We were up with the sun again...at 5 am. No one is surprised.
We didn't really feel that tired though because today is our mule ride!! We have been looking forward to this since we decided to do the Grand Canyon trip.
I think I mentioned before we had signed up for this upon our check in to Bright Angel.
This is different than the mule trip into the Canyon (which fills up a year in advance, unless you wanna go in the winter, our mule guides told us you can get that reservation less than a year in advance). This is just a 3 hour round trip ride that you take in the woods by the GC, then you end up at an overlook for a snack and a break.
They have a morning ride which we had to check in at the stable at 7:30, and an afternoon ride. We chose the morning ride because we didn't want to be riding when it was too hot.
Anyway, we got our campsite packed up super quick. We kinda just threw stuff into the back of the car, we were going to organize all the bags when we got to our new hotel that night.
Dressed in our best mule riding clothes (um yeah...I guess they were just normal clothes. We don't have special mule riding clothes), we once again headed back to the Bright Angel Lodge to check in.
Brian wanted to drive through the horse camp to see if there were any horses. So we took a little detour and checked out the horse area. Unfortunately, we didn't see any horses, but what we did see was so funny!
There was a whole herd of elk spread out all over these campers' tents! Imagine hearing a noise and waking up and looking outside your tent to see a giant elk right next to you. I didn't get any pictures because the phone was getting charged up for our ride. But it was so weird/funny.
There are a few rules for the mule rides:
-long pants
-closed toe shoes
-no loose cameras/phones
-a hat
They have loaner hats at the check in area. I had a Steelers baseball hat but Brian needed a hat so he got a loaner. They also require that the hats have some sort of strap, so we both got pieces of string from the concierge desk to secure out hats.
We also got these super awesome water canteens to drink from during the trip (then you get to keep them! free souvenir! kind of). I am waiting til we leave the GC to post pictures of all our GC souvenirs, I will be sure to include a picture of these then.
By now it was the super late hour of 6:30, so we still had a lot of time before our ride. We decided to sit down at the little bar/cafe at the Bright Angel. They have a band that sets up sometimes at nights and plays and you can get drinks there, but in the morning it was set up as kind of a quick service breakfast place.
If you can believe it, many people had been there before us (no one sleeps in at the GC) so lots of the pre-made items are gone (like the croissants that I really wanted). I think we ended up with coffee, juice, bagels and fruit. Not a bad breakfast.
After that we grabbed a couple things from the gift shop (that you'll see in a bit).
And then it was finallllly time!!
We left our car parked at Bright Angel Lodge and took the very short walk across the train tracks to the stable. We arrived around 7 and there was only one other couple there so far.
There was one mule guide there who had us sign a paper and then we were our own until 7:30.
I asked the guide if we could pet the mules (who were all waiting in a pen right in front of us!!!) and he told me it was ok as long as I asked them first (this guide was Buck, who I became enamored with and who you'll hear a lot about later).
And finally...picture time!!
First, you can see Buck in the background of this picture.
Second, we asked Buck why this poor mule had to wear a muzzle. He called them Hannibal Lecter masks and said the extra bitey mules had to wear them. Not that the mules bite people, but apparently some of them can chew through anything, including other mules.
I liked that mule with the little top knot. The answer why some have the top knot and the others don't: some of the mules simply don't like having the hair shaved off so they get to keep it.
At 7:30 it looked like everyone had arrived (our group had approximately 20 people + 3 guides) the stable manager came out to give us some instructions. He explained what was going to happen and that we would be assigned a mule and we would be referred to by our
mule's name, so we best remember it. He also showed us our mule 'motivators' (a whip like kind of thing) and explained to us that we would sometimes have to use them, and we were to hit as hard as we could if we had to because we could not hurt them and went into a funny story of how mules communicate with each other by kicking one another.
We could leave our cameras out if they had straps, but we were not allowed to take any pictures during the ride, so my pictures are going to be a bit sparse for a while.
He introduced us to our three guides for our ride, who were Liz, Buck and Button.
Then we all get lined up and somehow Brian and I ended up bringing up the rear of the line.
We made friends with the mother and son in front of us (he wasn't that young, there is a minimum age for the mules, I am going to guess that it is either 16 or 18). We made friends and tried to reassure the son because he was nervous about doing the ride.
The stable manager went down the line assigning people mules and the guides led the people over to their mules.
The son by us was excited by his mule, Seymour, which was apparently the same name as his first car, so he took that as a good sign.
The stable manager told Brian and I to switch places, so I was in the very back of the line. Which made me a bit nervous because he asked us our riding experience (I have a horse, Brian had been on one trail ride at Disney before this), so I was pretty sure he was going to give me a misbehaving mule.
Brian was assigned Truman, and I got Charlie.
We were the last to mount up, so then we were quickly off. Buck led the way, then Button was riding up and down the column and Liz was directly behind me in the back.
We crossed over the train tracks and headed out on the trail, which was lovely and very wooded.
Shortly after we started, Liz and Button traded spaces and Button took it upon himself to entertain me (and anyone else who could hear, I think Brian could at least) with talking for the rest of the time.
I think he was pretty young and he was born in Utah and he used to work in Bryce Canyon National Park. He said that we absolutely had to make it there sometime, that it is beautiful. Fun fact: Utah has the third most national parks with 5, does anyone know what the states are with the highest and second highest number of parks?
He was also headed back to Utah pretty soon and he was going to be a trick roper. He showed off some roping tricks which was pretty cool because I wanted to do all that cowboy stuff when I was little.
Then we got to hear a little bit about how the Grand Canyon employees live. They live in dorm/apartment type places, and most of them except for the most senior have roommates.
There is no TV reception (I think the hotels that do have TVs must have satellite, I am not sure how it works but that is what he said). I imagine it is quite the experience to live and work there.
Then Button yelled for everyone to look, he'd spotted a bobcat. I was super excited because the bus driver from the night before had talked of a bobcat that hung around the hotels to eat all the super fat squirrels that people insist on feeding, so I thought this was him.
No
He was just making a joke because we shortly passed a bobcat (the heavy equipment kind of bobcat, not the animal bobcat). I totally fell for it so I was not pleased.
Anyway, we had a nice uneventful ride and eventually arrived at the GC vista and our halfway point.
There was a hitching post for all of our mules and the guides hobbled theirs. There were a few very clean port o potties for us to use if we needed them, then we walked the few short feet to the vista and the guides handed out little snack packs and drinks.
We had approximately a 15 minute break to relax and take some pictures of the Canyon.
Button took our picture:
Then it was time to mount back up and finish our ride.
The guides came around and took pictures for whoever wanted them:
Miss you Charlie and Truman!
Truman was an old man mule and he only had one year left at the Canyon, at which point he will be auctioned off. Apparently retired Grand Canyon mules are in high demand (just like Disney trail horses).
Ahhhhh look how big Charlie's ears are!! Love him.
And yes, if you noticed, Brian made me switch him hats so he could wear the Steelers hat and I had to wear the loaner.
I like this picture because you can see the back end of Big Steve (Button's mule). Big Steve is the outcome of a donkey and a draft horse, so he is huuuuge. Apparently you can get all sorts of different looking mules depending on what kind of horse gets matched up with the donkey.
Another fun fact: the horse is always the mom of the mule, because mules are bigger than donkeys so the mom donkey probably wouldn't have an easy time giving birth to the mule. Also, mules are sterile (these have been fun facts, brought to you by Sheldon Cooper).
One of my favorite other mules was a particular mule named Sassy. She really was Sassy and awesome. Also, our young friend ended up loving Seymour and the mule ride and he had so much fun. So if you or someone you know is nervous about the ride, just know you/they will most likely end up loving it.
On the way back, Liz led the column, Button and Big Steve got to roam and Buck brought up the rear. So we got to talk the whole way
Now Buck is probably the closest thing that exists to an actual, real life cowboy these days. First off, he doesn't like being called a cowboy (which means he probably is one).
He never stays in one place for more than a season. He drifts around doing cattle herds (like actual honest to goodness real cattle herds in the middle of Montana and stuff), blacksmithing (he had done blacksmithing over the winter at the Grand Canyon for the mules), and he is also sometimes a hunting guide.
He talked about how his lifestyle kind of sucks because it makes it hard to keep a relationship when he moves so often. But he doesn't really know any other way, and he can't stay still for too long. Yep, real cowboy.
Then he talked a lot about training horses/mules. He is pretty much a mule whisperer.
He also used to lead the mule train that went into the Canyon to deliver supplies to the Phantom Canyon Ranch.
It was a very interesting ride back. And he kind of made fun of Button for being flashy. He said he was the cowboy, not him.
We were almost back to the stable and were walking right alongside the train tracks. From far off we heard a train whistle, and Buck was excited because it was a steam train engine (he could tell by the whistle). He said nothing was better than hearing an old fashioned
steam train engine. Except...the steam trains didn't usually come at this time of the day and the mules were not used to the loud noise, since the more modern day trains are relatively quiet, comparatively.
He was nervous that some of the mules might bolt, and then was super annoyed that Liz kind of stopped the column, he wanted the mules moving so they couldn't concentrate on the coming sounds so much.
He did mention that mules were much better with strange, loud sounds. Horses will bolt first and think later, and mules will take a little bit of time to think about it at least before bolting.
So anyway here we are, high noon, some of the mules moving, some of them stopped. The train whistle grew louder as it bore down on us. Buck grew increasingly nervous.
Several of the mules decided to put on a show for the train passengers and they bolted.
Including Truman. So off Brian goes, Charlie tries to follow but I have owned a stubborn quarter horse for years so I stopped that mule in his tracks.
I've lost sight of Brian. I'm thinking, oh great, rest of the vacation is going to be spent in the ER.
But then Brian and Truman come walking back into sight and fall back into line. Everyone else is rounded up and we get back on our way.
Win!
We were actually very close to the stable at this point, so our ride was about over.
All the tourists getting off the train loved us and took a ton of pictures. Who doesn't want pictures of a mule train greeting you as you arrive at the Grand Canyon?!
Then we were over the tracks and back at the stable. We said goodbye to Charlie and Truman and tipped the guides (tips are welcome but not required).
The mule ride was so awesome! I can't recommend it enough. And who doesn't want to cross 'mule ride at the Grand Canyon' off their bucket list??
Only bad thing, doing a 6 mile hike into and out of the canyon and a 3 hour mule ride the next morning...not so great on the muscles. We were both super sore and hurting.
But it was worth it.
There is our trouble making steam engine!
You can see the mules in their enclosure up above the train.
We were very sad but it was time for us to be leaving the Grand Canyon. We probably could have spent at least another full day there, if not more. There were still several hikes we didn't get to try out. The rangers put on talks and programs every day and night and we
hadn't been able to make it to any of those (they have a calendar of talks at the check in area at the Lodge). Not to mention activities like rafting down inside the Canyon in the Colorado river.
Time for a walk.
But, I don't understand how people can wear flip flops in a Disney park all day either. It never ceases to amaze! 
We got snookered by the "bobcat" line too when we were in Yosemite a few years ago. That one apparently never gets old!
