The Grand Canyon is a 6 hour road trip from the Las Vegas Strip. We elected to take the historic Route 66 to get to this natural wonder. Unfortunately though, there were no kicks on Route 66. It only added travel time to an already long journey. My recommendation would be to take the faster highway instead and spend more time at the Canyon.

Once at the Grand Canyon it took awhile to find parking and get ourselves oriented. It was, however, well worth the travel time and parking hassles. The view was spectacular and we were fortunate to be there on a comfortable, clear day.

I would strongly recommend purchasing the special panoramic style disposable cameras to capture the sights. It's hard to take in the majestic views with a traditional camera. Better yet - capture the experience with a camcorder. I really wish I had one with me.

Oh, to have had the money to take a helicopter flight over the canyon - or a hike down into the canyon, or a trail ride through its depths... Will have to plan that for next time!

Words can not express the beauty of this natural wonder. You can take a tour which you can book through a travel agency like Liberty Travel or directly through your hotel when you get in. An excursion by small plane is about 45 minutes or you can drive there yourself, which is about 5 hours. The tour is fun, you're with about 8-10 other people, you fly over Hoover Dam and Lake Mead and onto the Canyon. The plane itself is small and the ride is quite bumpy, but seeing the Canyon is worth it. On the tour you get lunch and water and when you land an air conditioned bus picks you up and drives you around the rim, stopping at various locations so you can take pictures and soak in the beauty. I like this tour because you do get to walk around. The helicopter tours have pretty views, but you never get the chance to experience the Canyon for yourself. Be forewarned, excursions leave usually very early in the morning and can book quickly, so try to book a spot first thing; also tours don't run everyday or in very windy conditions.

The tour bus picked us up at our hotel at a bleary 6:30am. Our first stop was to the Grand Canyon Tours mega center. It was the perfect definition of organized chaos. Hundreds of tourists trying to find which line they were supposed to be standing in to find out exactly what they were supposed to do next. As crazy as it seemed the staff were friendly and helpful and in no time we paid and boarded our bus.

The first thing I noticed, much to my delight, was that our bus was primarily filled with Japanese tourists. There was also a couple from Germany and two college age girls from Ireland. My husband and I were the only Americans. The bus was very comfortable and our driver, Louie, would speak into his intercom every so often to tell us interesting facts. Then the Japanese translator would translate. We made a brief stop at the overlook for Hoover Dam for some pictures. Since we had already seen the Hoover Dam the day before, we just used the opportunity to stretch our legs. Back on the bus, Louie put in some documentary type movies about the Grand Canyon. This seemed to pass the time until we reached Max and Thelma’s, where we were to have lunch. The restaurant, which was built as a tour bus stop, was huge, crowded and noisy. The food is served buffet style and was fairly tasty. Due to the massive amounts of people who come in and out, you are seated in groups. We were politely rushed through lunch, and ushered back on the tour bus to reach our destination, the Grand Canyon.

I was talking to someone recently who also visited the Grand Canyon, and I quote, "it was soooo boring, all it is, is a big hole in the ground." I had to bite my tongue very hard. Everyone should see the Grand Canyon in person. A mere picture does not do it justice. It is an awe-inspiring experience. So vast, it emanates such a silent beauty. My only regret was the lack of time. There was so much to see and explore and yet we were ushered quickly from point to point on the bus tour. It was like getting only a bite of a really delicious dessert that you would just love to finish. After only about 2 hours, we were ushered back on the bus and made the long five-hour ride back to Las Vegas. Movies kept us entertained, but I couldn’t help feeling like I missed out on something.

Grand Canyon Tours did an excellent job. They were organized and inexpensive ($99 per person). Louie was great and I learned a lot due to his knowledge. If I were to go again, I would do the drive myself, and stay at one of the Grand Canyon lodges for a few days. Beauty such as that needs more then two hours to be admired and explored.

What can I talk about other than breathtaking views? Definitely take the helicopter tour and see Hoover Dam, Colorado River, and Lake Mead.

The Grand Canyon is a 5.5-hour drive from Las Vegas. It's far but worth it if you've never been! The South Rim (more developed and far more visited than the Northern Rim) is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, although they recommend avoiding winter months due to inaccessibility because of snow. Some days are a bit overcast and/or foggy, and this may affect the quality of photos you take.

The canyon, created by the mighty Colorado River, is huge and absolutely breathtaking! It averages 4,000 feet deep for its entire 277 miles. It is 6,000 feet deep at its deepest point and 15 miles at its widest. Many people find it enjoyable to hike down the canyon, but keep in mind to not try to hike all the way down and back in the same day, and try to avoid the afternoon hottest hours! As we were told, the majority of victims rescued from the Grand Canyon are young, healthy males between the ages of 18 and 40 who attempted to hike to the river and back in one day. Just 2 weeks prior to our visit one young college guy from the U.K. had died while attempting it--it's serious business, so take heed!

On a lighter note, there are free park ranger-led talks several times a day, and these are one of the best parts of the visit! The park rangers know so much and can add a lot of interesting tidbits to the journey. They take their job very seriously and are very committed to the canyon and its preservation. We were told the story of one Native American canyon guide who traveled all the way to Switzerland and donned his native attire to lobby a multinational company there not to develop the canyon for some industry they were considering. If you see the photo below, our guide was even wearing a long-sleeve wool uniform in the hot July temperatures! He explained to us that since he had tattoos on his arms from his youth, the national park felt that he should keep them covered while he was on duty to show a more professional image, so he had to wear the long-sleeve version of their uniform, and to keep the uniform even, he had to wear it with the wool winter pants instead of the cooler summer pants because those only match with the short-sleeve uniform shirt. So you can see how dedicated he was to suffer in that heat because of their rules!

Within the Grand Canyon Village area they offer free shuttle services, so you can see different parts of the canyon, visit the shops, restaurants etc. When you first enter at the park entrance station (either North or South Rim), you are given a copy of "The Guide," which is the park's newspaper. It lists the various parking areas, ranger programs, and visitor facilities.