First of all, thanks a million to uncle Dave and aunt Mary for setting everything up. You guys put a lot of work into making sure the trip was as good as it was and that certainly didn't go unnoticed. Thanks also to Sam for overseeing the whole food thing. I ate better on the trip than I do at home! And thanks to Catherine for the victory trophies!! The general story is that we hired mules to carry all of our heavy stuff down to the entrance of the campgrounds. We had to hike 8 miles to the village, then 2 more miles to the entrance to the campground, where we picked up our stuff and carried it another mile to our campsite. We stayed for several days at the campsite and then hiked back up to the rim, giving our heavy stuff to the mule drivers again. This truly was a phenomenal trip, and if you ever want to go to the grand canyon, email me for details.