Southwest National Parks, Part II: Grand Canyon

Bright and early the next morning we headed into Grand Canyon National Park. We knew it would be cold, and we'd brought our winter coats and hats ... but it was really cold. Gusting winds made it even more miserable in the morning. So after we rented our bikes, we rode them straight to the general store and bought gloves and hand warmers. Whew! Much better. Then we biked to the Rim Trail to get the kids' first glimpse of the Grand Canyon!

We biked all the way to South Kaibob Trailhead, then took the shuttle out to Yaki Point and walked out to the end. What fabulous views! It was chilly but manageable, and the air was clear so we could see for miles.

Once we got back to our bikes, I realized the only trail that goes below the rim that was open was South Kaibob Trail. I suggested we hike it down to Ooh Aah Point, which was just under 2 miles. "It'll be quick!" I told the kids. "Like walking around the block a few times at our house." But I seriously underestimated how long it would take for such a steep path. Fortunately, it was also a lot warmer below the rim. We passed mule trains and lots of other hikers. In what was definitely the wildlife highlight of the trip, at one point we looked up to see a mountain goat just sitting on top of a rock, watching us. He was so close! 

Little Man was amused by this warning sign about the symptoms of heat stroke:

But the duration and difficulty of the hike finally got to him, and he threw a little tantrum, refusing to go any further. "You can stop here if you like," I told him, "and we'll pick you up on the way back." So that's what he did. The girls and I continued another 15 minutes or so to Ooh Aah Point, took some pictures, and Sweet Pea climbed on the rocks and trees like a little mountain goat.

When we backtracked up the trail, we found a very angry Little Man, who'd been waiting longer than he anticipated. "How could you have left me so long?" he fumed. I reminded him that it was his choice, and that there were lots of other hikers on the trail, so he was never really alone. He angrily stomped all the way back up to the rim, but you know what? He didn't stay behind or complain on any other hikes for the rest of the trip.

Biking along the rim was definitely the kids' favorite activity at the Grand Canyon. At one point, Little Man crashed and fell off his bike where the path was very close to the edge. "One more foot and it was certain death for me!" he reported to the girls, who had gone up ahead. (A bit of an exaggeration, thankfully -- there were actually several bushes that would have stopped a free-fall into the canyon.)

After we returned the bikes, I let the kids souvenir shop at the same General Store, and then it was time for dinner at Arizona Steakhouse. It was a little fancier than I would normally have picked with the kids, but I chose it because of the amazing views it offered. We were lucky to get a table right by the window, with an incredible view of ... construction along the Bright Angel Trail. Sigh.

Unfortunately, there wasn't a sunset to speak of at all, because clouds moved in that afternoon. A storm was called for that night (snow!), so we didn't get to see a spectacular sunset like I'd hoped. But something I was really excited about was Easter Mass the next morning: the local Catholic parish offered a 6am Mass outdoors on the rim of the Grand Canyon, and I couldn't wait! I was convinced it'd be the highlight of our trip.

The next morning we woke at at 5am to six inches of snow! It was exciting and chilly, and the snow was still coming down hard. We packed up, checked out of the hotel, and headed for Mass. We pulled into the parking lot of the Bright Angel Lodge, and promptly got stuck in the snow. The wheels of our massive rental SUV just kept spinning! And even worse, we were blocking the entrance to the parking lot. At 5:30 am. On Easter Sunday.

I was able to make roughly 20 trips across the snow-covered lot to get cups of gravel to put under our tires. By the time we got free, it was past 6:30 -- we'd missed Mass by a mile. We parked, trudged into the lodge, and got breakfast. There we learned that a) Mass had been canceled anyway, due to the accumulation and whiteout conditions, and b) the road we were planning on taking to our next destination was shut down, which meant we'd have to almost double our travel time by going all the way South to Flagstaff via I-40 and around. So we couldn't spend the morning at Grand Canyon at all; we had to get on the road in order to make our scheduled tour in Antelope Canyon that afternoon.

The kids had a brief snowball fight on the rim, where you could barely see the edge of the Canyon. It was a shocking difference from how it looked the day before!

My biggest regret of the entire trip is that we ended up with only one day at Grand Canyon, instead of the additional two half-days I'd planned. We had been really excited about Mass on the rim, and I'd also been looking forward to driving Desert View Drive (the road that was shut down), and stopping at Desert View Watchtower on the way out of the park. Obviously when you travel, you have to roll with the punches, but I'm pretty bummed we missed these two major things on my itinerary.