after. On the way, we sat with our groups to prepare for tomorrow's competition: a parody about our experiences on TWB. We made a quick stop at Walmart or Wally World, as Grant says. Ryan thinks everyone there was a robot, including the lady who welcomed us to Arizona. From Walmart, we headed to Vegas!

We first stopped at Caesar's Palace for group pictures before splitting up. Many went to the Apple Store to call their friends and family on the computers. Some people didn't answer... maybe next time. Others shopped around and looked in designer stores like Louis Vuitton, Balenciaga, and Gucci. Many souvenirs and clothes were bought at various stores. Everyone grabbed their own dinner ranging from In n Out, to a fancy steakhouse. The food was delicious either way. After that, we saw many attractions like the Bellagio fountain show, the casinos, and the Eiffel Tower. Some climbed it to the top while others watched it from a distance. We saw some weird people around Vegas and a few guys were given poker chips. One lucky group, Abbey, Lilly, Ashton, Lauren, Addie, and Sarah, saw Machine Gun Kelly and Megan Fox walking through a casino. Luckily, Lilly got a video of the celebrities. The rest of us are jealous. Most of us went in groups to the movies later that night. The movies were Minions, Where the Crawdads Sing, Maverick, and the new Thor movie. Many people took naps during the movies. Afterward, we caught a bus ride to take us to our meeting spot. Everyone was exhausted, but loaded up quickly before our drive. We stopped at a Flying J to change into pajamas and get ready to sleep on the bus and van. When we wake up, we will be in Santa Monica!

See ya later from the Sleepys!

The elk giving us a wake-up call

Our talented chefs

We heart TWB and gold fish.

"Say Las Vegas!"

Groups ready to explore

Sally, Caroline, Maddie, Tency, Bailee, and Hunter ready to explore Vegas

We love Ceasar's Palace

Queen B and his posse.

Vegas skyline

movie time

Waiting for the bus

It's Josiah's 18th bday tomorrow!!!

Day 6- The Grand Canyon

Day 6: Grand Canyon

Hello from the crack in the ground! Today we woke up super duper early at a horrible 4:30 am. Beginning with a 1-mile hike to the trail called the Angel Trail (named after Randy.) The 6 milers started first at a very swift pace. Then, our 3 milers began with a solid speed walk. Finally, our clumsy one milers began their hike/Instagram influencer in the wild photoshoot. As the hikers headed down they saw many chipmunks, billy goats, and mules. Many photos were taken (see below.) We stopped for a quick rest break before heading back up. The hike was easy going down, but much more difficult on the way up. We all made it out by 10 am!!!! After hiking, we had the options of calling home, showering, doing laundry, shopping, and sitting. A lot of tears were shed while we called mommy and daddy. At 12 pm, we got to eat the infamous Deaton stew. Maddie wants to eat it everyday. ;) Bailey had fruit in hers while others had lucky charms and ruffles. The GO-GO juice was a big hit. It was all stirred together with a dirty golf club. After lunch we found phones in the lodge to call boo thangs and others. A lot of people bought $.99 mugs and many other souvenirs. Sorry for all the money spent fam. Tonight was buy your own dinner from the many options in the park. Highlights include; burgers, salads, nachos, and wraps. We ended the night with a sing along featuring new French friends. Everyone got a new TWB Grand Canyon t-shirt.

Viva Las Vegas!~Dopeys