The Grand Canyon!

When you live somewhere, sometimes you don't always see the big popular sites. If you live in NYC, for example, you may never have visited the Statue of Liberty. In Bangkok, there are tons of touristy things that I've never done, even after six years!

panorama of the Grand Canyon

In all of my life, I had never visited arguably the most famous natural wonder in the United States: Grand Canyon National Park. I always thought it was funny how so many of my students in Thailand had seen more of the US than I have. Now, whenever I visit home, I try to make a real vacation out of it. This year, I finally made it to Arizona - on a special stopover with the purpose of finally visiting the Grand Canyon!

coffee at a gas station on the way to the park

It was my mom's birthday, and she had met me in Flagstaff so that we could celebrate together on my way home to Texas. We decided she should spend an birthday at the Canyon! We left the hotel early, and drove the hour and a half from Flagstaff to the park. It's autumn (low season), and the North Rim is already closed. Even though it was the middle of the week, the parking lot was filling up fast. I can imagine how crowded it must be during the peak summertime weeks!

The canyon was - simply put - incredible, and photos cannot do it true justice.

1 mile deep and 8 miles across

We mostly stayed in the area near the visitor's center. The park is massive but a lot of it is inaccessible without lots of time, equipment, and probably a good guide. First, we hiked along the Rim Trail, admiring the breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon, which is 8 miles across and a staggering 1 mile deep. The sense of scale and depth that you get when you first look at the Grand Canyon is shocking. It's hard to imagine how the Colorado River could have carved something so awe-inspiring.

visitors at the rim

This year is the 100th anniversary of the founding of the national park, which was established on February 29, 1919. It was later recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is one of the most visited natural wonders in the world.

As we walked along the Rim Trail, a series of signs and viewpoints displayed information about the park. The Rim Trail is by far the most popular path at the South Rim. It's flat, mostly paved, and fairly easy to walk.

a viewing station

In order to manage traffic at the Canyon, most of the roads inside the national park are closed to visitors. Instead, people can get around the South Rim by the 4 lines of the free park shuttle bus, which stops at all of the major sites in the area.

the free Grand Canyon shuttle bus

It's a hop-on-hop-off bus, and is super easy to use. As the bus crosses the park, an automated recording announces the next stop and what you can do and see there. By the time we had eaten our picnic lunch, we were feeling tired of walking, and were very grateful for the bus to carry us onward and deeper into the park.

riding the shuttle bus

In late afternoon, we made our way via shuttle bus to the Hermit's Rest, an old rest house which once served hikers and travelers making their way across the harsh landscape.

beautiful Arizona scenery at the Grand Canyon

Now, the Hermit's Rest is a gift shop, but it still offers amazing views across the wild vistas of northern Arizona.

Though it had been chilly in the morning, the high altitude and bright sunlight brought the temperature up to the mid 70s Fahrenheit by afternoon. We sat down at Hermit's Rest, admiring the views, as a few lone elk walked past in the late afternoon sunlight.

Hermit's Rest

We didn't go down into the Canyon... that needs to be a separate trip with a lot more planning! Maybe next time we can plan on visiting the much more remote North Rim. One day was hardly enough to see the Grand Canyon, but it was a perfect way to celebrate my mom's birthday.

enjoying the cool air and scenery

We made it back to Flagstaff just before sunset and - exhausted - decided to dine in at the hotel's restaurant. Our full day adventure to the Grand Canyon had ended, but our exploration of Northern Arizona had just begun, and we would need a good night's sleep for the adventures that the next day was to bring.

the old rest house