Reaching the Grand Canyon

Monday July 18, 2005 South Rim of the Grand Canyon

The KOA we’re at is about 40 miles north of the park, 6 miles north of Williams, so it’s a haul to get into the park. By the time we arrived around 8:30am, the crowds had already started. This by far has been the most crowded park that we’ve been too, but still not so crowded that you can’t walk the sidewalks or find a parking spot.

Grand Canyon Park has instituted the use of shuttle buses, and therefore you can only drive so far into the park, which although I understand the reasoning behind, is a major pain in the butt. Parking at Market Plaza, we hopped the shuttle to the brand new and beautiful Visitor’s Center. There is no movie to check out and we didn’t make it in time to start the 9:00 am Jr. Ranger program, so we opted instead to participate in the 4pm program, and planned our day accordingly.

Walking from the Visitors Center to Mather Point, we walked the Rim Trail the .7 miles to the Yavapai Observation Station, stopping along the way for pictures and drinks. Emma was really dragging along, and it was only 10 am! (and here we thought the Canyon was going to be cooler, and it was still close to 100 degrees!)

Hot, sweaty and tired, we jumped on the shuttle to Grand Canyon Village, where we had an amazing lunch at The Bright Angel Lodge restaurant. From here, we walked the Rim Trial a little further, checking out a wonderful photography exhibit in the Kolb Studio. Picking up the red shuttle, we rode out to Hopi Point for a quick peek at the canyon before shuttling it back to the Shrine of the Ages for the 4pm Kids’ Ranger talk.

The kids learned about mountain lions in their kids Ranger talk, including the fact that when a lion kills a deer, it rips the stomach out and throws it 30 feet away. Yum… They got their books checked, said their pledge (which included using the bathroom before getting into the car!) and earned their 4th Jr. Ranger badge.

We got the heck out of Dodge, hot, tired, and yes, sweaty! Now, it takes a lot to get actually sweaty in this dry heat! Any moisture your body may have simply evaporates before it can even leave your body! It’s hot, but this hot is actually easier to handle than the 85 degrees and humid that were used to having in NY. I don’t think I would need a clothes dryer out here…

The kids really wanted to go swimming, and if it were up to them, we would spend the entire vacation in a pool. Heading back towards the KOA, we stopped at a kitchy roadside diner and campground based on the Flintstones and fashioned after Bedrock. What a rip this joint is; they wanted $20.00 just to walk through the “city” and go into all of the “Bedrock” buildings. Needless to say, we skipped that and just took the kids’ picture in the Flintstone car and camper out front!

Managing to put the kids off from swimming temporarily with the promise of an ice cream, we sailed past the KOA another 6 miles south to the town of Williams. I wanted to scope it out for gift shops, and a both Mike and I have been desperate to get our hair cut since we left Vegas (too much hair + desert heat = misery). Much to our glee, there was a Safeway grocery store there, which we promptly entered and felt like we were in Disneyworld. This is the biggest grocery store we’ve been in since we left the Super Walmart in Vegas. Who knew one could find so much pleasure from being able to choose from a selection of grocery items! One thing I noticed throughout our grocery store encounters, is even the smallest squat of a store has that Red Bull drink. Go figure, they don’t have minute rice, but they’ll have Red Bull – in two varieties! After loading up on water and comfort food items, we walked immediately to the Dairy Queen and had ice cream for dinner.

The town of Williams is on the old Route 66 loop. It’s a very cute little town, and Austin decided he really liked it. We all agreed it was just the right size – not too big and touristy, but not so small as to feel confined. The main “strip” has a nice easy feel, with eclectic shops and small town restaurants. The bonus was the amazing sunset we caught between the rolling hills. Jetting back to the KOA, the kids were able to swim for an hour before the pool closed.

To top off the night, I fired up the laptop and we started watching the Aviator out on the front porch of our little abode. Emma fell asleep on my lap.