A Trilogy of Excursions - Number 2 Grand Canyon - The Sarky Traveller 5

It's time for another excursion with the Sarky Traveller. This time I take you to the mother of all canyons, in The Grand Canyon State of Arizona......Yes, you guessed it, The Grand Canyon.

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Around a four and a half hour drive from Las Vegas, you find yourself asking, is it worth it? If your answer at this point, isn't yes, then shame on you. Of course it's worth it and surely you can never have too many road trips, per holiday.

Okay, so the road is long and there aren't too many distractions along the way, but if travelling in daylight you pass the Hoover Dam, well worth a look (see previous blog) and the opportunity to join the World famous and romanticised Route 66. Sadly we were driving as the sun went down, so no scenic Route 66 for us.

Still, you make the most of what you've got: Pretty clouds and Pylons!

Now, daylight trippers heading to Grand Canyon Village and The South Rim, may be drawn in by the prospect of The Grand Canyon Skywalk. The idea of being able to walk on a glass platform, looking down thousands of feet to the canyon below you, might blow your mind. (Or in the case of me, scare the bejeezers out of you.) But if that doesn't blow your mind, the price will. The cost of this little diversion will set you back $73, which is broken down to $43.05 for a pass to the Hualapai Reservation that it stands on and $29.95 to walk on the glass. Oh, and guess what? You can't even take pictures.

Say what?

You're fleecing me out of the best part of £50 English pounds and I can't even take a sodding photo. It's not the pissin' Sistine Chapel. A photograph won't tarnish the paint. It's rocks and stuff. They're pretty solid and it's a canyon, a natural wonder formed over hundreds and thousands of years. What bullshit!

Anyhoo. If you like to throw money down the drain, or the canyon in this case. Go ahead. But what you might prefer is to explore a little more than this tiny segment of the 277 miles of canyons. And heading for Grand Canyon Village will give you just that, a platform from which to explore and get the most out of your trip.

Okay, so continuing on the I40, you pass by Kingman, Williams and Flagstaff. We stopped at Kingman for food as it was around half way. We notched up another tally on our American fast food chains, this time plumping for a Wendy's. Cheap, cheerful and great when you're on the move. But Kingman has plenty else to offer if you have the time, including bowling lanes, a Route 66 museum and many restaurants and lodgings.

Williams: around 60 miles from the National Park is home to The Grand Canyon Railway. Many people choose to stay here and then take the scenic trains to the South Rim. Taking just over 2 hours and giving you roughly 4 hours there before the return journey, it is definitely worth it for train geeks and those who like to take things at a more leisurely pace. And when the train looks like this, go on, I admit it, it looks pretty darn cool!

Now, Flagstaff is another option. It's a further 35 miles East on the I40 and connects to the National Park via the 180. Flagstaff is home to The University of Northern Arizona; The Lowell Observatory where Pluto was first spotted in the 30's and one of the largest Ponderosa Pine Forests in the country. It also sits below the San Francisco Peaks, the tallest mountains in Arizona. Again, if you have a few days here, you might want to use it as a base from which to explore the canyon, or as a great place to fill up and eat. Being a University Town there is a lot going on including sports and night life, with plenty of options for food and accommodation.

And finally, at the junction of 180 and state route 64 is the weird little town of Valle. Attractions include Bedrock: A Prehistoric Park billed as the home of The Flintstones; An aircraft museum and an extremely run down, must be out of a horror movie, motel. Wow! I don't advise staying there if you can help it.

Now, if you are on a tight schedule and are taking part in speed tourism, like myself, then staying in the heart of Grand Canyon Village, gives you the opportunity to wake up to views like this, just a short walk from your lodge:

First Impressions.

There are several lodges accommodating for most budgets, the priciest being The El Tovar Hotel. With other lodges such as Hopi house, Verkamps and The Bright Angel Lodge with more affordable rooms. 

N.B Book accommodation in advance for these places, as they will sell out fast, especially in the peak of the tourist season. Also watch out as some hotels close for the winter, from around end of October/beginning of November.

 Okay, so if you are lucky enough to stay in the heart of it all, in the village, you will likely awake to views that literally baffle you.

Is it worth it? I think it speaks for itself. And those who opted out of the road trip are now kicking themselves. 

Now, what I didn't mention was The National Parks pass for The Grand Canyon, which is $25 per car and lasts a week, much better value than that silly Skywalk thing. This can be purchased from one of the booths as you drive through and needs to be displayed in the car. 

Also, make sure you take your winter gear with you. I'm talking hats, gloves, scarf, big coat, maybe even a waterproof as you never quite know what the temperature is gonna be. When we arrived it was late-ish but still it was baltic. Plummeting desert temperatures and not an urban heat island effect in sight, meant I had to run into the lodge, put on knee high socks, boots, my coat and scarf just to warm up. A far cry from the heat of Vegas. And a rude awakening. So don't be caught out.

When we started out in the morning it was once again, feckin' freezing, but within an hour or so we were taking layers off piece by piece. Basically, treat the Grand Canyon like a trip out to the English Countryside and account for every eventuality. I'm talking sun cream, waterproof coat, woolly hat, scarf, gloves, jumper, sun glasses, sun hat and the staple of Britishness, an umbrella. Though I have to say we didn't encounter rain, but who's to say you won't. So in the words of the Scouts and The Hyenas and Scar from The Lion King: Be prepared! ('Cause that temperature change is a bitch!)

Bright Angel Lodge

Now, the absolutely fabulous thing about The Grand Canyon, is the free bus services. You can hop off and hop back on. Services are roughly every fifteen minutes and with most routes you are able to walk between stops too. 

Some routes are unavailable to private vehicles, so you can hire bicycles, walk the trail heads or take the buses. Some routes are also closed for the winter months due to ice and snow. So if travelling after the end of November, check ahead to see what routes are available to you, to avoid disappointment. 

The drivers of the buses are very knowledgeable and enjoy answering questions. And if like us you did the walk a few stops, hop back on thing, then you're likely to bump into the same driver on multiple occasions. It's like, Oh, you again. 

Oh and super important, before you leave your lodge or The visitors centre, fill up your water bottles, because there is no where to buy bottled water, on the Hermit Road Route. These filling stations are clearly marked on your map of the park and within hotels and lodges, and are a great way to minimise not only rubbish, but our carbon footprint too. 

Setting out from Trailview Overlook, heading towards Maricopa Point. Not only incredible views, but amazing clouds!

Continuing along to Powell Point by foot. In between these points are very short distances and are easily walkable. If you have loads of time, then why not walk the whole way to Hermit's Rest and then take the bus back? It's only a few miles and you get to skirt the edge of the South Rim. Mesmerising.

Vegetation Shock

Shadow of the clouds.

One of my favourite bits.

Powell Point

Now some might think it gets a little samey. And it does. But then it becomes a game. Much like cloud gazing, where you find shapes or objects in the clouds, this would be canyon gazing, and boy do you see some interesting things. Of course not every one sees things the same way, which is exactly where the fun comes into it.

 And yes, alot of them look like UFO's, but my favourite had to be the pie, with a slice taken out of it.

Genius! Anyhoo as you're meandering round you suddenly realise all this was made by a river, yet this river hasn't appeared yet. But eventually between Monument Creek Valley, Pima Point and Hermit's Rest you get your first glimpses:

Monument Creek Valley

Pima Point Rapids

Hermit's Rest (The end of our first trail)

Once you've exhausted either yourself, or the Hermit's Road, then hop on the bus back to the Village and start all over again. There are two more options for routes around the South Rim, one that you can drive yourself (Desert View Drive) and another bus route (The orange route to Yaki Point). Now, the Yaki Point route was closed when we went and as we didn't have time for all three, it very nicely allowed us to jump back in the car, grab some lunch and head off along Desert View Drive in search of The Watchtower. 

The Watchtower at Desert View.

A 25 mile road along the East Rim, takes you to Desert View. Along the way are many look out points and information points. We rode all the way to the end and then snaked our way back. Once you get to Desert View there are toilets, water filling stations, a post office, general store and little cafe, as well as an information centre and small visitors centre. 

That pesky river.

Inside the tower

Beautifully ramshackle!

Now, making our way back to The village, we stopped at Navajo Point, Lipen Point, The Tusayan Museum and Ruins, Moran Point and Grandview Point. Navajo and Lipen Points offered the best views of the Colorado River and the Tusayan Museum offered an insight into some of the indigenous tribes people that live on the land. 

Tusayan Ruins

And that is what you call speed tourism. The South Rim and East Rim of The Grand Canyon, done, in a matter of 18 hours, including drive and sleep. Whoop! And what we didn't see, probably wasn't worth seeing. Okay, that's slightly wrong. Of course, hiking down to the bottom and back up the other side would have been mesmerising, (North Rim) but would have taken at least 2 days and to be honest wouldn't have been available at the time of year we went. Probably best though. It's always nice to come back from holiday without emotional scarring or an inevitable injury or something.

So, to summarise:

• The Grand Canyon is freakin' huge and large parts are inaccessible. Don't expect to see the whole of it and depending on the time of year, certain routes will be closed.

• Try not to fall for the Skywalk thing and especially don't fall off it. Eek. Not the most valuable use of your time and you won't have any evidence to show for it. 

• Come prepared for anything! Winter gear, summer provisions and plenty of water, or empty bottles to fill up.

• If staying in the Village, book accommodation as early as possible. You won't find any Vegas style last minute deals here. 

• On the long journey, make a few stops, explore a few places and look out for points of interest along the way:

1. School buses in really remote areas. The mind boggles. 
2. Post boxes. These stereotypical American mail boxes are often miles from the actual house. 
3. Pretty clouds and interesting rock formations. 
4. Shrubs. 
5. And more often than not, pylons. Pylons are usually the only things to break up the monotonous but still beautiful desert landscape.

• If you can, take a drive on part of Route 66. 

• Oh, and if you find it all getting a bit samey, play the canyon gazing game and see what shapes you can find in the rocks. 

That's all for now, but the third and final excursion: Death Valley, will soon be upon us. Watch out for that and keep reading, otherwise I'm just blabbering to myself.

The Sarky Traveller