2009 summer vacation: in a cavern, in a canyon
by HML
It’s like being forced to watch vacation slides! See all the photos in the Gimlet Gallery.
We had decided to stay inside Grand Canyon National Park to give ourselves the most visiting time; our budget, family size, and room availability sent us to the Yavapai Lodge complex on the outskirts of the Grand Canyon Village. It wasn’t the El Tovar in looks or proximity to the South Rim, but it was clean and comfortable and suited Team Gimlet just fine. Still running on Philmont time, we woke up at sunrise (who would have guessed that a scout camp would be populated by lunatics, a.k.a. unbelievably cheerful morning people? But out of necessity we got used to it, and by way of disclosure we must admit that Your Humble Narrator is the only non-morning member of Team Gimlet.).
Anyway, we woke up at sunrise and by 7:00 am we were on the shuttle bus headed to the Lookout Studio viewing area. Our shuttle driver commended those of us on the bus for being early risers; he advised us that the best time to visit the Grand Canyon was before 10:00 am. By ten o’clock, he said, the shuttles are standing room only, and there are lines and crowds everywhere. His advice was to wake up early, then take a nap in the afternoon, when the temperatures were hottest and the crowds the worst.
As we walked along the South Rim, there were a few other people taking in the views or preparing to hike to the bottom, but the early morning was peaceful, fairly quiet, and pleasantly cool.
The Gimlet had warned us that the Grand Canyon was more of an attraction than a nature experience, and from the jackhammers (which have accompanied The Gimlet on all his Grand Canyon visits, including the hikes to the bottom) to the steadily increasing crowds as the morning progressed, this was sadly true. We took in the views from Grand Canyon Village for as long as the Things would put up with it, bought a few souvenirs just as the shops were starting to open, and toured the main visitor’s center. By the time we were ready to return to our room and pack up, it was nearly 10 and the predicted crowds had formed. After a quick lunch at the general store deli (empty when we entered; lines by the time we finished eating), we drove away from the Grand Canyon Village towards the east entrance.
The viewpoints outside the village area were busy but not as crowded. Some visitors had found outcroppings on which to eat lunch and enjoy the view.
The Desert View Watchtower, near the east entrance of the park, was built in 1932 as a replica of a prehistoric Native American watchtower, and Hopi artist Fred Kabotie painted the murals inside. By noon the Desert View area was packed with people and quite hot. The crowds and heat took their toll: both Things were melting down and it was time to leave.
A park ranger had recommended the trading post in Cameron as a good source for books on Native American art, and it was the perfect place to grab a snack, stock up for the drive ahead, and browse through their galleries and souvenirs. This promotional video, just under five minutes long, provides an overview of the trading post’s history and what it has to offer visitors today. The trading post was a good rest stop before the rest of the long drive to Bryce Canyon.
The rest of the afternoon was spent driving through the red rocks of the Navajo reservation. Little stands offering arts and crafts dotted scenic lookouts or wide spots in the road. We ate dinner in Page, Arizona, then drove over the Glen Canyon Dam. The stretch of road from Lake Powell to Kanab was long and dreary, but Kanab was a cute town, and as we headed north, along the scenic byway, the Long Valley area was green and lush. Turning east to drive through Red Canyon, the dramatic scenery gave us our first glimpse of hoodoos.
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Tags: arizona, national parks, utah
July 31st, 2009 19:59
Ahhhh. I love the Grand Canyon soooo much. You stayed closer to the Canyon than I did; we were just outside the park. It was a fine place to stay, but next time I’ll stay inside, I think.
When I was there in October, we drove up from Phoenix, where it was 90 degrees, and by the time we arrived at 11 p.m., it was 30 degrees. Very very weird. The weather swung between the 30s at night to 70s in the day. That was at the rim; of course it’s much warmer at the bottom.
July 31st, 2009 20:40
The pictures just don’t do it justice; it’s so vast, you can’t hardly believe what you’re seeing is real.
Our guidebook kind of dissed Yavapai Lodge as being the place you stay when everything else is booked, but it got us in the park, was affordable for a family of four, and the room itself was fine; there was nothing wrong with it. We couldn’t step out our door and on to the rim like you can at El Tovar or Bright Angel, but there were plenty of shuttles.
August 2nd, 2009 23:45
I saw people looking in the windows of some of the Bright Angel cabins and trying to open the doors, thinking they were tourist attractions and not realizing they were somebody’s rooms! So count your blessings.
I’ve thought I’d like to stay in the main part of the Bright Angel Lodge, but apparently it’s not really appropriate for families (small rooms and not all with ensuite bathrooms), so you were probably in the right place. I’d rather be in shuttle distance than have to drive. We were dependent on the tour bus to go back and forth to the hotel. It rained part of the day and I ended up going back to the hotel, when I would have liked to stay and wait out the rain. If I had been in the park, I could have gone back to the hotel to wait out the rain and then gone back out into the park once it stopped.