Grand Road Trip
When is a day in Vegas not a day in Vegas? When you use Day 2 of your vacation to drive to the Grand Canyon!
We love road trips, so the 4.5/5 hour drive each way did not phase us (and truly, it would have been shorter, but it took us about 45 minutes to get in to the park). But I digress....
Currently, at least, there's an "Every Kid in a Park" program, where every 4th grader can get a national parks pass for a year, allowing their whole family access. So we got up not as early as we should have and headed out.
First up, Lake Mead. We did not stop at the Hoover Dam. I know it was a lost opportunity, but we were running late.
Soon, we crossed the Arizona border, adding another state to Beatrix's roster. The scenery got more and more magnificent.
Stopped for lunch at Seligman, the birthplace of route 66. Delgado's Sno-Top Tacos was closed for the season, so we ate at a horrible place that shall remain nameless.
Slightly eerie pit stop.
Finally, our destination. Long lines, but friendly rangers (and what do we expect when we #optoutside on the day after Thanksgiving?)
We finally reach the Grand Canyon and set out on our "hike" — along with a bazillion other people, even late in the day. Remember, Patrick and Beatrix had never seen it, so when we rounded the corner to this view they were pretty amazed.
I'll also say, the NPS has long wanted to diversify audiences, and at least here, they were succeeding. People of all ages, ethnicities, from all over the world — it was wonderful to see (if crowded). No matter how busy it was though, there always seemed to be a place just a few feet away where you could have the whole space to yourself.
It was getting close to sunset, so we headed over the Bright Angel Lodge (a historic lodge, built in 1935), where we had been told the sunset views were amazing, passing some happily grazing deer on the way.
They were not wrong.
We were pretty quiet on the drive back. There just didn't seem to be much to say after all that.
We love road trips, so the 4.5/5 hour drive each way did not phase us (and truly, it would have been shorter, but it took us about 45 minutes to get in to the park). But I digress....
Currently, at least, there's an "Every Kid in a Park" program, where every 4th grader can get a national parks pass for a year, allowing their whole family access. So we got up not as early as we should have and headed out.
First up, Lake Mead. We did not stop at the Hoover Dam. I know it was a lost opportunity, but we were running late.
Soon, we crossed the Arizona border, adding another state to Beatrix's roster. The scenery got more and more magnificent.
Stopped for lunch at Seligman, the birthplace of route 66. Delgado's Sno-Top Tacos was closed for the season, so we ate at a horrible place that shall remain nameless.
Slightly eerie pit stop.
Finally, our destination. Long lines, but friendly rangers (and what do we expect when we #optoutside on the day after Thanksgiving?)
We finally reach the Grand Canyon and set out on our "hike" — along with a bazillion other people, even late in the day. Remember, Patrick and Beatrix had never seen it, so when we rounded the corner to this view they were pretty amazed.
I'll also say, the NPS has long wanted to diversify audiences, and at least here, they were succeeding. People of all ages, ethnicities, from all over the world — it was wonderful to see (if crowded). No matter how busy it was though, there always seemed to be a place just a few feet away where you could have the whole space to yourself.
It was getting close to sunset, so we headed over the Bright Angel Lodge (a historic lodge, built in 1935), where we had been told the sunset views were amazing, passing some happily grazing deer on the way.
They were not wrong.
We were pretty quiet on the drive back. There just didn't seem to be much to say after all that.
Comments