We spent less than 24 hours in the Grand Canyon, and it was one of the most epic times of my life.
Yesterday I got home from one of the most amazing short trips I have ever been on (and I have been on a few). A little over a month ago a great friend of mine that I hadn’t had the pleasure of seeing in a few years contacted me about visiting her in Tucson, Arizona. I looked at flights, which were super cheap. I managed to snag a round trip flight for under $150 from Pittsburgh, super impressive in my opinion. Naturally, I said yes, how could you say not to a cheap flight to see a friend in a place I have never been to? Needless to say, it was amazing.
The morning after I arrived we drove from Tucson, Arizona to the Grand Canyon, which took about 5 hours. We arrived between 1:00 and 2:00 pm.
The Grand Canyon National Park costs $30 for a whole week, going through the toll plaza they let us know that they are doing everything online, so they gave us a QR code to scan and purchase our pass, and a map of the park and we were off. We started at the Grand Canyon Visitor Center.
This is how it went.
Day 1:
The first day we arrived at Grand Canyon National Park around 1:30.
Friday morning we got up bright and early, ate breakfast got ready and then headed over to the rental car place to pick up the car by 8. Once we got the car we were on our way. A 5 hour drive, a few pit stops along the way and stopping at the welcome center before the park and we were finally there. It was a surprise of a lifetime. heres the initial photos we got from the start of our day.
When we first arrived at the top of Mather Point, one of the points along the Rim Trail, we were both absolutely blown away. Growing up I have always known that the Grand Canyon was huge. I mean it is considered one of the 7 Wonders of the World for goodness sake, but I really don’t think I was prepared. The view you see is literally breathtaking. You just can’t stop looking at it. Most of my photos don’t even do it justice so, here are a few facts I learned along the way that might help to create an image in your mind.
- The Canyon itself is 277 miles long.
- It would take 5 hours to get from the South Rim welcome center, to the North Rim welcome center by car, even though they are directly across the canyon from each other, because you would have to go all the way around. Actually, to hike the trails across it would only take a little over 8 hours.
- There is a small town located at the base of the Canyon. Supai Village is located at the base of Grand Canyon within the Havasupai Indian Reservation. Inaccessible by road and with a population of just 208, it is the most remote community in the lower 48 states, and is the only place where mail is still delivered by pack mule.
Being as the day we got there we had no idea what we were up against we spent most of the day just exploring the area. We walked mainly along the Rim Trail, which is a little over 30 miles of paved walks along the rim of the canyon. We did not walk the entire thing of course, but we explore a little bit in each area taking pictures along the way.
At then end of our day we headed to the hotel to check in and grab something to eat. We stayed in Williams, Az which was around an hour from the canyon. After checking in we headed across the street to this awesome brewery called, The Grand Canyon Brewing. I had a Pumpkin Springs Porter that was to die for, and I am not usually a huge fan of pumpkin anything honestly. It was so good. Somehow I will find a way to get some to me in Pennsylvania. The food was really good, and the people were also really nice. The brewery was super cozy, almost like a log cabin, equip with fireplace and all! I would definatly like to go back there someday as well.
After dinner and drinks, we hit the hay early, afterall we had to get up nice and early for the next day.
Day 2:
The real excitement was on day 2.
Another bright and early day. We were up around 6 AM. We had a 40 minute drive into the park, and a shuttle trip to the place of the canyon where we wanted to go so quick stop at Mcdonalds (which was not our first choice, but the only one that was open early) and we were there before 7 AM ready to hike.
On the second day, we were way more informed on everything, we had a 5-hour drive home and a dinner stop to see a friend in Phoenix so we decided to do an early morning hike before we left. After doing some research we decided to do the Kaibab trail, which wraps around the canyon. All of the research we found says there are way more different viewpoints than some of the other hikes on the South Rim. This way we were able to get some different views of the canyon. The informational signs and research we did on the trail all recommended not going much further than 1.5 miles down unless you plan on spending the night, or are an experienced hiker (which we were not).
Hiking down into the canyon was another experience in itself. First of all, going down is awesome, the views are incredible and it doesn’t seem hard at all. Being able to see how far down you have gone is also really nifty to see. Hiking back up on the other hand… tough, and tiring. We only went a little under 2 miles who would have thought it was as exhausting as it was, but wow was it super fun. When we finally got to the top we were exhausted forsure. I never would have thought hiking up less than 2 miles would be so rough.
I will say I can’t wait to come back and do a full hike one day. Now that I have seen it I feel like I have to do it. Apparently, the view from the bottom is even more amazing, so now I need to do it. After we finished our hike, we hung out at the top and relaxed for a bit. We were surrounded by elk everywhere which was also a really neat experience and a perfect way to end our morning. unfortunately after that it was time to get a move on, stop at the welcome center, and grab a quick bite before we had to leave. Anyway friends, I feel like thats enough for now!! I still have a few more things I would like to post about my trip but for now this is where I am at lol
