Sergiu and his wife Claudia prepare for another day of cycling across America. He is riding solo and she is his permanent handler.
The whole team enjoyed being able to share some stories with them just before leaving out campsite in Tuba City.
One women's team stayed at the lovely Quality Inn in Tuba City. The Navajo word for 'Welcome' is written on a sign above the front entrance.
Today we were blessed to have a whole day to enjoy the beautiful and majestic Grand Canyon, one of the seven natural wonders of the world!
Standing at the edge of vastness.
Getting ready to hike down to the bottom of the Canyon to the Colorado River.
We met many very friendly tourists on the way down the Canyon.
Gautami, Manoshri, Pranlobha and Harita hiked to the bottom of the Canyon and back, it took them nearly 10 hours! Of course this included many beautiful stops along the way...
Friendly park Rangers along the way make sure everyone is safe and has enough water and snacks to keep them going.
Lots of mule teams carry some people and supplies to the bottom. It is the only means of transportation from the rim to the river. This group were resting on the way up, so we did a spontaneous Peace Run Ceremony on the side of the path!
Finally reaching the bridge over the Colorado River at the bottom of the Canyon!!
It was a long way down on switchback trails.
Getting ready to jump in the water!
The river is such a beautiful colour of green!
Meeting some heartly souls at the river.
The Colorado River is clean and cold. It helped to carve out the Canyon millions of years ago when this area of the country was covered by the Oceans.
This man is a super friendly ranger who lives in the bottom of the canyon. He loves his job and was delighted to hold the torch and share his own hopes and dreams for peace.
On the way up!
We saw some very peaceful wildlife along the way.
On the final stretch of the route we came across Sara from Flagstaff who was running the same route we were walking. She was so bright and full of energy and enthusiasm for the Peace Run that we all felt completely recharged just from being with her! Thank you Sara, and we hope to meet again in the future:) To see an inspiring clip of Sara speaking about why running is so special to her please click here.
The last rays of the sun hitting the Canyon walls as we neared the top, every part of our day was touched by the beauty, peace and majesty of the Canyon.
When we reached the top we were feeling pretty hungry, and were extremely grateful to the Bright Angel Restaurant for providing a complimentary dinner for the entire womens team. Thank you so much!
Meanwhile, Bhasata and Suhashini enjoyed their hike down to one of the rest areas.
They met up with a few mule teams carrying supplies to the river.
The men's team began their own hike down the Bright Angel trail.
We decided not to go all the way down to the river so we could make a trip to Sedona in the afternoon.
Spectacular vistas all the way.
Antara-Prabhat is singing, not falling.
This tower was built about 80 years ago and has wonderful architecture and great viewpoints for seeing the eastern edge of the Canyon.
A little shade always helps on the way down.
After we made it back up we felt we needed a nice swim somewhere.
Sarvodaya finds a new friend.
Driving down to Sedona we encountered some amazing red rock formations.
Our car was just a speck in relation to the vastness and expanse of natural beauty in the Sedona area.
Spme of us were able to go for a dip at Grasshopper Point.
Beautiful small rivers surrounded by cliffs and red rocks.
As evening set in Arpan had a few moments of peace inside a small cave or energy vortex.
The highlight of the evening was a visit to our dear friends Pranika and Nishtha's mother and aunt.
In their 90's they seemed quite youthful and energetic as they welcomed us with open arms. We gladly offered them this beautiful painting by Sri Chinmoy with 'Love' written in seven different languages.
