Great day in the Grand Canyon

John, Mac and I got up at sunrise and headed out on a hike of the Grand Canyon.  We wanted to do a 9 mile hike (4.5 down and back).  I love the sign that days down is optional but up in mandatory!  We got down pretty quick, the whole way down Mac was singing and saying he doesn't understand why it may take twice as long to climb back up.....  Once we reached the 4.5 mile mark we wanted to go a tad further out to Plateau Point, which would add about 3-4 miles to our total trip.  Mac started bonking a bit, but we gave him some more good snacks and then we saw a cool lizard and his spirits were up again.  The view from the point was amazing and we were so glad we did it.  After another snack and more water we started our journey back.  It was getting hot and the climb was tough.  About half way up I asked Mac if he understands why now it's not as easy going up!  We took some breaks along the way but ended up doing 14.23 miles in just under 7 hours including all our breaks and climbing over 3000 feet.  After it was done Mac said it was the best hike ever!  On our way home we saw a momma and baby Elk.  After cleaning up and eating an early dinner we headed off to watch the sunset.  It was beautiful.  Many of our stops we wish we had more time and the Grand Canyon was the same.  We have so many places we want to come back too again, this was our second time here and I know will be back again!!!!  Next time we are hiking rim to rim though!