Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon is at the TOP of our favorites list in Arizona! The angles of the sun on the various elevations and colors of the rock are breathtaking and make for some beautiful photos.
Click on the first photo in each group and scroll to see the square photos at full size.
To start at the beginning of this series, visit The Trip that Started it All 2014
As the name implies, our stop at the Grand Canyon was grand, with a capital GRAND! We visited nearly every stop on the south rim and stayed at El Tovar Hotel, a National Historic Landmark, right on the canyon rim. It was fabulous waking up to such an awesome view both mornings. I would highly recommend reserving a room at one of the lodges in the canyon, both to save time driving back in the next day, and to feel a little more of the history of this beautiful place. Our room was on the small side and we didn’t spring for a view room (although we did have a partial view), but it was very clean and cozy and of course, it was right on the rim of the Grand Canyon!
A free, environmentally-friendly shuttle system replaces possibly hundreds of cars fighting for parking. This is great – not only because you don’t have to worry about crazy drivers running you down, but the buses drop-off and pick-up every five to ten minutes at whichever stop your heart desires.
The farthest west the shuttle travels is called Hermits Rest. Staying at El Tovar, we were able to cover the central lookouts on foot and we opted to drive some of the eastern route on our way out of the park traveling back to Phoenix, to check out the Desert View Watchtower – a definite must-see.
The different angles of the sun, the variations in elevation and clouds – all make for some fabulous pictures from any of the lookout points. We caught glimpses of the Colorado River making its way through the canyon at most of the lookouts and with binoculars were able to see rafters enjoying a float down. Of course, there were lots of folks who thought it was a good idea to teeter on the edge of the canyon for a picture. We got plenty of great pictures from behind the railing that was put there for a reason. There’s that safe and sound grandma talking again!
There is a really nice visitor’s center where they frown on your plastic water bottles and encourage you to refill using the bubblers in the park. The movie that was offered had some maintenance issues, so we weren’t able to see that, but just looking out on the canyon was fine by us. We were in awe for two solid days.
Be sure and read on about the Desert View Watchtower, another top stop on our favorites list. We caught an IMAX movie right at the entrance to the park, which was very interesting as well. For a trailer for the movie and for more information, click here.
Grand Canyon. Simply Amazing.
Next Stop: Desert View Watchtower
Big Sky is another place we haven’t been to, but Yellowstone has been a favorite of mine since I was a child. We took a driving trip when our kids were small as well. That is one place EVERYONE should be REQUIRED to go at least once in their lives!! Thanks for the comment Joanne and have a great time!
Thanks for the kind words Carolyn! I’ll keep it up for as long as I can keep traveling (and then some).
The pictures are beautiful. We are talking about a trip up through Mt. Rushmore, over to Big Sky for a few days and then down to Cibola Vista for a few days with our grandson. We will definitely look into reserving a room at one of the lodges. Thanks for the tips.
Barb, your pictures are fabulous. Reminds me of the two days we spent at the Canyon several years ago. Keep posting, please. I enjoy seeing the chronicles of your journeys. 🙂
Thank you Peggy! It’s easy to take good pictures when you have such a beautiful subject! If you go in February, you may get the treat of seeing the canyon with snow, which I’ll bet will be beautiful! The white snow on Sedona’s red rock – well talk about GORGEOUS! I can just imagine the Grand Canyon in snow! Take lots of pictures!! We’ll figure out a way to post them on here. Nice chatting with you!
Barb, your photos are gorgeous! I’m thinking that perhaps we should book a one night stay at one of the lodges and return to the Grand Canyon on our trip at the end of Feb. Last time we just took a small van tour for the day from Cibola Vista. Perhaps during our first week in Arizona, when we will be staying in Sedona, we should make a more leisurely trip back to the canyon.