Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

April 28, 2023

Julie has wanted to go to the Grand Canyon ever since the 1970s Brady Bunch episode where the Brady's took a family vacation there. Over the years, deferred dreams can sometimes induce expectations of mammoth proportions when the dreams are finally realized. The result can be a disappointing experience, especially since (in this case) the Brady's version of the Grand Canyon probably wasn't very realistic to begin with. However, after hearing several naysayers proclaim that the Grand Canyon was just a big hole and no big deal, Julie had lost a little enthusiasm for making the trek, and therefore tempered her expectations over the years. But now as we approached the park, she felt that long-lost anticipation well up once again.

The ride toward Flagstaff was quite pretty

Our first view of a snow-covered mountain this year (Humphreys Peak, elevation 12,633)

We saw some lingering snow as we passed through the mountains near Flagstaff

The Kaibab National Forest, having the largest continuous ponderosa pine forest in the world

Ok, Julie was just a touch excited as we entered the park

Even though there were four lanes open at the entrance gate, we still ended up waiting in line about 20 minutes or so. It must back up quite a bit during the busy season of summer. 

Upon arrival at our campsite, we were pleased to find that it wasn't too bad. Many online reviewers complained that if you don't pay for a premium site, then your site will be crappy. At $65/night, our "classic" site was definitely all about location, location, location and not about anything else. That being said, the site was reasonably spacious, mostly level, and had full hookups. The only difference we noticed between our site and the "premium" sites at $75/night was that we had gravel and they had pavement. By the way, it seems that we forgot to take a picture of our site--must have been too distracted by the other scenery.

After finishing setup and eating some lunch, we went out for a walk to the rim (on the eastern part of the park) to take advantage of that location, location, location.  This turned out to be a 5 mile walk, as the views just didn't end.

This was our very first glimpse of "the big hole in the ground"

It's kind of hard to see in this picture, but if you look along the sloping ridgeline where Rick is looking, you might be able to see a faint hiking trail. We were determined to find out about that hike.

There's Rick out at a point on the upper left-hand side of this picture

Julie joined him out at the point, but was careful not to look down too much

We walked along the rim toward the visitor center, but avoided the designated viewing area adjacent to the visitor center (Mather Point), as it was pretty crowded. Everywhere else was very lightly populated, and at times it felt like we had the entire park to ourselves.

Mather Point: fly-paper for tourists 😉

Upon reaching the visitor center, we discovered that it was closed until Thursday (today was Monday), but they had a lot of good information about the hiking trails in the outdoor plaza. The trail we saw earlier from a distance was called the South Kaibab Trail, and we were convinced to take that hike the next day.

We figured hiking to Cedar Ridge would be just right for us. It was only 1100 feet down the canyon.

They really wanted to make sure you knew what you were getting into. Luckily for us, the highs were only expected to be around 60-ish.

Fattest squirrel ever. Many people ignored the prolific signage not to feed the squirrels.

We continued our walk around the rim before heading back to our campsite for the night.

The south rim of Grand Canyon National Park has a great shuttle bus system, and there was a stop right off our campground that took us the next morning to the South Kaibab trailhead (with one connection). Aside from it being quite windy at times, the day was beautifully clear, and we enjoyed the hike immensely.  Even though it was less than 3.5 miles - it did include over 1000 feet of descent which made it quite challenging.

The trail started out innocently enough, but soon we encountered a seemingly endless progression of switchbacks heading down, down, down.

Oh, but what great views!

It was so windy here--Julie was glad to see that Rick sat down for this photosphere shot 😨

Rick still babying his sore ankle somewhat

Looking down at the trail ahead of us

Kind of looks like walking the plank, doesn't it?

Rick took lots of photospheres

Our official destination

We found a scenic spot to stop for lunch and rest a while before heading back up

We stopped quite often to rest on the way back up. At least every rest stop came with a view!

You can see the switchbacks we had to walk back up in the upper center of this photo

Almost to the top!

One last photo--probably the same one Julie took on the way down 😉

The end is in sight!

The South Kaibab trail was an awesome hike, but we were pretty tired by the time we got back to the camper. The next day, we decided to take it a bit easier and opted for a bike ride to the western half of the park. We enjoyed a nice combination of paved trails and roads closed off to car traffic. Having e-bikes was definitely the way to go. We encountered one scenic view after another, and the 23 miles breezed right by.

The bike trail right off the campground

Looking down at the Bright Angel Trail--the first-built trail down to the bottom of the canyon

The Bright Angel Trail continues through the "mini" canyon

It was fairly chilly when riding our bikes, but we dressed in layers and were very comfortable.

Every stop along the rim had a slightly different view

In the center of the photo, you can just see the muddy Colorado River

Rick could not resist photospheres of all the slightly different views along the way!

Our picnic spot

The end of the road

Inside the historic Hermit's Rest lodge

On the way back, we stopped by Grand Canyon Village where most of the lodges are located.

Heading back the way we came - great views and less stops.

El Tovar Hotel, built in 1905

The lobby of Bright Angel Lodge, built in the 1930s

One of the exterior doors of Bright Angel Lodge

Another view of El Tovar hotel

Lookout Studio Once a gathering place to view the canyon, it is now a gift shop.

Kolb Studio Once a home, photography studio, and toll gate for the Bright Angel Trail, it is now a gift shop (and small museum)

A "portable" (125 lbs) boat that the Kolb brothers carried up and down the canyon.

A life vest made of cork

Another view of Kolb Studio

The beginning of Bright Angel Trail goes through a hole in the rock.

Hopi House Once a residence and demonstration studio for members of the Hopi tribe, it is now a gift shop.

Another amazing (and tiring) day! Plus, we learned some interesting fun facts:

• The canyon measures one mile deep, 277 miles long, and 18 miles wide at its widest point.

• The most dangerous animal in the park is the squirrel. It bites more people than any other animal, and it can carry bubonic plague.

• It takes about 5 hours to drive to the North Rim of the park from the South Rim.

• Two brothers from Pittsburgh, Ellsworth and Emery Kolb, set up a business in the early 1900s selling souvenir photographs of people riding the mule trains down Bright Angel Trail.

• The Bright Angel Trail had been used originally by the Havasupai who had lived here. Later, it was turned into a toll road by an enterprising individual by the name of Ralph Cameron. According to the National Park Service:

Bright Angel Trail was improved by prospectors in the late 1800's. One of the miners, Ralph Cameron, realizing that the tourist trade was more profitable than the mining trade, bought out his partners and took control of the trail. He extended the trail from Indian Garden to the river and began to charge a toll of $1 for its use. In 1928, after a long battle with Mr. Cameron, ownership of the Bright Angel Trail was finally transferred to the National Park Service.

So, was the Grand Canyon everything Julie had hoped it would be? The short answer is "yes" --and then some. Perhaps the only experience lacking was a mule trip to the canyon floor like the Brady's did. But then again, she's not sure she would really want to sit on a mule for several hours, always just one misstep away from falling several thousand feet to one's death. Overall, it was a wonderful trip, and she really enjoyed the experience of being at the Grand Canyon.

And Rick said he liked it too. (The hike into the canyon was pretty awesome!)

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