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The Campground Kids #5
Grand Canyon Rescue
“Riddle me this, riddle me that.” A dventure starts in the Grand Canyon where Isaiah, Sadie, and Ethan discover a small box engraved with their names. The box contains a hidden message with mysterious clues that lead them on a scavenger hunt. As the kids are solving the carefully crafted riddles on what seems to be a wild goose chase, they stumble across a clue scribbled on a ripped piece of fabric. “Help me,” it reads. The kids are stumped by this clue. What can it possibly mean? Why is it so hard for them to figure out?
172 pages, Paperback
Published June 6, 2022
2 people are currently reading
147 people want to read
About the author
C.R. Fulton
29 books40 followersJoin best selling, award winning author, C.R. Fulton for exciting reads! For the past four years. C.R. Fulton has traveled the East Coast in an RV with her husband, two kids and three pups. It has been a wild ride and has provided loads of inspiration for books! She is the author of thirty-two novels and loves some serious bass in her earbuds while writing. She is an inspirational speaker to youth and adults alike. You can connect with her at www.crfultonbooks.com
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
May 31, 2023
Read this with the boys as we prepare for our trip to the Grand Canyon. Very cute and exciting adventure. The boys seemed to really enjoy it. I loved how it used real locations and (hopefully) stuff we will also be able to experience.
August 11, 2024
I liked the dynamics of the family members in this book, and of course I love books set in national parks and other areas where nature is the star.
The writing seemed a little clunky at times (awkward synonyms for said, sometimes writing down to the audience).
The humor fell a flat for me, especially when the characters beat one particular "joke" to death. But it might work better for some kids.
But my real gripe was about the unrealistic elements and outright errors that made me think the author had never visited the Grand Canyon (or only maybe looked over the edge for a few minutes). [SPOILERS!! SPOILERS!!]
Campgrounds: Some things were just sort of weird, like why would they camp at Desert View if so many of their activities were in/around/starting from Grand Canyon Village? It's like a 45-minute drive. Why not stay in Mather campground? Maybe they wanted something different or…I don't know. I guess I can accept it, but I have a really hard time accepting that Nate's Dad would ALSO have them camped there when he was ALSO spending most of his time at Grand Canyon Village and thereabouts.
The trail: They took mules down into the canyon via the South Kaibab Trail (remember that trail—it's important later). The narrator talked about how the trail looked only six inches wide and on the hairpin switchbacks the mules' heads and necks swung out over a mile-long drop-off. Okay…I've never ridden a mule down that trail, and it would be a lot scarier than walking, especially if you're not used to riding, but I've hiked that trail a few times now, and it's a relatively wide trail, not nearly as scary as you'd think, from looking down on it. And I'm a person who's afraid of heights. There aren't even a lot of abrupt drop-offs, certainly none that are a whole mile down. Now, I realize the narrator is exaggerating because he's scared or just because the grandeur of this place makes you talk in superlatives. But still.
Havasupai Gardens (Indian Garden) location: Now…for the big one. They're headed to the bottom of the canyon, to Phantom Ranch, on the SOUTH KAIBAB trail. But they stop for lunch at Indian Garden (now called Havasupai Gardens). What? Even a cursory glance at a map will tell you that Indian Garden is not on the South Kaibab Trail. It's on the Bright Angel Trail. I suppose it's possible that this mule train did an ultra special itinerary and went down the South Kaibab to the Tip-Off, went cross-country an extra and inexplicable 4.5 miles over the Tonto Trail to the Bright Angel Trail, and then down. But that would be silly, and no mention was made of it. And the next day, when they were headed up, they left Indian Garden and went up the South Kaibab. NO. They would have gone up the Bright Angel. This is a rudimentary error, but nobody—not the author, not the editors, not the beta readers—caught it? It clearly indicates the author has never done this. I'm not saying the author has to have done it in order to write about it, but the author SHOULD have looked at a map first.
Havasupai Gardens (Indian Garden) description: In addition, this is a quote: "We break for lunch at a place named Indian Garden. The place seems poorly named to me as there is little-to-no vegetation." Has the author ever SEEN a picture of Indian Garden (Havasupai Gardens)? It's an incredibly green oasis, shaded by cottonwood trees and green with all sorts of other plants. Okay, if you're used to really lush vegetation like maybe these characters are, it might not seem super green, but compared to what you expect of the Grand Canyon, compared to other places in the canyon, yeah, it's got vegetation. Go Google pictures. Other places in the book talk about how there was practically no plant life in the canyon, but there is, even outside of the oases like Havasupai Garden and Phantom Ranch. There's far more vegetation than I expected, and obviously more than the author assumed.
A picture I took of Havasupai Gardens:
"
The heat: The narrator talked about how the Canyon was hot at the top and even hotter at the bottom, but then when they were at/approaching/leaving the bottom (the hottest part), the heat didn't seem to be an issue. Yet at Indian Garden (halfway back up), the mule wrangler said that it was 102 and warned them to drink lots of water. If it was 102 there, it was probably 110 at the bottom. But it hadn't been mentioned. And then, the most complaining happened at their campground?!? Up on the rim? With shade? The coolest place on their whole trip?
The fox: okay, I can swallow that it's a supernatural element, having this fox help them and magically know where they are.. But…[More Spoiler Alerts]…they see him at Desert View campground. And then at Phantom Ranch! And THEN at Havasupai Gardens. And then at Shoshone Point. And then at Havasupai Gardens again. Desert View to Phantom Ranch—by road and trail—is about 31 miles (and over 6000 feet of descent or ascent). Even with foxy shortcuts, that's way too far to be believed, when the foxes at the grand canyon usually have a home range of 1-2 square miles and rarely travel outside of the forested areas. So maybe a supernatural fox could do this, but the human adults would not take this sort of thing in stride. Also, when they saw a fox approaching their children, wouldn't they at least wonder about rabies? And when the girl says the fox probably has hungry pups on the rim, so needs to go to Phantom Ranch to go hunting…what? There's much better hunting up on the rim. None of it made sense. Maybe I could have swallowed it if everyone had been astounded at seeing this fox everywhere. But no, they acted like it was normal.
Okay, I'll get off my realisticness soapbox now. I just feel that if a book takes place in a real location in supposedly our dimension, and there's no overt magic, then things that purport to be realistic should be realistic.
A lot of the adventure was fun, the rescue itself was exciting, and many of the reviews say their kids really enjoyed it.
I like encouraging kids to camp, hike, and enjoy the outdoors, and the book really delivers on that.
The writing seemed a little clunky at times (awkward synonyms for said, sometimes writing down to the audience).
The humor fell a flat for me, especially when the characters beat one particular "joke" to death. But it might work better for some kids.
But my real gripe was about the unrealistic elements and outright errors that made me think the author had never visited the Grand Canyon (or only maybe looked over the edge for a few minutes). [SPOILERS!! SPOILERS!!]
Campgrounds: Some things were just sort of weird, like why would they camp at Desert View if so many of their activities were in/around/starting from Grand Canyon Village? It's like a 45-minute drive. Why not stay in Mather campground? Maybe they wanted something different or…I don't know. I guess I can accept it, but I have a really hard time accepting that Nate's Dad would ALSO have them camped there when he was ALSO spending most of his time at Grand Canyon Village and thereabouts.
The trail: They took mules down into the canyon via the South Kaibab Trail (remember that trail—it's important later). The narrator talked about how the trail looked only six inches wide and on the hairpin switchbacks the mules' heads and necks swung out over a mile-long drop-off. Okay…I've never ridden a mule down that trail, and it would be a lot scarier than walking, especially if you're not used to riding, but I've hiked that trail a few times now, and it's a relatively wide trail, not nearly as scary as you'd think, from looking down on it. And I'm a person who's afraid of heights. There aren't even a lot of abrupt drop-offs, certainly none that are a whole mile down. Now, I realize the narrator is exaggerating because he's scared or just because the grandeur of this place makes you talk in superlatives. But still.
Havasupai Gardens (Indian Garden) location: Now…for the big one. They're headed to the bottom of the canyon, to Phantom Ranch, on the SOUTH KAIBAB trail. But they stop for lunch at Indian Garden (now called Havasupai Gardens). What? Even a cursory glance at a map will tell you that Indian Garden is not on the South Kaibab Trail. It's on the Bright Angel Trail. I suppose it's possible that this mule train did an ultra special itinerary and went down the South Kaibab to the Tip-Off, went cross-country an extra and inexplicable 4.5 miles over the Tonto Trail to the Bright Angel Trail, and then down. But that would be silly, and no mention was made of it. And the next day, when they were headed up, they left Indian Garden and went up the South Kaibab. NO. They would have gone up the Bright Angel. This is a rudimentary error, but nobody—not the author, not the editors, not the beta readers—caught it? It clearly indicates the author has never done this. I'm not saying the author has to have done it in order to write about it, but the author SHOULD have looked at a map first.
Havasupai Gardens (Indian Garden) description: In addition, this is a quote: "We break for lunch at a place named Indian Garden. The place seems poorly named to me as there is little-to-no vegetation." Has the author ever SEEN a picture of Indian Garden (Havasupai Gardens)? It's an incredibly green oasis, shaded by cottonwood trees and green with all sorts of other plants. Okay, if you're used to really lush vegetation like maybe these characters are, it might not seem super green, but compared to what you expect of the Grand Canyon, compared to other places in the canyon, yeah, it's got vegetation. Go Google pictures. Other places in the book talk about how there was practically no plant life in the canyon, but there is, even outside of the oases like Havasupai Garden and Phantom Ranch. There's far more vegetation than I expected, and obviously more than the author assumed.
A picture I took of Havasupai Gardens:
"
The heat: The narrator talked about how the Canyon was hot at the top and even hotter at the bottom, but then when they were at/approaching/leaving the bottom (the hottest part), the heat didn't seem to be an issue. Yet at Indian Garden (halfway back up), the mule wrangler said that it was 102 and warned them to drink lots of water. If it was 102 there, it was probably 110 at the bottom. But it hadn't been mentioned. And then, the most complaining happened at their campground?!? Up on the rim? With shade? The coolest place on their whole trip?
The fox: okay, I can swallow that it's a supernatural element, having this fox help them and magically know where they are.. But…[More Spoiler Alerts]…they see him at Desert View campground. And then at Phantom Ranch! And THEN at Havasupai Gardens. And then at Shoshone Point. And then at Havasupai Gardens again. Desert View to Phantom Ranch—by road and trail—is about 31 miles (and over 6000 feet of descent or ascent). Even with foxy shortcuts, that's way too far to be believed, when the foxes at the grand canyon usually have a home range of 1-2 square miles and rarely travel outside of the forested areas. So maybe a supernatural fox could do this, but the human adults would not take this sort of thing in stride. Also, when they saw a fox approaching their children, wouldn't they at least wonder about rabies? And when the girl says the fox probably has hungry pups on the rim, so needs to go to Phantom Ranch to go hunting…what? There's much better hunting up on the rim. None of it made sense. Maybe I could have swallowed it if everyone had been astounded at seeing this fox everywhere. But no, they acted like it was normal.
Okay, I'll get off my realisticness soapbox now. I just feel that if a book takes place in a real location in supposedly our dimension, and there's no overt magic, then things that purport to be realistic should be realistic.
A lot of the adventure was fun, the rescue itself was exciting, and many of the reviews say their kids really enjoyed it.
I like encouraging kids to camp, hike, and enjoy the outdoors, and the book really delivers on that.
June 18, 2025
Full disclosure: I read this with a third-grade girl I tutor (she brought it from home), and the "mystery/adventure" plot was less than ideal to read once a week. It was difficult to remember the clues, etc.
Separate from that, the story is just not well executed. I found both the plot and dialogue to be clunky. My student and I found many places to edit punctuation and discuss word choice.
It was certainly a struggle for me to get through it. It might work better as a short story. So much of it feels convoluted, bizarre, and far-fetched that a lot could be cut. I can see how it would be a fun read if you are going to the Grand Canyon yourself because the characters are getting their Junior Ranger badges and visit various real locations, but it's not up to par in an education setting.
Separate from that, the story is just not well executed. I found both the plot and dialogue to be clunky. My student and I found many places to edit punctuation and discuss word choice.
It was certainly a struggle for me to get through it. It might work better as a short story. So much of it feels convoluted, bizarre, and far-fetched that a lot could be cut. I can see how it would be a fun read if you are going to the Grand Canyon yourself because the characters are getting their Junior Ranger badges and visit various real locations, but it's not up to par in an education setting.
April 17, 2024
My 8 year old in 2nd grade really liked the book.
My 10 and 12 year old children liked that this story had more of a mystery feel to it, but felt the ending about the boy's father calling the police on him seemed out of place. Ie, it didn't address the question of why the father was allowed to leave the boy by the tent all day by himself while he scammed people with fake Egyptian artifacts.
I appreciated that there was a map of Grand Canyon at the beginning of the book.
My 10 and 12 year old children liked that this story had more of a mystery feel to it, but felt the ending about the boy's father calling the police on him seemed out of place. Ie, it didn't address the question of why the father was allowed to leave the boy by the tent all day by himself while he scammed people with fake Egyptian artifacts.
I appreciated that there was a map of Grand Canyon at the beginning of the book.
December 10, 2025
Good book for young readers around 8-10, may be little older kid. Easy to read, clean, and have some good lessons to learn. Just don’t expect correct geographical descriptions of trails and places thinking that you can retrace book steps in real life. :)
January 13, 2023
Great book!
April 5, 2023
Read aloud to the kids. They didn’t really enjoy the book.
March 12, 2025
i like the parts where Ethan was playing video games then a fox stole his lunch , and when he walks out wearing a garbage can lids because he was afraid that a bird would poop on him(again)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 31, 2025
Better than the RMNP one, the mystery and clues were fun to follow. But pretty heavy handed/preachy on the video game stuff, fine you don’t like them, but it was like multiple comments every chapter.
June 27, 2025
Rated by my 11 year old. Told me this has been his favorite one so far in the series.
August 6, 2025
This is my 10 yo's favorite of this series, but she recommends them all! She particularly likes the scavenger hunt.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews