The Grandaddy of Canyons

Our trip is beginning to take a toll on our energy levels, as evident by our relatively late start this morning. Luckily, we only had one destination for the day...the Grand Canyon National Park.

I visited here with my family on our last big family trip, more that 25 years ago, and I remember being completely awestruck by the immensity and majesty of the place. I've never been able to fully covey the impact of standing on the edge of this unbelievable place to others, but was looking forward to sharing it with my daughters and wife (who had never been here before).

So, I was a bit disappointed with my girls' initial reactions. My younger daughter declared "Boring!". Perhaps they were simply overwhelmed, both by the place and by the crowds in the Grand Canyon Village area, where be began our visit. The shuttle buses that the park encourages people to use do help with the traffic, but they can be crowded, and they feel like they take forever to get around (though, to be fair, it probably isn't any longer than it would be to drive and find a parking space). It didn't take us long to abandon the Grand Canyon Village area for less crowded areas of the park.

Once we left the village area and drove out on the East Rim Drive, the crowds thinned, and our daughters' enthusiasm increased. We stopped at most of the pullouts as we worked our way to the park exit on the East side of the park. There were still plenty of spectacular views, and it didn't feel like you were sharing them with hundreds of other people. My younger daughter changed her assessment to "Awesome!", and both began to take their share of pictures.

All too soon, we reached the end of the park, and it was time to move on. We were headed north and west, into Utah. A conversation with a park ranger had convinced us to take the scenic US-89A route, instead of the US-89 route I had planned to use. It turned out to be a spectacular drive with some astounding scenery, especially along the Vermilion Cliffs overlooking the Colorado River. We stopped for a fabulous dinner at the Jacob Lake Inn, located at the end of the access road to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon before pushing on to a hotel in Hurricane, Utah. A long day, but truly memorable.