Ever since we began talking about our Grand Canyon area vacation, Matthew had said we should go visit Four Corners. He’d been there with his family in 5^th grade and said while it wasn’t necessarily something to write home about that we should give it a look-see. He also said that yes, it was in the middle of nowhere and if you were ever in the area you should stop since you might never be in that particular part of nowhere again in your lifetime. So, after visiting Monument Valley we decided to take the extra couple hours drive (I think that is how long it took) to go on up there.

A few of you may be wondering what exactly Four Corners is. Well, there is only one spot in the country where four states meet at one central location, where their corners touch, hence the name Four Corners. If you’ll remember at the end of my last post I mentioned that my dad (who has to have been a weather man in a former life) said that it was about to come a down pour any second while we were taking the photo in front of the New Mexico sign. Well, this sign is right outside the gate to Four Corners. So, we should have known better than to attempt our next move-actually going in the place.

Apparently, Four Corners didn’t used to charge an entrance fee (according to Matthew) but now it cost $3 per person to get in. A rip off, but what are you going to do after you drove all that way? Turn around and not go in? I think not. So, we paid our $12 and pulled into the little circular driveway around the Four Corners Marker. Usually the place must be bustling with activity as there were many wooden shacks that sell snacks and Native American arts and crafts in a ring around the marker/monument itself. But, the place was a ghost town when we arrived. This was a bad sign, I guess. No sooner did we pay our money and get into the parking area did it come the hardest downpour I have ever seen. Now we had driven an extra 2 hours and paid $12 to get to this place and I was NOT leaving without my pictures! We were only 1 of 3 vehicles in the area. We all sat there stunned in our vehicles while thunder boomed and lightening streaked the sky.

Considering that the 4 Corners marker was surrounded by metal flag poles, a great lightening attractant, I decide that I had to make a move. Matthew and dad say they are not getting out. Mom and I make a run for it while my dad yells out the window that we are crazy and to get back in the car before we fry ourselves. So, naturally he joins in the fun less than 2 minutes later. Matthew on the other hand isn’t quite as nuts and takes pictures of all of us out the window. Soaked to the bone the 3 of us run back to the car after snapping off a few shots and Matthew says, “So, are we good? Can we go?” Not so fast mister! I say, “We aren’t leaving yet. I’m not done taking pictures.” And, he says, “Well, what will it take for us to get to leave?” My answer is, “I’m not going anywhere till we get a picture of the 2 of us together.” So, he says, “Well, let’s go.” The 4 of us jump back out and snap off pictures for 5 or 10 minutes like we are some sort of crazed paparazzi team and then finally, we decide to get out of there.

To make a long story short, I’m glad we got the pictures but this little gem wouldn't be worth driving to on its own merit. But, like Matthew said, you better get a picture of yourself while you are out there in case you never go back again. Good advice Matthew, Good Advice.

First 4 photos: Close ups of the states that make up the Four Corners:

Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, & Utah

The exact spot where the four states touch

Above: A shot of the entire monument

Below: Matthew and I getting soaked at Four Corners.

Check out Matthew's expression in this one! I love it!

Below: 1) Our one decent shot together while here

2) Mom and Dad looking hilarious! Check out their faces in this one too!

3) A great action shot of Dad and I that Matthew took from in the car

4) Another overview shot

5) My favorite picture of the day! Me in four states at once!

I’m one of those people who is obsessed with state line markers or signs. I have collected quite a few pictures of Matthew and myself at them over the years. During the day that we visited Monument Valley and Four Corners I was lucky enough to get FOUR different state line sign photos in one day! I was very excited, of course! On our drive that day, it was my job (as always) to keep a look out for the state lines. If we pass one up, yes, we turn around. And, if I am lucky to spot one just in the nick of time I yell out “Stop the car! There it is!” as Matthew slams on the brakes skidding like mad to a stop! I jump out of the car like a crazy person and strike the best pose I can muster up while he begrudgingly gets out of the car and hopes no sane person sees us standing by the side of the road. He really hates it when cars honk at us as they pass, while I on the other hand wave heartily back at them and smile a merry smile. My mom was equally as pumped as I was to join in the sign photo fun. As you can see, my dad takes after Matthew! Enjoy!

Update on 5/30/08-"Where's Arizona?"-I'm sure my sweet husband wasn't the only one of you that asked this question after reading yesterday's blog and pointed out that I had posted pictures of only 3 states, not 4 like I was bragging about. I did indeed post photos of Arizona but for some reason they didn't save here. So, scroll on down to see newly added AZ.

L to R: Matthew, Adele, & me looking quite happy. ha.ha.
Check out my goofy smile and pose in this one!

Dad (Lonnie) looking less than thrilled, standing with mom who seems to be enjoying herself

Below: L to R: Lonnie, MaLeah, & Adele at the Utah border just outside Monument Valley.
Lonnie has put on his hat and glasses just in case someone sees us by the roadside. ha.ha.


Matthew & MaLeah between the two Welcome to Utah signs
There is actually a bit of a funny story with these Arizona shots, other than the fact that I forgot to post them yesterday-Thanks Matthew for reminding me! After driving through AZ half the day, I finally spotted the Utah signs just as we crossed the Utah border leaving AZ and we jumped out for those pics. After taking the Utah pics, I was pretty bummed and said, "It's too bad we didn't get to take an Arizona state line photo. I wonder where it is at?" No one else caught on to my blunder but my dad gives me this you-are-a-genius look and says, "Honey, its right across the road. We just left Arizona, remember?" Oh yes, I'm the smart one in the family. ha.ha.

You may also notice that there is no Arizona photo of Dad. I don't know why he doesn't have one but I searched the pics from all 3 cameras and he missed out for some reason. Probably because he was still trying to figure out how I could be so dumb. ha.ha.

Below:
In New Mexico, right outside the gate to Four Corners
Lonnie & Adele in New Mexico. Dad has just said, "It is getting ready to come a down pour. We'd better hurry up before the cameras get wet." Well, he was right. Stay tuned to see our absolutely drenched selves braving the elements inside Four Corners.

Hello! I’m happy to report that today is finally the day—the day that I’m going to post on Monument Valley, Utah. Yes, I know that I said I was going to do this several days ago, but hey, it is better late than never! After the Grand Canyon, this was next on our groups to-do list, one of the things that was a “must see”. And, I am happy to report that it didn’t disappoint.

What exactly is Monument Valley? Well, the “monuments” are spires of rock that tower above the ground in beautiful shades of reddish-gold. You’ll start to see these beauties even before you arrive at the entrance to the park. Now, Monument Valley is NOT a national park. It is fully owned by the Navajo Parks and Recreation Department. http://www.navajonationparks.org/htm/monumentvalley.htm will take you there. It is $5 per person to enter the park and is definitely worth the price. There are many picture taking opportunities and this scenic wonder has been the backdrop of several Hollywood productions. Once you get inside Monument Valley, you’ll quickly discover that you can pick out several scenes from various movies you’ve watched.

I will point out one little problem with Monument Valley. Well, actually two little problems: VERY bumpy road and LOTS of dust. There are Jeep tours that are very popular with visitors, but I wouldn’t recommend them. We were very glad for the comfort of our enclosed 4 wheel drive SUV as it was so dusty that those on the open air Jeep tours had handkerchiefs covering their mouths and noses and eyes closed tight. So, they pretty much missed most of the tour. Maybe the day we were there was an exception, but I don’t think so. Most of the folks I heard talking about it (locals included) said it is always dusty here. Now about the bumps…I honestly wouldn’t take this tour if I were an elderly person, someone with back problems, or a pregnant lady. It is just too bumpy. I’ll probably get a lot of “hate mail” saying, “No, it’s fine! You’re exaggerating!” But, the 4 of us started out laughing about how bumpy it is but by the end of the 2 hour drive were not thrilled in the least about ruts in the road so large that you bounce up out of your seat! I get motion sick on car rides and this was about my tolerance limit. I wouldn’t recommend eating or drinking before taking the tour and be sure that you use the restroom at the visitor’s center as there are no facilities once you begin the tour.

Now, back to the positives. We took a lot of photos here, so choosing a couple for this post will be hard. Many of the monuments have catchy names that describe their appearance. For instance, there is 3 sisters, which of course has 3 spires. Then, there are The Mittens, which look like, well you guessed it, mittens. I will add that there is NO rock climbing within the park. It mentions this on their website, but for some reason a rumor has been going around that it is allowed. Nope, this is not the case. One of the coolest things that we saw was under construction: The View Hotel. This is going to be a magnificent place and has the best views of the park. It will be the only hotel within the park and will be a fine place to stay. Check it out at http://www.monumentvalleyview.com

The highlight of the trip for us was getting “The Forrest Gump Shot”. Do you know the part in the Forrest Gump movie where he decides to run across the country? There comes a point in the film that he decides he has had enough running and turns around to go home, much to the disappointment of his followers. This part of the movie was made just outside of Monument Valley. Watch this movie before you visit. It's a great movie and you'll be able to spot "the spot" after seeing the film. This photo was not taken inside the gate of the park, but you can see it after you are finished touring the park or if you aren’t interested in visiting the park, you can still get this picture. If you are inside the park first: on your way out of the park, turn right out of the visitor parking lot and go out the way you came in. When you get to the main road/stop sign, turn right. Then, just keep driving. You’ll be able to look back in your rear view mirror and will eventually discover “the spot” has appeared behind you. Pull off on the side of the road and take your picture. There were other folks pulled off on the side of the road taking photos too, so it was pretty easy to spot. Of course, we were dummies and got out in the road so we could get that exact shot. If you do this, please be careful. It is an active roadway. But, you can see cars coming a long way off, so we thought it was pretty safe. My dad took the photo of us while my mom stood on the side and watched for cars for us. Enjoy the photos! More to come of our trip soon, including Four Corners, Navajo arts/crafts, Petrified Forest, Painted Desert, Phoenix Botanical Gardens, and Meteor Crater. I’ll try to do a new post each day this week so keep checking back!

Above: The entire gang with The Mittens in the background.

L to R: Lonnie, Adele, MaLeah, Matthew

Below: Adele & MaLeah by a cool rock with the 3 Sisters in background

MaLeah, with some of Monument Valley's finest

A close up of the 3 Sisters

I really liked this photo because of the nice colors. Not sure which Monument this is

The Forrest Gump Shot!

Well, I'm getting a bit ahead of myself here because I said my next post would be about Monument Valley, Utah. But, I decided to go ahead and get this posted first because it was just a quick pull off stop on the side of the road, therefore warranting only a quick post. Both of these places were neat to see, but I wouldn't go out of my way to see them. But, since both were on our route anyway, why not pull off and see them? We were on our way from Monument Valley up to Four Corners, in case you are wondering. Mexican Hat Rock is in the town of Mexican Hat, Arizona. Hence, this is where the town gets its name because the rock looks like a large sombrero. I'm not sure why the thing doesn't just fall. It is pretty bizarre that it just "sits there". The twin peaks were just that, two nearly identical spires made of rock. I believe there was a little motel/inn there with the same name. If you've been to Monument Valley previously, then these won't seem like a big deal. But, like I said, they were something to see on our route and if you are passing by give these little mini-monuments a look! Enjoy the photos!
The Twin Peaks, in Arizona
A close up of Mexican Hat Rock

MaLeah & Matthew, Mexican Hat Rock, Arizona

Since we’d already done the shuttle bus tours with all the overlooks, the helicopter ride, and pretty much all we had wanted to do at Grand Canyon, we decided to head on out to Monument Valley, Utah. We didn’t know that our route there would take us to some unexpected, very pretty lookout spots of the Canyon on the way. I don’t know how I missed the memo about Desert View Watch Tower! This was so neat! The tower is 5 stories high and you climb stairs to get to the top. When up there, you get the widest view possible of the Canyon (unless you took a helicopter tour that is. ha.ha.). In order to get to this part of Grand Canyon, enter the park and then turn right onto Highway 64. Keep driving until you see the entrance on your left. On the way, there are lots of other overlooks to stop off at.

We saw something pretty gross on the side of the road at one of the places we stopped at-a dead elk. Yes, my dad took a photo of it, but I’m NOT posting it here. ha.ha. Other than this deceased creature, we saw a few live animals on our visit. We saw live elk, not in the park but beside a camp ground just outside the gate. We also saw a few deer who were not scared in the least of us. There were also lots of birds and fox squirrels. Fox squirrels are reddish in color, instead of brown or gray. They are pretty rare in most places but very plentiful here. They will come very close to you as people feed them. There are signs all over the park about not feeding the wildlife. It is bad for them as it disrupts their natural instincts to hunt for their own food and people food could make them sick. It is bad for you in that it can get you kicked out of the park and fined!

While at the watch tower, my dad purchased these beautiful Native American made clay pots for my mom and me. Thanks Dad! The artist that created my pot is named Mary Mike and is Navajo. If you are interested in buying Native American made products, check the labels carefully. If there isn’t a sign near the table or display or a certificate of authenticity with the product, chances are it isn’t. They aren’t allowed to claim something is Native American made if it isn’t, so you can always ask. You can get the best deals on Native American made products if you visit the various reservations. I’ll write more about our visit to the Navajo Reservation later and about the beautiful necklace that Matthew got me while there. Thanks Matthew! I will also post photos of my clay pot from Dad. I was going to post both of those now, but the photos I took of them came out blurry so I need some lens cleaner for my camera lens first and I'm all out.

Matthew & I at one of the Hwy.64 overlooks

L to R: Me, Matthew, & Dad inside the watch tower. The paintings on the
walls were done by Native American artists (the Hopi).

Another cool shot I found on Dad's camera of me (left) and mom

on the helicopter ride!

Dad also took the action shot of the rest of the gang getting off the helicopter. That is my mom standing on the ground beside John the pilot. That's me exiting the aircraft and if you look really closely you can see Matthew grinning at the camera through the middle front window. The last shot is of the watch tower from ground level. Dad also took this photo.

I had lost this photo and had wanted to post it with the others, so here it is. It was the most beautiful shot I took in the North Rim. I just love the colors in this one. You wouldn't believe how magnificent it really looks in person. The pictures we took (yes, all 2,000 of them. no exaggerations.) turned out great but until you see it for yourself you just don't have a clue!

From L to R: Lonnie, Adele, John (the pilot), MaLeah, & Matthew
Now some of you may be wondering just what you need to do in order to book your fantastic ride with Maverick. So, here goes. We booked directly with their website at http://www.maverickhelicopter.com/canyon.html. I know that they also do tours in Las Vegas, so if you're out that way, check them out too! Like I said in a previous post, we booked the 45 minute Canyon Spirit tour that included a tour of The Kaibab Forest, South Rim, and North Rim/Dragon's Corridor. It was just to die for. I know that the shorter of the 2 tours goes over Kaibab and the North Rim, but does not include the South Rim portion. I am pretty sure this is the difference. The South Rim portion was the most dramatic in my opinion and worth the extra cash it took. When you book online you have to give the weight of each person in your party as this determines the seating chart. Ladies, I'm talking to you on this part. There is no need to lie about how much you weigh. ha.ha. Because when you get there they will weigh you again so if you lied it may change where you are sitting. Don't worry. The weighing in process is not public. Only the person doing the weighing (who works for Maverick and the pilot) sees how much you weigh. You just step on this silver box built into the floor and it shows up behind the counter how much you weigh. No big deal at all. They don't announce it out loud either, so no worries. ha.ha. Then you read this little card which is a safety briefing, turn your card in and then wait on some comfy couches for the pilot to come and get you. You will have to show photo i.d. so make sure everyone has one.

Don't forget to use the bathroom facilities before you go up, as there is no lavatory on board. Your pilot will then come and call the names of the people in your group. You may or may not be paired with other people. Just depends on how many is in your group. We had 4 and were put with 2 other people. There was one empty seat. If you have 7 in your group, it will just be your group. When we got to the helicopter, we had a group photo taken. See the little yellow box on the pilot's waist? That is a life preserver. It is required by law that everyone wear one on your waist. We had already taken ours off at this point as the photo above was taken after our tour. Maverick photo people take the shot before the tour, then you can take photos afterward if there is time. John, the pilot helped everyone into the helicopter. He called out first names and said, "Lonnie you will sit in the window seat over there.", etc. It was pretty straight forward. He just called our names and told us where to get. The back row goes in the chopper first, then the front row goes around to another door and gets in. There are 5 point safety harness seat belts for everyone, as well as headphones and microphones so you can talk to the pilot and he can talk to you. Don't say anything you don't want recorded on video though as the sound is taped inside the cockpit for your video! None of us said a word the entire way, we were too stunned by the beauty! It was pretty funny. You could hear a pin drop inside. It isn't loud at all inside the helicopter. John had us keep our headphones on the entire time before start up and until after the engine was shut down just to make sure everyone was comfortable. The leather seats are great and it was a very clean aircraft. Nothing like the nastiness you get on commercial airlines these days. ha.ha. It was a very smooth ride that day and the pilots at Maverick are pros that will do their best to keep you comfortable. I know that John must do this tour 10 times a day or more but he treated us like we were his only customers. He was warm and friendly and just an all around nice guy that did his best to make everyone comfortable.

My dad had one of the window seats in the back and said he didn't think you would have good picture taking opportunities in only 2 seats on the entire helicopter (the 2 middle back seats). So anyone in front is good to go as you can see straight out the front and anyone on the window seats in back is fine too. There are 2 middle seats in back that he said personally he didn't think you could see all that well out of because of the high seat backs in front and the fact that there were people on both windows. But, for the most part everyone has a perfect view. The front row is the place to be though. As long as someone in your group gets a chance to take pictures and you buy the DVD, you will have a great experience. The 4 of us had a perfect experience since we all got the windows. That was what I was most worried about and why I had briefly considered taking a plane ride instead is that some tour companies guaranteed window seats for everyone. This is misleading in that one company I called said they don't use the small planes anymore that they put on their website and use planes that have 2 seats on each side. So, even with the planes a window seat is not guaranteed, in reality. I'm sure when making a reservation with Maverick, you could mention that you would like a window seat. But, it is not guaranteed. It is based on weight and could differ from group to group and since they combine some groups you won't know till you get there. But, I think any seat in the helicopter would beat the views from the planes. In the helicopter, we were able to hover over sights we wanted to see and fly very slowly. In a plane you can't get that low or that slow.

Our ride took us out over the Kaibab Forest which is made up of Ponderosa Pine trees. Then, we went over the South Rim of the Canyon. There was cool music playing in the helicopter that added to the experience. When the land below you melts away to reveal the Canyon, I swear you will barely be able to breathe you'll be so excited. It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen and I'd do it again in a heartbeat, even at double or triple the cost! After the South Rim, we went over to the North Rim and along Dragon's Corridor. Then, back over to the airport. Don't forget to tip your guide if they give you good service. And, with Maverick, it is a guarantee they will. I had heard so many gushing reviews on this tour company I thought it couldn't possibly be all that grand. I was wrong. It was all that and then some! I'll leave you with 2 of my favorite quotes from my fellow travelers.

"Other than giving birth to you and your brother, that is the most amazing thing I've ever done!"
-from my mom to me upon landing after our tour

"That was BAD ASS!"-from Matthew to me and my mom upon landing after our tour. We really hoped this wouldn't get recorded on video. ha.ha. It didn't, in case you are wondering. ha.ha.

More "floor" shots. The tan leg is mine. ha.ha. The shoe belongs to my mom.
The beautiful Little Colorado, where it meets The Colorado. John, our pilot said it is only this shade of blue a few weeks a year so we were lucky to get to see it!
The view from the front of the helicopter. There is a bit of glare on the pic, but the view in person was to die for!
A cool rock formation on the North Rim. Look at the snow! It's May!
The view of Tusyan, where we spent the night, right outside the South Rim. The buildings you can see are all the hotels.

MaLeah & Adele, getting ready for take-off!
MaLeah & Matthew, getting ready for take-off!
Lonnie, enjoying the views in flight!
MaLeah & Adele, in flight over the South Rim! Check out those grins! ha.ha.
The Colorado River on the floor of The Grand Canyon. See what I mean about the glass floors? Cool, huh?! I have more pics to post of this but wanted to post them in a couple different blogs to cut down on download waits. Enjoy!

Day 2 began with boarding the buses inside the park for trips to the various overlooks. For those of you not familiar with the process, you can park your car in one of the lots then hop a free shuttle that takes you to different scenic views in the park. At peak times the buses run every 15 minutes and you can get on and off whenever you want. For the morning hours, we decided to take the shortest of the scenic bus routes out towards Yaki Point, called the Kaibab Trail Route (the green route on the map). You can download a map on the Grand Canyon National Park website that shows the different routes. They are doing some construction on the roads inside the park so I do know that later this summer there will be some road closures that will not be accessible even with the shuttles. So, before you visit, check it out. Most of the routes the shuttle buses take are not accessible by private car. This cuts down on congestion from traffic and pollution. We spent about 30 minutes or so at each overlook. You may spend more or less but we took lots of pictures at each spot. We had a surprise in store for mom and dad before lunch, so after this route we got back in the car and headed to: The Grand Canyon Airport!

We had booked a helicopter tour for the 4 of us! I was sooooo excited about this and had a hard time keeping it secret. I was very torn as to what kind of aerial tour to take but finally took the advice of http://www.tripadvisor.com and booked with Maverick Helicopter. This was the best tour I've ever been on. I've ridden a helicopter twice before, but this was by far the best. I had originally wanted to go on one of the plane rides because I was dreading getting stuck in a middle seat on the helicopter and not being able to see anything. We lucked up and all 4 of us got a great seat! The seating chart is decided based on weight and the pilot tells you where to sit. My dad sat in the back up against one of the windows, a lady (not in our group was placed beside him in the middle), there was an empty seat, and then her adult son sat up against the other window. In the front there was the pilot, Matthew beside him, then me, then my mom. The folks in front had the best views as we had a front row seat with a glass bubble cock pit with glass on the front part of the floor as well so you could see out every side as well as straight down. It was amazing. If you go to Maverick's website: http://www.maverickhelicopter.com/canyon.html, we took the 45 minute Canyon Spirit tour. This was the longer of the two tours and I think the extra cost was worth it. We saw lots of the South Rim, the Kaibab Forest, as well as the North Rim and Dragon's Corridor. I personally liked the ride over the South Rim the best as it had spectacular views of the Colorado and Little Colorado Rivers. The North Rim is supposedly the best place in all of Grand Canyon, but I didn't think so. I liked the South Rim's colors and the North Rim is covered with trees so it is more forest like. It was neat to see snow in May though! The drive to the North Rim from the South Rim would take 5 hours but not in a helicopter! Our pilot, John, was just outstanding! The helicopter ride was most definitely the highlight of our entire trip. I can see why they get such rave reviews. The best part was that you can get a photo and DVD of our journey. Not just a DVD of the Canyon, but your particular ride is video recorded inside the cockpit as well as outside and they will burn you a copy (for a fee of course). It was worth it so we bought one as well as a couple T-shirts. We are all still talking about that ride weeks later. If anyone wants to see our video that lives near us, come on over! We are going to try to figure out how to post it here. But, I don't know if we will be able to or not. I will lots of pictures from our ride in a blog later today .

After our helicopter ride, we went back to the Canyon for the rest of the day to go on the shuttle bus that takes you out towards Hermit's Rest (the red route on the map). This is the longest route and we took about 6 hours or so to see this and could have spent much longer. We did dawdle at a lot of the overlooks but we wanted to drink in as much of the Canyon as we could. Part of this route is already closed due to construction and I believe they said by some time in July all of it would be closed. This would be a shame and if it were my vacation, I'd hold off on seeing it until the route is re-opened as this route takes you to some of the best overlooks. This was the end of our full day Grand Canyon adventure. Take a look at our pics and I'll be sure to post more on my next blog about our 3rd day there (a little less than 1/2 day, spent driving out to some of the lesser visited areas on our way out to Monument Valley, Utah).

My favorite photo of mom and dad from our trip
MaLeah & Matthew, Day 2
MaLeah & Adele, Day 2

For the past couple years, Matthew and I have talked about getting started on seeing some of our national landmarks. So, at the end of last year, we got online at http://www.nps.gov and decided to look through the list and see which parks most interested us. Of course, the big winner was The Grand Canyon. Matthew’s been to the Grand Canyon before, but that was 5^th grade, so he was as excited to be going as I was. We decided to ask mom and dad along for the ride and that’s how it all got started. On May 4, after our flight into Phoenix and our drive up there (about 4 ½ hours I think), we still had ½ day left. If anyone is interested in visiting the park and wants tips, costs of things, etc. e-mail me and I’ll fill you in. We were very lucky as the park wasn’t crowded. It was after Spring Break but before the Memorial Day rush, so it was very nice. Don’t get me wrong. We certainly didn’t have the place to ourselves but I’ve heard it gets really bad in summer. Unlike a lot of places we’ve visited, people don’t seem to mind taking your picture for you. So, if you visit, ask away! Most of the folks we asked to take our pictures were happy we asked because they said they’d been looking for a friendly face to ask themselves. So, don’t be shy! I was very sad to see that people seemed to be mostly interested in parking their massive RV’s near the entrance, jumping out and snapping a few shots, then getting back in and driving away! Don’t do it! Give yourself at least 2 days to see it all! And, with that, your 2 days will be full! Here is what we did.

Now mom and dad are pretty avid hikers and were interested in going to the bottom of the Canyon. Not me. I was content to just walk the rim. So, that is what we all ended up doing. On our first ½ day, we did a lot of walking to the left and right of the first overlook/parking area near the entrance. If you’ve never been to the Canyon, you may be like me and think the Canyon must be right inside the gate or something. No, not true. It’s about 4 or 5 miles to get to the rim once you enter the gate. The first overlook/parking area is the most crowded. People are jostling for space to take pictures. Don’t worry. There is much more to see than just this one spot. So, save yourself the headache and stop here during times that it isn’t crowded. There is a paved trail that runs both ways from this spot. Just pick a left or a right and start walking and you’ll soon find a spot all to yourself to take pictures. The Canyon was neat in that it looked different at every overlook and at different times of day depending on the way the sun hits it.

That was the end of day 1 and then we went back into town to our hotel. We stayed in Tusyan, which is the sprawling metropolis of 4 or 5 hotels, a McDonalds, a gas station, and a Pizza Hut. ha.ha. It’s right outside the gate of the south rim entrance, so you can’t miss it. Hotels here fill up fast as do ones inside the park so make reservations as far in advance as you can. I am one of the few folks that was unimpressed with the accommodations inside the park. They seemed very old and rustic to me which most say is part of the charm. The areas around the hotels are also the most crowded in the entire park which turned me off as well. I was really surprised that none of the rooms that I noticed had balconies overlooking the Canyon. For the price, you’d think they would. Besides the lobby of El Tovar, the place wasn’t all that impressive. One property even reminded me of a run down college dorm. Yuck. Just “slum it” like we did and stay in Tusyan. ha.ha. Now if fancy hotels are your game, you are in trouble in Grand Canyon. There are no 4 or 5 star properties even though the places inside Grand Canyon claim to be they definitely are not. We've stayed in some very fancy digs but knew going into it that wasn't what was available here. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express and it suited our needs just fine. An indoor pool and Jacuzzi (a bit small but o.k.), a free breakfast that was rather good, and a clean room. My only complaint was the VERY small bathroom that was so tiny you hit your elbows on the door trying to dry off outside the tub. ha.ha. The hotels are VERY busy, but everyone is so tired from hiking the Canyon they are pretty quiet. Lots of tour groups visit the Canyon too, so don’t be surprised if buses pull up outside your hotel. The hotels get a lot of traffic too, so they are pretty worn out but ours was clean. I’ll post on day 2 in my next blog. In the meantime, enjoy a few shots from our trip. Oh yes, before I forget. I am not afraid of heights in the least. Or so I thought. I've hung my head (and camera) out the bars of the overlook on top of the Empire State Building on several occasions without a hint of butterflies. This place is different. It will get you if you aren't careful. You just don't "get" the massiveness of it all until you see it. Pictures don't do it justice. And, one tip I will share is DO NOT wear sandals or flip flops or any shoe that you deem as just-too-cute-not-to-wear. My mom did wear flip flops the first day and nearly slipped on several occasions. I saw lots of miserable looking women in wedge sandals. Just don't do it. No one cares what your shoes look like. Put on some tennis shoes for goodness sake!

The view from the first parking spot/overlook

The whole gang: Matthew, MaLeah, Adele, Lonnie

MaLeah & Adele: to the right of the first overlook