We all appreciate exploring and traveling to places, perhaps that is the one thing that makes us realize, what a tiny place we occupy in this world.
Mark Twain said: “Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.” Hence wanting to explore and not regret later, we planned a road trip to the famous Grand Canyon in Arizona. The park also celebrates its 100 years this year.
Grand Canyon is one among the grandest natural wonders of the world.
This steep Canyon was carved when the Colorado Plateau was uplifted by the earth’s tectonic plates and other volcanic forces. The mighty Colorado River flows all the way from the Rocky Mountains through Grand Canyon until it ends in Mexico.
Summer is the best time to visit as both the Grand Canyon rims remain open. Grand Canyon is divided into the North and the south rim. North rim remains closed for the public from October to January (varies according to snowfall).
The North rim is higher in altitude than the South rim, hence it receives considerable amount of rain and snow and conditions get rough and dangerous.
The total area of the Canyon is around 1,902 square meter, it is 277 miles long and 18 miles wide.
The journey from my house lasted for around seven hours and by the time we reached the south rim of the Grand Canyon, it was already past sunset.
Too tired from the long countryside drive, we checked into our hotel.
There are only a couple of hotels outside the canyon and are very expensive; the per night charge is around $250.
The lodges inside the canyon are booked months in advance and are always full and if you aren’t lucky enough to find shelter you would need to drive 50 miles to a town called Williams to find a reasonable accommodation.
Road trips during the summer are very popular in America and many families travel to the Grand Canyon. Hence, you will see several families around with visibly tired yet fully active kids.
We woke up early the next morning to catch the sunrise at the Grand Canyon.
The entry fee inside the park is $30 per vehicle (for 7 days), a 5 mile drive through wilderness, after which you park your car at the visitor’s center.
The visitor’s center provides all the necessary details on how to get through the park.
There are shuttle buses to certain routes all along the Canyon divided into colors such as blue, red, orange and purple.
These shuttles are the most convenient and fun option to enjoy the trip completely, they stop/pick up at all the major attraction points every 15 minutes.
We boarded the blue route shuttle and caught the sunrise and what a spectacular view it was!
The Canyon was lit up, exposing billions of years of geological history through the layers of colorful rocks in different textures, they gleamed in the early morning sun.
The Grand Canyon can also be explored via pink open jeep tours and helicopter rides for a bird’s eye view, which cost between $200-$500 respectively.
They also offer mule rides and trekking on the rough terrain below, depending on the weather conditions. It is highly advised to carry fluids and salty food along with you. Wear proper shoes.
The first attraction is the Yavapai Point and Geology museum. All carved out of stone, the structure houses a tiny museum and presents a splendid view of the Canyon across us.
It showcases in-depth information on how the Canyon was initially formed and how it got disintegrated into the North and the South rim. It also has large pieces of the canyon rocks as exhibits for people to touch and feel the texture of the Canyon.
It houses a small souvenir shop. One can also try to see the two crossover bridges over the river, which are two tiny specks in the large Canyon.
Next stop was the Bright Angel Trail head, this part of the canyon is spectacular, it completely lives up to its name. The scenes are truly breathtaking, one can find place to relax and refresh here and also refill your water bottles just in case you run out of water.
From the Bright Angel Trail head, we boarded the red route shuttle in order to continue further up the rim.
The red route takes you to Powell Point dedicated in memory of John Wesley Powell who discovered the Colorado River deep down below. It had a mine which produced the world’s best quality uranium in the past.
Hopi Point, the next stop provides the best panoramic view of the vast Canyon.
Mojave point was our next stop and the highest one. It is from here that we can find a tiny glimpse of the Colorado River flowing and distributing itself into tiny tributaries. Luckily for us it started to rain and we could see how the clouds shed their moisture inside the Canyon.
Apparently, the Canyon is so huge and vast that it never receives complete rainfall, it only rains in certain parts of the Canyon.
Next points were the Abyss, Monument Creek Vista and the Pima point. Weather does get a little rough and stormy here so make sure to carry a simple jacket with you. It could get cold and rainy. All these points give a bird’s eye view of the Canyon and the Colorado River.
For those who are more adventurous, on offer are bike rentals, park ranger programs, river rafting and guide trekking. All the programs require one to have proper advance bookings/tickets and one should be above 18 years or come along with a guardian.
The Desert view is the farthest and the last corner of the Canyon.
It has a stone built 70 foot tall watch tower designed by architect Mary Colter in the year 1932.
The interior was designed by Fred Kabotie and has murals and furniture from the anglo Indian era. The Watch Tower also houses an observatory on its upper deck.
The famous Skywalk is located on the west side of the Canyon closer to Las Vegas, Nevada.
The Skywalk is a 10 foot wide Glass Bridge made 4,000 feet above the Canyon and one can walk over it and see the Canyon just below the feet.
The Skywalk is made up of 83,000 pounds of glass and over one million pounds of steel. It can hold around 71 million pounds of weight. The fee is $76 per person.
Sunset is especially popular among visitors here as while the sun sets, the entire Canyon and the sky turn a bright orange.
A tiring trip it was, but one worth all the time, money and effort to reconnect with nature away from the electronic world.
— [email protected]
The magnificient Grand Canyon
The magnificient Grand Canyon
