The Grand Canyon

Everyone has heard the adage…”The Grand Canyon is the one place that when you see it in person, it really doesn’t disappoint.” I was always a skeptic. Now you can count me as a believer.

After leaving the Bay Area on Wednesday (6/23), we made the long drive out of California, across the Mojave, and onto Vegas. It was a long, hot day of driving. Still, we rolled into our hotel early in the evening, got ourselves settled, and headed out to see our surroundings.

I’ve been to Vegas many times, and Michele had been there once. For the boys, it was their first time. Since nearly all Vegas stories are basically the same, there is no reason to spend a lot of time talking about the three days we spent soaking up some sun, shopping, and eating great meals.

We did have a particularly nice dinner to celebrate Michele’s birthday at Giada in The Cromwell Hotel. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a nice dining experience with great views of the Fountains at the Bellagio.

For the last part of my trip, my traveling companion flew in on Friday from Philly. After meeting up for dinner and a stroll down the blvd., we parted ways until morning where I would pick him up after dropping Michele and the boys at the airport.

The South rim

The plan for Saturday was to leave Las Vegas and drive out to the south rim. From there, we would travel north to our campsite along the North Rim. An audacious goal, to say the least. And one we would see unfulfilled.

You might have noticed in this and the last post I have switched tenses from the I to we. Who are we? The “we” is Digi. JD. My buddy Johnny D. from West Chester, PA. JD is the first soccer guy I met after moving to PA and has been one of my closest friends ever since.

Throughout the rest of this story, you might see references to JD, DiGi, or Dora. They are all one and the same person. The Dora nickname will become apparent as the story evolves.

We drove into Williams, AZ stopping off to shop for provisions for the next week. We successfully filled the fridge and pantry box and got back on our way. The air was thick with smoke in Williams due to a controlled burn that was underway to connect two wildfires burning in the area.

Williams is a funky little town considered the gateway to the Grand Canyon. It sits on Route 66 and is still holding tight to that history. If you’ve seen the movie “Cars,” I suspect Radiator Springs is based mainly on this place.

As one would expect in summer, the visitor center and viewing areas were packed with tourists, ourselves included. I introduced JD to my tradition of selecting a few stickers and patches from all the national parks I visit (more on this in a future post). So, after making our selection, we headed to the edge to see what all the fuss was about. WOW!

But this was not to be our destination for the day. Our campsite was sitting 3 hours and nearly 200 miles (driving distance) to the north along the North Rim. The two rims only sit about 10 miles apart – as the raven flies, and the North Rim is roughly 1,000 higher in elevation. In terms of visitors, the North Rim only sees about 10% of the traffic of the South Rim. Regrettably, we never made it.

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Glen canyon

With so much to see along our route, we found ourselves pulling over every few minutes to enjoy the view. Once out of the park, we started to progress towards our ultimate goal of reaching the North Rim before dark. But as the miles and hours added up, it seemed pretty evident that we would be pulling into camp far too late to make much sense. In steps Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. The right place at the right time!

We found a campsite along the Colorado River and got to the business of setting up our first camp. It was great having another set of hands to help set things up. After enjoying a cold beer and a great diner, it was time to relax and watch the moon rise over the mountains. It was worth the wait.

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Come morning, it was time to start exploring – only this time we left the jeep behind and set out on foot. Cathedral Wash was our destination. A slot canyon that worked its way down to the Colorado River. We made our first friend along this hike, who I will write about more in a future post. I will let the pictures tell the story.

After a quick rinse off at the Jeep, we were back on the road, headed towards the North Rim and what lays beyond…

More from the road soon…

Matt & JD