I was not ready for the Grand Canyon. I naively thought that after seeing Zion - it might be "less than" and that we should have started at the Grand Canyon and ended our trip with Zion so that our adventures were progressively impressive. I was SO WRONG. I do not have words to convey the sheer majesty that is the Grand Canyon. We are beyond grateful to have had the chance to explore this "big hole" up close and personal.
Lee's Ferry ...where it all begins ( and Pa'ria Beach)
We stopped at Lee's Ferry, which is the beginning of the Grand Canyon's Marble Canyon section. A lot of river rafting and kayak tours were heading out. We wished we would have known how pretty this area was - we would have loved to paddle this section! Spent a little time and took a little wade in the water.
Lee's Ferry served as a vital river crossing and supply point for early explorers, pioneers, and settlers making their way westward.
Pa'ria Beach
Grand Canyon Railway is a very short distance from Lee's Ferry. We were at the confluence of the Colorado River and the Pa'ria River, a natural junction that occurs within the Grand Canyon. When the two rivers meet - it looked like the water was striped! The Colorado River green against the Pa'ria River brown seemd to flow in a striped fashion! We enjoyed this uncrowded pretty beach and enjoyed watching the raftin adventures flow by as well!
Grand Canyon Railway
Our plans to enjoy the North Rim were squashed by an uncharacteristicly delayed opening this year - so we decided to enjoy the train experience as our initiation to the Grand Canyon. We booked observation dome seats leaving from the quintessential small town America of Williams Arizona. Prior to boarding- there a a little wild west show - properly cheesy and very satisfying!
The attendant on our car, Rob, had set out a little buffet of snacks and shared a lot of info about the Railway, its impact on Williams and the Grand Canyon.
Along the way- through sparse house - there were people that stopped to wave to the train at scheduled times- it was cool to see this people fit the train into their routines!
The actors from the earlier show mingled among the cars and they had musicians play a few songs on both legs of the trip. One of the musicians played a Blaze Foley song ( Clay Pigeons) - that was an unexpected treat!
The train leaves you at the Grand Canyon Village for ~3 hours. We walked along the Rim Trail to the Geological Museum. This was a very easy flat path along the South Rim- a great introduction to this amazong landmark!
On the way home we had a champagne toast and a staged robbery. We were really glad we fit this in!
Grand Canyon National Park
We stayed inside the park for a few nights at the Thunderbird Lodge. This gave us a great hime base for early morning hikes to avoid crowds, a peaceful Grand Canyon Village experience in the mornings and evenings, and the night skys were just a little walk away from the lights along the Rim Trail.
South Kaibab Trail
We took the 5:00 am " Hiker's Express" Shuttle to the South Kaibab Trailhead. This route is the shortest and steepest way to the bottom, with a very steep climb back up to the rim. We hiked to " Ooh Aah" Point Overlook ( ~1.8 miles roundtrip). Leaving so early - we let the more able hikers from the shuttle, (who were hiking to the bottom) start ahead of us. As we were only hiking to the first view point, this left us with the trail to ourselves for most of the hike and cooler, shady conditions hiking back up! We saw a cool longhorn sheep as we came back out to top of the trail.
Shoshone Point
Shoshone Point, a secluded viewpoint away from the crowds, provided a peaceful and serene setting to enjoy a picnic lunch and some stunning GC views with no crowds - we only came across one couple (Thanks so much for taking our picture!) and a guy with his dog. The hike is not a marked Park Service Trail but can be found along Desert View Scenic Drive. It's a flat 2.1 Mile roundtrip hike. This site also had great picnic spots! This was one of our favorite places on our trip!
Shuttle to Hermit's Rest
The red line shuttle travels Hermit's Rest and stops along spectacular viewpoints. (Private cars are not allowed to drive this road from March - November, so we used the free Hermit Road {RED} shuttle bus to enjoy these vistas. ( The shuttles were great, easy to use and the driver's were a wealth of information!)
We got out and walked along the Rim Trail several times, instead of just riding the shuttle bus from stop to stop. This gave us some solitude while immersed in the sometimes chaotic shuttle vibe.
These are our stops along the way:
• Trailview Overlook -- this is an impressive view of the Bright Angel Trail - which was fun to see from this vanatage point after hiking)
• Maricopa Point -- this is one of the most picturesque spots along the Hermits Rest Road.
• Powell Point, Hopi Point, and Mohave Point -- these gorgeous viewpoints are all pretty close together, so we walked the Rim Trail from Powell Point to Mohave Point. Some of the trail is unpaved (but mostly flat), and it’s approximately 1.1 miles to hit all three viewpoints.
• The Abyss -- this is a nearly vertical drop-off into the canyon below.Very cool!
• Monument Creek Vista -- We got off and walked for another lovely walk along the rim, get off at Monument Creek Vista and take the paved Rim Trailthis 1.7 mile trail to Pima Point.
We were so surprised not many people did. This is a paved walking/ biking trail that we were pretty much alone on. The canyon roses were in bloom and they smelled great on the breezy day.
We came across an elk grabbing her lunch as we walked. There were great rest spots along the rim with benches- perfect for a rest or picnic spot!
• Pima Point -- 180-degree views of the canyon, including a whitewater section of the Colorado River below.
• Hermits Rest -- this is the end of the road on this scenic shuttle tour!
Bright Angel Trail
We did an early morning hike on Bright Angel Trail. This trail also takes you below the rim is the most popular way to access the bottom of the Grand Canyon ( we just hiked to the 2nd tunnel ~1.5 mile round trip). Beautiful way to start the day !
Desert Scenic View Drive
The desert scenic drive is a 25 mile drive with several pullouts to allow you to enjoy the varying vistas. The drive ends at the Desert Watchtower, a remarkable architectural masterpiece designed by Mary Colter. Inspired by the ancient ancestral Puebloan towers found in the Southwest, the Colter designed it to blend seamlessly with the surrounding landscape. The inside was way more intriguiing than we anticipated. You do need to get a timed ( free) ticket. A limited number of people are allowed to explore the inside every 20 minutes.The lower level features pieces that depict scenes from Native American mythology, legends, and daily life.
Climbing the winding staircase, the walls are adorned with additional murals, each one revealitng different aspects of the canyon's rich history and the stories of the indigenous peoples who have called it home. Reaching the observation deck at the top of the Watchtower was teh highlight of the visit. From this elevated vantage point, we had panoramic views of the Grand Canyon in all directions.
We ended the evening with a gorgeous sunset at Desert Watchtower.
Mules
We did not ask the mules to cart our butts down the canyon- but we did visit one morning before they headed out for work!
Califormia Condor
We were able to see California Condors, each day, late afternoon/ early evening. At one point their entire population was recorded as 22 - it is now up to 500 worldwide and we got to see two of them fly across the rim at once- incredible! They have a wingspan of up to 9.5 feet -among the largest flying birds in North America.
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