TRAVEL2 - Rim to Rim at the Grand Canyon

A few years ago, for my 70^th birthday, Pat took me to the NCAA Basketball Final Four Tournament in Indianapolis.  This year, for her 70^th birthday, I took Pat to her favorite natural wonder, the Grand Canyon.

In 1861, in an official report about a government expedition to the Grand Canyon, topographical engineer Lieutenant Joseph Ives said, “Ours has been the first and will doubtless be the last to visit this profitless locality.”  Despite this shortsighted condemnation, the Grand Canyon became a U.S. National Park in 1919, and in 2017 hosted over six million visitors from all over the world.

So here is the story of Pat’s and my August 2018 rim-to-rim expedition to the Grand Canyon.  I hope you’re not expecting an account of a rough trail hike from one rim, down to the Colorado River, and up the other side to the opposite rim.  Get real - we’re over 70 years old!  What follows is the story of our road trip from Tucson to the south rim of the Grand Canyon, followed by a 200-mile loop drive around the east side of the Canyon to the north rim, and return.  Hope you enjoy our photographs too!

BTW - The strenuous hiking trail is almost 24 miles long: 9.6 miles descending 4,500 feet from the south rim and 14.3 miles ascending 6,000 feet to the north rim.  My son John actually completed the hike many years ago as a Boy Scout.

Days 1-3   Flagstaff

Easy drive to Flagstaff.  Stayed at our home timeshare, the Wyndam Resort.  Dinner at our favorite Flagstaff steak place, Horsemen Lodge.  Next day, lunch in the Turquoise Room at La Posada, a restored Fred Harvey railroad hotel, 40 miles east in Winslow.  Our highest recommendation!  Had fabulous prickly pear bread pudding for dessert.  Got up early the next morning to reach the south rim of the Grand Canyon by 8:00 am.

The south rim lies at about 7,000 feet elevation, is quite developed in terms of lodging options in the National Park and nearby village of Tusayan, is open year round, and receives about 90% of the visitors to Grand Canyon.

Our plan was to beat the summer crowds to the shuttle buses that take visitors to the western overlooks.  Greeted at the Park’s south entrance by huge elk at the side of the road.  Caught early shuttle to western overlooks; enjoyed views we hadn’t seen in years.  Canyon was hazy due to wildfire on north rim and as we were told, pollution from the California fires.  Got some good photographs anyway.   

Drove out of the Park through the east entrance, stopping at just a couple of the eastern overlooks with which we were very familiar from previous trips.  Then back to Flagstaff, with a short stop at the Cameron Trading Post, one of the best Indian art galleries in the southwest, and a must-visit for us.

A huge elk greeted us at the south entrance to Grand Canyon National Park.

View from south rim.  See Colorado River at center.

South rim view with Colorado River at center.

Days 4-6   North Rim

Day 4 was relaxed driving day from Flagstaff to north rim of Grand Canyon.  Stopped at Lees Ferry, the historic Colorado River crossing point, for years the only place to cross the River for hundreds of miles in each direction, and today the launch place for raft trips through the Grand Canyon.  Very picturesque site surrounded by fantastic red rock formations.  Heading west, passed the colorful Vermilion Cliffs national monument, climbed into the mountains, and finally turned south to the north rim of the Grand Canyon.

The north rim lies between 8,000-8,800 feet elevation.  Separation from south rim ranges from 600 feet to 18 miles, with an average rim-to-rim distance of 10 miles.  The north rim is more remote than the south rim, the closest town is Jacobs Lake 40 miles to the north, is much less developed than the south rim, is open only from mid-May to mid-October, and receives only 10% of the visitors to the Grand Canyon.

Just after entering Grand Canyon National Park from the north, passed a herd of wild buffalo, which we learned later, tend to congregate in the Park, rather that outside it, “so they won’t get shot.”   Arrived at the north rim in intermittent rain and with considerable smoke from nearby Obi wildfire that had closed a road to one of the scenic overlooks.  Our lodging was one of the small rustic cabins, within easy walking distance of the main Grand Canyon Lodge and dining room.  No TV or radio on the north rim and very limited WIFI and cell phone capability.

Over our three-day stay on the north rim, the smoke practically disappeared, and the weather improved daily.  Main dining room in the Lodge is right on the edge of the Grand Canyon, offering fantastic views of the Canyon.  Of the several excellent meals we had there, we managed to sit at a window table a couple of times, once during a beautiful sunset illuminating the Canyon.  On Day 5 we greeted the sunrise from near the main Lodge and later took a half-mile hike along the rim to a spectacular viewpoint.  The next day we drove to another viewpoint to catch the sunrise and got some great photos.  Supplemented these activities with short walks around the Lodge and relaxing in our cabin.

Colorado River at Lee's Ferry.

View to east; Vermilion Cliffs at left, with rain in the distance.

Bison grazing just past the northern entrance of Grand Canyon National Park.

We greet the sunrise near the main north rim Lodge.

View from Bright Angel Trail just east of main Lodge.

Fish-eye view at sunset next to main Lodge.

Sunrise at north rim's Imperial Point.

Sun peeks through clouds after sunrise at north rim's Imperial Point.

Sunrise colors at north rim's Imperial Point.

Pat with special 70th birthday dessert at Sedona's L'Auberge restaurant.

Days 7,8   Sedona

On Day 7 we started our trip home, along the same route to Flagstaff, planning to stop for lunch at the Cameron Trading Post, but to our surprise, arrived an hour early because Pat’s smart Apple watch and my SUV’s clock had automatically updated without our noticing to an hour ahead to account for traveling on the Navajo reservation that runs an hour ahead of the rest of Arizona.  After breakfast in Cameron, we continued to Flagstaff and then on through Oak Creek Canyon to stop for a couple of nights in Sedona at another Wyndam timeshare.  Visited our usual scenic vistas and art galleries; Pat bought a nice necklace and chain, and I bought a small bronze pot.  On our last night in Sedona, officially celebrated Pat’s 70^th birthday with a fabulous dinner at Sedona’s L’Auberge.

Day 9  Back to Tucson

Drove from Sedona to Tucson, stopping for a couple of hours in Phoenix to have breakfast with Pat’s son David and wife Krista and their two young girls, Sarah and Emily.