And the road trip continued...
Our Grand Canyon portion of the trip started out with a slight mistake, which we didn't realize until later. Now, it wasn't a big mistake, and it ended up working in our favor, but just for future reference, there is an EAST entrance and a SOUTH entrance to the Grand Canyon. If you are staying at the Mather campgrounds, the South entrance is closer to your site...so take the East entrance only if you want a scenic route with no bathroom stops or if you want to see the Desert View Watchtower.
This turned out to be quite pleasant - a short escape from the heat as well as a walk down memory lane for me, as I had visited that tower with my parents 8 years earlier on our visit.
The views from the watchtower were pretty good...
After our stop at the watchtower, we finally realized our mistake with the entrances, so we kept trekking in our car towards our campground. Once we set up the tent (for the last time this trip!), we went to lunch at Bright Angel Lodge. (The parking gods were totally in our favor at Grand Canyon!) We also perused the gift shop, bought a few items, and wandered around the rim a bit. (We were on the South Rim, aka "tourist", side.) We found our way to another visitor center, where I picked up a magazine celebrating the Grand Canyon's centennial - it was established as a National Park in 1919 (as was Zion). I couldn't tell if the magazine was for sale, as there was no price tag, so I looked around to ask a clerk (but she was busy) and ultimately decided it must be free because it was sitting next to a Jr Ranger connect-the-dot coloring page (also free), so I put it in my bag. It became a running joke that I stole it, but I verified that the magazine was, indeed, free when I located it later in the main visitor center at multiple ranger stations. Phew.
In the magazine, I came across this poem, and it really struck a chord, so I took a picture of it and am posting it here, as it might touch your heart as well:
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| me with the "stolen" magazine |
It was getting on towards 4pm, so that was when we decided to go to Mass. You can read about El Cristo Rey Chapel and the experience HERE. (Fun fact! - Grand Canyon is one of only two national parks with a Catholic chapel within its boundaries; the other one is in the Grand Tetons, which we visited last year but weren't there for a Sunday Mass.)
We grabbed a spot in the shade at Yavapai Tavern (located right next to Yavapai Lodge) for drinks and a light dinner. (My sunset mule was delicious!) And then we drove to the visitor center lot to park for the ranger talk (on bats) and sunset at Mather Point. Even though it was crowded and somewhat loud, it was a beautiful spot for sunset. Though, we were bound and determined to find a more secluded & quiet spot the next night...
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| sunset mule |
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| ranger talk at the amphitheater |
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| sunset @ Mather Point |
We had seen stars(!!) at Zion, but we missed out in Bryce due to cloud coverage and some storms, so we were hoping that the Grand Canyon would not disappoint in terms of nighttime viewing, especially since the park was recently designated an IDA: International Dark Sky Park.
So legit.
And we would have had some pretty amazing star-filled night skies...except there was a full moon...which, due to the brightness it gives off makes it much harder to see the stars. Go figure.
Note to selves: try to plan future road trips around times when there are not full moons when possible.
Fast forward to the next day, when we were up early again for sunrise. We hit up Mather Point again (as that was the recommendation) - crowded (again), yet stunning.
And then it was time to hit the trail...well, at least part of it (roughly 4 miles round trip).
Bright Angel Trail is one of the Grand Canyon's iconic hikes, and, when done in completion, leads about 9 miles down and into the canyon to the Colorado River. For those hikers who do the Rim to Rim Trail, they often end up coming up Bright Angel on their final stretch. (We met a few of those; my hat off to them, especially in the heat!)
Even though we were early to the trail, when the sun started eliminating the shade from the canyon walls, it got hot fast. But don't just take my word for it; there was an objective way to tell too: mule poop. Probably less than 30 minutes before we got to the start of the trail, a guided mule ride tour had passed through the trail...and the poop was already hardening by the time we reached it. (Talk about dry heat.) It was hard to watch your footing for both rocks and mule poop, but we managed, and the views were spectacular.
We finished up our hike right around 10 am, which put us right at the tail end of breakfast at El Tovar. What a neat place! First, it was pretty much empty. Second, they had classical music playing lightly in the background. Third, the service was superb - prompt and friendly. And fourth, the food was delicious! I had the meat quiche of the day and coffee, and boy did it hit the spot.
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| photo taken from the menu's front page |
Nearing noon, we decided we couldn't really do anything outside, so we opted for showers ($2.50 for 5 minutes) and laundry. As a note to my fellow campers, it is a good life choice to do laundry before heading home from travels, as it is much more pleasant and easy to pack clean clothes than dirty ones. It was a good life choice, for sure. And then we were off for an early/"senior citizen" dinner for us yet again, especially since it was starting to storm outside - this time we were back at Bright Angel Lodge. We had to get a drink at the cocktail lounge first, as the restaurant didn't open until 4:30.
It was then nearing time for sunset, so we decided to try a spot by the geology museum this time around. Though still somewhat crowded, it was an overall better experience. A group of au pairs ended up sitting near/in front of us and eating pizza, so we got to chatting a bit. They were from Germany, Austria, and South Africa. For some, this was their first trip to America. A handful were headed home after a few more stops in the Southwest, but others from the group were going on vacation with their respective American host families. They were quite a delightful bunch!
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| some of the au pairs |
Once the sun's glow left the sky, we got back in the car and drove over to the lodge for drinks and nachos. We sat right by a fire pit, and the place was hopping with folks of all ages and backgrounds. It was the perfect spot to relax.
We decided to skip sunrise the next morning, but we did still head out early for a ranger-led hike on the South Kaibab Trail. We made it down with the group to Cedar Ridge and then back up again on our own, for the group dispersed at the stopping point for photo ops, etc. I love the ranger-led hikes because we get to stop from time to time for information and fun facts! It was another hot day, but the hike was, once again, worth it!
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| me and Teddy Roosevelt Butte |
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| one of the lookout points |
After brunch at El Tovar (What can I say? We loved that spot.), we made our way out of the park toward Antelope Canyon for our day trip. (With so many pictures of that place + Horseshoe Bend, I decided to dedicate a whole post to it, so stay tuned.) It was pretty phenomenal - for now, I'll leave it at that.
The next morning we had breakfast at Yavapai Lodge, made a quick stop at the post office (for my postcard stamps!), and rented bikes for an hour. (We got lost, but we ultimately made it back in the time limit, so all's well that ends well.) And then it was time to set our sights on Vegas (for one more night) and our trip home.
Thank you, Grand Canyon, for your sights and hospitality. You were the perfect end to our trip. 100 years - wow!
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