This was our first big family vacation in a long time. Lynn and I took Matthew, Nathan, Jorden and girl friends Melissa and Hannah to see the canyon. It was a trip to remember for me.
We flew to Vegas and rented a large SUV. It was a Ford Expedition EL and just big enough for everyone (7 people) and their luggage to fit. Because the flight was very early, and given the time change, we landed early in the morning and immediately started driving to The Canyon.
We stopped at the Hoover Dam for a quick tour. I’ve seen it from an airplane many times but standing on top of it gives you a whole new appreciation for this structure; the scale is amazing.
After a short stop at the dam, we continued our drive to the hotel in Tusayan, AZ where our hotel for the stay is. The Grand Hotel at the Grand Canyon as very nice. It’s only a few miles south of The Canyon. We settled in quickly and then drove up to see what we traveled so long for.
Day 1: We were hoping for a bike tour but all the bikes were gone. So, we did a bunch of walking around the main visitor center. The views are jaw dropping. It almost looked fake.
After a few hours of slowly walking along the south rim, we went back to the bike shop and found they had bikes for us. Our bike ride from the visitor center towards Hermit’s Rest was strenous but stunning. We didn’t make it the whole way but it was very cool. Dinner was the Big-E that no one liked.
Day 2: Nothing was planned for the morning so we drove along 64 towards Desert View Tower. It looks really old but it’s not. The architect just wanted it to look like that. The drive was beautiful with lots of stops to check out the view.
In the evening we took a guided tour to watch the sunset over the canyon. Our guide was Nathan and he did great, especially with the kids on our tour. The Canyon is amazing as it changes colors through the day. As each hour passes, the colors change. You see reds and greens and browns, It’s amazing. Dinner was Mexican and the best meal in Tusayan.
Day 3: This was the big day. Our chance to hike down into the Canyon. Our guide was John who runs his own guided tours of the canyon. He has spent a lot of time below the rim. The trek was crazy. The walls are very steep and so is the trail. Our trip saw:
- 1000 feet of vertical drop and over 3 miles round trip.
- Two mule trains. They carry the supplies to and from camps at the bottom. They don’t run every day. We were lucky to see two.
- Eons of errosion. There are literally billions of years of errosion and each layer had distinct kinds of earth/dirt.
- Seeing the canyon from this perspective made it entirely different.
Lynn had a bum knee but did great. Both up and down, she was smooth, slow and steady. We only made it to Cedar Ridge but that was good enough for most of us.
We drove back to Vegas on Day 4. That was really uneventful.
- Stayed at the Venetian Hotel which is really nice.
- Saw the only show in town. It was good but not great. We spent some time at the pool.
- Walked around Vegas a bunch.
- It was 110 degrees each day.
I so thankful we could do this as a family.
