After a pretty 2+ hour drive from Sedona, we reached the outskirts of the Grand Canyon. You pay $25 to enter the park area, and though the pass lets you go back in and out, we realized, once you are in, there is no reason to leave. Went to the Visitor Center to get a quick look over the rim and got some advice on hikes, etc. Checked into
Bright Angel Lodge, which has a main lodge and then a bunch of guest cabins. Our two adjoining cabins were "Rim Cabins" (booked a year in advance), and the view did not disappoint. The canyon is literally right outside the rooms!! Settled in and took a short walk over to the lodge and the more upscale El Tovar hotel. We ate in the lodge, which was just fine and not too expensive. The best part was that while you wait, you can hang out in the cocktail lounge, which had live entertainment and great beer. The kids hung out in the lobby, taking advantage of the wifi, which only really works there . . .Boys and Matt shared a room and watched some bad TV, while Yamini and I did some before bedtime reading. . .
Woke up to some chilly air, but the day got warmer as it went on and we shed some layers while hiking. Took the shuttle bus over to the shopping area which had a full supermarket, so we packed up some sandwiches and lots of water and waited for the next shuttle over to the
South Kaibab Trailhead. Decided we could do the 3 mile roundtrip hike to Cedar Ridge. Once we got down the fairly steep but mostly smooth trail to the first lookout (ooh ahh point), it wasn't too hard to get to the next one. Our lunches tasted so good after the hike and we had fun taking pictures before the hike back up. Boys were pretty speedy, Yamini was pretty tired, but she found a trusty walking stick and we just took our time up and enjoyed the view. Back to Bright Angel for ice cream and some R&R before dinner in the Arizona Room. Our waiter was great, and even though Will thought he could eat two racks of ribs, we ended up with leftovers. On the walk back to our cabin, I think I could see every star in our galaxy. . A great day!
Second full day in Grand Canyon, we went back to the market in the morning to eat breakfast and make our next round of sandwiches. We walked over to Hermit Road from our cabin and took the
Rim Trail to all the view points over the next four miles. It was a long walk, but not very steep, and the views from each point were fabulous. We could see as far down as the Colorado River, so that was cool. Yamini and I went to a ranger talk about the California Condor, which was nearly extinct (only 22 left) and was bred in captivity until the young birds were able to be released to the wild. The canyon is a very good environment for them, so there are now around 80 in the canyon alone and some hundreds more in CA and the Southwest. In the evening we took a guided bus ride over to some of the same points we had visited during the day to see the Sunset. Hard to take good pictures, but fun to try and cool to see how the canyon and river looked in the changing light. Had drinks and appetizers for dinner at the El Tovar lounge and made lots of friends (but not our waiter, who got very stressed out over our food order) - I tried the prickly pear juice margarita which was a bit sweet, but yummy.
On our last morning, we ate some breakfast in the rooms and did a one hour hike on Bright Angel Trail - down to the second tunnel and back. I stopped off at the Kolb Studio on the way back to the room to pack. The Kolb Brothers, Ellsworth and Emery, came to the Grand Canyon in 1901 and set up a photography studio. They did all these crazy stunt photos and were the first guys to make a movie of a trip down the Colorado River. They also were some of the first people to establish the village on the South Rim and were part of the whole community that makes the place run so well to this day - really cool.
(Grand Canyon History / Kolb Brothers) As we packed up the car, it was looking pretty cloudy, so we probably got the best of the canyon while we were there.
After a pretty 2+ hour drive from Sedona, we reached the outskirts of the Grand Canyon. You pay $25 to enter the park area, and though the pass lets you go back in and out, we realized, once you are in, there is no reason to leave. Went to the Visitor Center to get a quick look over the rim and got some advice on hikes, etc. Checked into Bright Angel Lodge, which has a main lodge and then a bunch of guest cabins. Our two adjoining cabins were "Rim Cabins" (booked a year in advance), and the view did not disappoint. The canyon is literally right outside the rooms!! Settled in and took a short walk over to the lodge and the more upscale El Tovar hotel. We ate in the lodge, which was just fine and not too expensive. The best part was that while you wait, you can hang out in the cocktail lounge, which had live entertainment and great beer. The kids hung out in the lobby, taking advantage of the wifi, which only really works there . . .Boys and Matt shared a room and watched some bad TV, while Yamini and I did some before bedtime reading. . .
Second full day in Grand Canyon, we went back to the market in the morning to eat breakfast and make our next round of sandwiches. We walked over to Hermit Road from our cabin and took the Rim Trail to all the view points over the next four miles. It was a long walk, but not very steep, and the views from each point were fabulous. We could see as far down as the Colorado River, so that was cool. Yamini and I went to a ranger talk about the California Condor, which was nearly extinct (only 22 left) and was bred in captivity until the young birds were able to be released to the wild. The canyon is a very good environment for them, so there are now around 80 in the canyon alone and some hundreds more in CA and the Southwest. In the evening we took a guided bus ride over to some of the same points we had visited during the day to see the Sunset. Hard to take good pictures, but fun to try and cool to see how the canyon and river looked in the changing light. Had drinks and appetizers for dinner at the El Tovar lounge and made lots of friends (but not our waiter, who got very stressed out over our food order) - I tried the prickly pear juice margarita which was a bit sweet, but yummy.
On our last morning, we ate some breakfast in the rooms and did a one hour hike on Bright Angel Trail - down to the second tunnel and back. I stopped off at the Kolb Studio on the way back to the room to pack. The Kolb Brothers, Ellsworth and Emery, came to the Grand Canyon in 1901 and set up a photography studio. They did all these crazy stunt photos and were the first guys to make a movie of a trip down the Colorado River. They also were some of the first people to establish the village on the South Rim and were part of the whole community that makes the place run so well to this day - really cool. (Grand Canyon History / Kolb Brothers) As we packed up the car, it was looking pretty cloudy, so we probably got the best of the canyon while we were there.
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