Grand Canyon Trip June 2023

Friday, June 16

Up early this morning (3:45) for flight to Phoenix. I realized at the airport that I’d forgotten to pack the Grand Canyon guidebooks I’d purchased, but thankfully I have our itinerary in my phone.

We landed in Phoenix, got our car (it had Oregon plates, felt like a good sign!), stopped for a bite to eat (PHX Burrito House — so, so good), then hit the road. We stopped in Flagstaff at a grocery store for snacks while hiking and biking, then drove to the Grand Canyon. We took a long route hoping to see the Painted Desert (but could only see a tiny bit from the road), and arrived at the Grand Canyon National Park around 7 pm. Thanks to Owen’s 4th grade free park pass, we didn’t have to pay to get in. (Thank you, President Obama!)

We were hungry and tired and wanted to get to the hotel, so we only stopped at one scenic overlook, but the views of the Canyon from the car were stunning. We can’t wait to see more. We also saw many, many elk on the road and around cabins. It reminded us of the antelope that hang around Mammoth Hot Springs and the bison that hang around Yellowstone Lake in Yellowstone Park.

We are staying tonight at Maswik Lodge, due to its close proximity to the trail Jourdan plans to get up and run tomorrow morning. We checked in, put our bags in the room, then grabbed dinner from the Lodge cafeteria. Then bedtime, excited to explore tomorrow!

First glimpses of the Canyon

Elk on the side of the road

Saturday, June 17

Jourdan got up super early to do a training run (he’s again training for the same 32 mile trail race up Lone Peak Mountain in Big Sky that he did last September), and I woke up when he did, but let the kids sleep in after our long day yesterday. They were actually still asleep when he got home at 8. So they got up, got dressed, and we got breakfast then headed back to pack up the hotel room (we’re playing musical hotels for the next couple nights), then headed out to today’s activity: hiking South Kiabab trail. The trailhead is off limits to private vehicles so we parked at the Visitor Center and took a shuttle. It was after 10 before we got started. We had planned to do 6 miles round trip, to something called Skeleton Point, but ran into a Park Ranger about half a mile in who said that it was probably too late in the day to try for that; it’s 20 degrees hotter in the Canyon than at the rim, and there are no water spouts on the trail. So instead we went to Cedar Ridge which was about 3.5 miles round trip. Cutting the planned hike early was a good call; the way up was challenging (1135 feet elevation gain), and my decrepit hip didn’t love it. Julia’s knee started hurting on the way up too, and we were all hot.

But the views — I don’t even know if I can put it into words. Nature is really, really incredible. I don’t think our pictures, or seeing it in tv/movies can do it justice.

After we made it to the top and rode the shuttle back to the Visitor Center, we grabbed lunch and checked into our second hotel — El Tovar. (We had tried to stay at this hotel both the first and second nights but they didn’t have room the first night. Both are inside the park and both close to the trail for Jourdan’s early morning runs.) We all took fantastic showers, then took a quick walk from the hotel to the Bright Angel trailhead, then to the hotel restaurant for a delicious dinner. Then bed.

Some of the views from Jourdan's early morning run

Some of the sights on the way down to Cedar Ridge

Family photo at Ooh Ahh Point on the way back up. (Yes, that is really what this stop is called.)

Some pictures of the hike back up

A picture of Havasupai Gardens on the Bright Angel Trail, that we could see from the South Kaibab Trail. The gardens are an example of a microclimate in the Grand Canyon -- a climate within a climate that is vastly different than what it around it. In this case, greenery within the desert. Havasupai Gardens were where Jourdan had turned around on his morning run.

This is what my Garmin had to say about the hike.

Canyon view from our hotel room balcony.

Evening Canyon views

Sunday, June 18

Jourdan once again got up and ran (farther today than yesterday), but this time the kids did not sleep in, everyone was up by 6. So we got dressed and packed (musical hotels again) and waited for Jourdan to get back. He showered and we went to the hotel restaurant for breakfast. (Usually I advocate for skipping restaurant breakfast when we travel because it seems like a waste of time. But Jourdan likes breakfast and it is Father’s Day. And it turned out I had the best avocado toast, with both guacamole and sliced avocados, I’ve ever had.)

The itinerary today involved renting bikes, so we drove to the Visitor Center to pick them up, then rode through the Park on a Greenway trail that is just for bikes and pedestrians. We had planned to ride on Hermit’s Road to Hermit’s Rest and then take a shuttle back; the person who gave us our bikes suggested we take a shuttle up the first two miles as they were uphill, and they call it Soul Crusher. We considered that, but the shuttle buses could only hold 3 bikes at a time so we’d need two buses, and they come every 10-15 minutes. And also, the Cozzens Guidice clan is tough! So we rode up the hill. The first 0.6 miles were pretty steep (6% grade), the rest of it was definitely uphill but I don't think anyone's soul was crushed. We then rode to the end of the road to Hermit’s Rest. The ride gave us great views of the western side of the Canyon, but my favorite part was seeing so many different cacti with so many different blooming flowers.

We opted to take the shuttle (well, two shuttles) back to the top of the Soul Crusher so that we could coast down it, then rode back to the bike shop to turn in our bikes. We rode a total of just under 15 miles.

We then went to Yavapai Point Geology Museum to learn about the formation of the Canyon, then drove to our new “hotel” that is about half an hour outside the park. We are here for 2 nights, and it’s more glamping than a hotel; it’s a place called Clear Sky Resorts. They are domes with clear panes on the top (with a retractable sun shade) and about 2/3 of one of the walls clear. The resort also has a kids play area with a jump pillow and big tricycles on a track, and a bunch of other activities like corn hole, a large chess board, and s’mores. (And even though it’s glamping, our place had a full bathroom -- phew!) We checked out our digs — super cool and the first time this trip that the 5 of us weren’t crammed into a space meant for 4 at most (this place could have easily slept 7), then went to dinner. The resort has a food truck but we opted to drive into Williams, AZ and eat at a brewpub. Food was good and the place was super cute. After dinner we went back to our place and went to bed as we had an early morning the next day.

More early morning views from Jourdan's run

Havasupai Gardens from within

Greenway Trail, and posing with some horses.

Owen and I just about to the top of Soul Crusher

Sights along our ride

The end of the road: Hermit's Rest

One of the pretty, blooming cacti

Our glamping dome

Monday, June 19

Today we had reservations for 9:00 to tour Upper Antelope Canyon. I booked this based on a recommendation from a friend, without looking at how far that was from the Grand Canyon and where we were staying — a 3 hour drive. But when we looked at pictures, we decided it would be worth it. So we hit the road by 5:30 AM to allow time for unexpected events and to eat breakfast. The trip took us on Desert View Drive and gave us views of the Canyon we hadn’t yet seen. Both were breathtaking.

But the Upper Antelope Canyon was maybe the most spectacular thing I have ever seen (the only place in contention is the island of and the area around Koh Phi Phi, Thailand). It’s a canyon made of petrified sand that is basically hidden under a hill. There are breaks in the ceiling where sunlight comes through at various angles depending on the time of day, but our guide (a member of the Navajo tribe as it is on Navajo land; he told us that tourism to the Canyon is a major source of income for the tribe and critical to funding education — prior to about 20 years ago, they had a couple hundred visitors a year but since they started running tours they now have a million visitors per year) told us that it was historically used by the Navajo and Hopi people as shelter while on the move, and as a place to hide from attackers. Rain from as far as 40 miles away travels through the Canyon on its way to Lake Powell, causing flooding on the floor and cleaning it of debris. The Canyon is getting deeper by about an inch per year, and sits atop a water table that is used as a water source for the reservation. It was incredible.

After we finished the tour, we drove back to the Grand Canyon again through the Painted Desert. It was even more beautiful with the sun fully up, and all the colors on these big mounds of earth (per a cursory internet search, they are called badlands hills, mesas and buttes. But I don’t know what distinguishes each of these and really they looked like mounds of earth) made it clear how this area got its name.

We made a few stops in the Grand Canyon on our way back to our place, including touring the Watchtower and Tusayan Ruin (an excavated Pueblo site from around 1195; side note: I think after seeing Pompei my kids will never be impressed with archeological sites again), and taking pictures of our family in front of the Canyon. We had forgotten our selfie stick on previous days but remembered it today so we needed to make up for family photos with either mom or dad missing.

We got back to the resort around 4:30 and went to play. The jump pillows were like a big bouncy house and super fun but also a good workout. Then we raced the tricycles and played a couple games of corn hole before we decided it was too windy and went to get food. We ate at the on-site food truck, and it was honestly some of the best food we have had the whole trip. The guy running the truck was from Montana so he gave us a “406 discount”.

After dinner we all took showers, packed a bit, played a little of a board game called Worst Case Scenario, and then went to bed.

The entrance to the Canyon

Inside Upper Antelope Canyon

At the exit of the Canyon

Photo ops on the drive back

Tusayan Ruin

More roadside photo ops

Playing at the Resort

Sunset at our Dome

Tuesday, June 20

This morning we woke up, dressed and packed as we fly out tonight. Our plan was to be on the Bright Angel hiking trail by 8; we made it by 8:30 which I thought was an admirable attempt. The trail seemed steeper than the South Kaibab but also had more shade which was nice. There is a bathroom 1.5 miles down the trail which we intended to be our turn around spot, but Owen’s stomach was upset so he, Russell and I stopped about .2 miles from it — Jourdan had to use the bathroom and Julia wanted to go with him so they continued on. We then made our way back up (a total of 2.79 miles and 764 feet climbed according to my watch), did some souvenir shopping, grabbed lunch, changed out of our trail-dusty clothes, and hit the road for the 4 hour drive to the Phoenix airport.

The drive and flights were mostly uneventful (I did leave my iPad on the first plant but the awesome Delta flight attendants got it delivered to me on the second plane), and we got home a little after midnight. A quick, but unforgettable trip!

At the first arch of the hike down

This picture was intended to show the sharp drop off at the edge of the hiking trail. Thankfully, it didn't seem that scary when actually on the trail.

Fun on the way down

This squirrel sat right next to Russell when he was eating a Clif bar and I swear looked at him as if to say "Why are you on my rock and why aren't you giving me any of that bar?" (No, we did not feed the squirrel!)