Blogs from Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, United States, North America - page 5

…was long and beautiful once we left the Las Vegas heat behind. We were on the road by 8:30 and to our new campground by 1:00. Along the way the scenery changed dramatically. Gone were the short gray-green bushes everywhere and land formations off in the distance, replaced with tall dark green trees and peaks and valleys right outside the window. The canyons carved by glaciers and the Colorado River near the Hoover Dam were just a teaser of what was to come. The roads between the Nevada/Arizona border and our campground in Williams, AZ were some of the roughest we’ve driven so far. Everything survived. Even the two tall chairs that sit at the counter were still standing when we arrived at camp. They usually ride laying down so they don’t fall over, but we ... read more

Day 3 consisted of eating a wonderful breakfast at the hotel to start the day. The breakfast was awesome and included omelets, bacon, cinnamon rolls, endless coffee, pancakes, biscuits, oatmeal, yogurts, boiled eggs, and turkey sausage. There were people from every nationality staying there and we heard many languages spoken such as German, Asian, and Indian. We started at Mather Point and then hit Yavapai Point and ended the day at Pima Point. Midday we stopped and ate at the Maswik Cafeteria which also had a store in it. The Grand Canyon was more than breathtaking views, it was the view of a lifetime. It truly is one of the 7 Wonders of the World.... read more

The Grand Canyon is ENORMOUS!. It is a surreal experience to sit and stare and ponder the enormity of this place. It stretches on further than the eye can see, and is deeper than you could ever imagine. And the colours are amazingly beautiful. They also change with the time of day and weather conditions. We stayed at the Maswick Lodge which was basic but fine for us. Day 2 we went for a short way along the Bright Angel track and then continued on to the Visitors Centre which seemed close but actually took the whole afternoon with all the stops for views and museums etc. There was the great Hopi House whcih is a reconstructed native american house where I bought a souvenir and a geology museum and of course the centre itself. All ... read more

We were so excited to visit Lake Mead; tour the Hoover Dam. Let's go. We headed into the area from the North and started to get in the left turn lane for Lake Mead Village. Uh-oh. This is a turn a 40-foot motor coach can't make. So we continue South looking for a place to turn around. Being impatient senior people, and not finding a turnaround after 5 minutes, we continued on and made reservations (lucky to get a cell phone signal) at the Gateway RV Resort in Williams, AZ. The elevation here is 7,000'. I was unsure about us staying any amount of time due to Tom's lung disease, but he felt the travel-size oxygen bottles would keep him "just fine." For my birthday Tom got me a camera harness that carries two cameras, a ... read more

Alas, another month, another adventure! Last week my co-worker and travel companion, Christy, and I decided to one-up our spontaneous camping trip with a spontaneous canyon trip- a 72-hour roundtrip blur of an adventure to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and back between work shifts. To put that in perspective for you it went something like this: work a full day-> drive 9 hours from Carlsbad to Tusayan-> sleep for 4 hours at the top of the canyon-> hike down 3 hours to the Colorado River-> spend 42 hours hanging out with the crazy ranchers at Phantom Ranch-> hike out 5 hours back to the top-> drive home 9 hours and go to bed so we could get up for work the next day. Needless to say it was not a relaxing vacation, but an ... read more