Wonderful Two Days at America's Top National Park

There are two direct routes from Flagstaff to the Grand Canyon, both of which run approximately 80-90 miles, so we decided to take one route to the canyon and the other on our return home. This allows for not only a change is scenery, but also an opportunity to drive along the eastern end of the south rim, something that is missed if you do not venture beyond the Grand Canyon Village and the views accessible via their shuttle bus system.

Heading north out of Flagstaff on Hwy 180, you will traverse the high altitude region (approximately 7,000 ft. elevation) through the ponderosa pines. As you settle into the mid-lands, you will probably be struck as we were by the change in scenery and landscape as it is high desert with junipers and tumble weeds. Along this stretch of the road, we did see a small herd of antelope that seemed quite startled when we stopped the car to take some photos.

Continuing on, you eventually reach the small town of Tusayan. Here there are a number of motels, restaurants and gas/convenience stores. (By the way, gas here was $.40/gallon more than down in Flagstaff.) Also located in Tusayan is the National Geographic Grand Canyon Visitors Center that is the home of their Grand Canyon IMAX theatre. Be advised, they are not affiliated with the US Park Service or the Grand Canyon National Park. Located a couple of miles before the main park entrance, you can buy park admissions here if you want to. That won't help you to avoid the potential for lines at the park entrance, so I'm not sure why one should bother.

Before arriving at the park entrance, be sure to stop at the photo op Grand Canyon National Park turnout to take pictures to document your visit!

Once you have paid your entrance fee (or shown your US Parks Annual Pass) you will proceed into the park with an option to proceed towards the Grand Canyon Village (west) or to the Desert View area (east). We would recommend the village option saving the east choice for your departure route.

As you head into the park there is a parking lot at the main visitors’ center which also serves as a shuttle bus stop for the "village/blue" bus line. This is Mather Point, which is probably the most viewed area of the Grand Canyon simply because it is what you reach first when entering from the south entrance at Tusayan.

When you depart the Grand Canyon National Park, head east on Hwy64 which will take you past some lovely overlooks including the one at Watchtower. There is an east entrance to the park, with an admissions booth and a photo op sign as well, so you can do your visit in reverse order if you so choose. For us, however, we wanted to see and photograph the east end of the rim on our departure rather than entering.

Heading out Hwy 64, you will eventually reach Hwy 89 that goes south into Flagstaff. Along the way on Hwy 64, you will pass through the Navaho Indian Reservation and travel along the Little Colorado River. The red rock cliffs and canyons are beautiful but photo spots to stop are very limited, so take it all in with your mind's photographic imagery.

Highways 64 and 89 intersect in the small village of Cameron. Here you can pick up a bite to eat or fill up your gas tank. There are also several Native American outposts where you can stop in to shop for jewelry, pottery and other gifts.

For us, the drive to and from the Grand Canyon is as much a part of the tour as the canyon itself . . . so enjoy the ride!

Owning a timeshare in Flagstaff makes taking a day trip (or more) to the Grand Canyon National Park very easy. Last time we stayed at our timeshare we took a tour day-trip to the Grand Canyon. This year, we opted to do an overnight making the most of two days at the park.

The drive is pretty easy, less than two hours regardless of which route you choose. See the "experience review" that is also part of this journal with highlights and observations on the routes you can take. For me, the drive to the Grand Canyon is as much about the viewing and scenery as is the national park itself.

Upon arrival at the Grand Canyon National Park, you will have to pay your $25 admission fee which is for your car and all riders. You can also purchase the US National Parks annual pass for $80 which allows you free access to all of the park system locations for free for one year. If you have a parks pass, be sure that you still receive the park guide booklet and maps.

During our stay in the park, we fully utilized their shuttle bus system. There are two routes that are your only means to access these areas of the Grand Canyon. The Hermit Rest (red line) goes seven miles along the western end of the canyon's south rim and has only just recently been reopened after a year of renovation. Along this trip, there are several stops that allow you differing vantage points of the Grand Canyon and two nice views of the Colorado River below, including the muddy rapids. At the end of the road is Hermit Rest which has restroom facilities, a gift shop and a snack food type cafeteria. We met several people along our journey who were hiking the seven mile length to Hermits Rest with plans to ride the shuttle back to the village connector point.

The other shuttle bus line, the green bus, went out to Yaki Point . . . another spectacular overlook of the Grand Canyon. The green bus line also takes hikers to the popular Kalbab Trail. Many people hike and camp beneath the rim from this point. The Pipe Creek overlook is also along this route, and is accessible by private vehicle. This is where we opted to take in the sunset which was lovely. On our ride back after dusk, we came upon a herd of six or seven elk grazing on the limited grassy groundcover along the road. Unfortunately, it was too dark to get any decent photos of these guys!

The park is full of wildlife. While riding on the blue shuttle we did see elk earlier in the day near the Grand Canyon Association offices right in the village. Also after dinner at the El Tovar we saw four mule deer eating on the front lawn of the lodge. They didn’t seem too spooked by people and allowed us to photograph them without disturbing their supper.

The blue shuttle bus runs through the village area and connects all of the lodges, restaurants and the two connector points for the red and green lines. All in all, the shuttle system is very efficient running every 10-15 minutes during the day and every 30 minutes early in the morning and later in the evening. We found the buses generally very comfortable and not too crowded. Not sure what to expect however, during the high season of summer. I would assume they would have to put more buses out during peak tourist season.

There are evening programs hosted by park rangers and you can also spend a lot of time in the main visitors' center learning about the Grand Canyon. Because we had been here a few years ago and only had a limited amount of time to explore and see the great views available, we didn't partake in these activities. If you are making your first, and perhaps only trip to the Grand Canyon, please be sure to make time to spend at least an hour at the visitors center by Mather Point.

In planning for our Grand Canyon visit, I booked our dining reservation to assure a primo spot for dinner. The El Tovar did not disappoint on the view nor the meal.

We booked for 4:30, when the dining room opens for the evening. As one of the first groups to dine, we were given one of the better tables along side the windows facing the canyon. It was nice to enjoy the view while dining.

We opted to pass on the appetizers, salads and soups because as we entered the dining room they made special note of their dessert tray at the entrance. For dinner David went with the chef's nightly special, chicken marsala ($25) served with spinach over linguini. The delicately sweet marsala with mushrooms was outstanding!

I went with the crab stuffed rainbow trout ($26), and swapped out the rice pilaf for the fingerling potatoes. I had never even heard of fingerling potatoes but they were very good, somewhat similar to oven roasted potatoes but with a unique flavor. The trout fillet was very good, prepared perfectly.

Dinner was served with a basket of breads, which didn't seem quite fresh and at room temperature. This would be my only negative comment on the entire meal.

For dessert the choices were many and I had a hard time choosing between chocolate and non-chocolate options. I finally zeroed in on the apple pie that had a nice crunchy "crumble" topping. Talked into having it warmed and served ala-mode, I was in for a $10 dessert!! It was outstanding, but I don't know if I can say it was worth $10. (The small single scoop of vanilla ice cream was a $3.20 add-on.) David had the crème brulee ($6) and loved every bite. David reminded me that we were dining on $4 desserts and paying the premium for the views. Point well taken.

All in all, our dinner with tax and gratuities was just under $90 for the two of us. Given the overall outstanding experience, we felt it was an OK value. David was right, as much as anything, we were paying for the location and ambience of our dining experience, which we felt was great . . . so no complaints.

The El Tovar Dining Room is located inside the El Tovar Lodge right on the south rim of the Grand Canyon. They are open for breakfast, lunch and dinner; with reservations highly recommended especially for dinner.

For more information, check out their web site: http://www.grandcanyonlodges.com/dining-421.html.

For breakfast we could have dined in the Maswik Lodge cafeteria but we wanted to take in more of the canyon rim so we ventured down the hill to the Bright Angel Lodge and their restaurant. We arrived at around 9:00am and found the restaurant surprisingly slow. They say that this was "spring break week" but from all we saw, it seemed not so crowded.

We were immediately seated and greeted by our server with hot coffee. The menu was somewhat your basic eggs, hotcakes and skillets. Both David and I felt like pancakes, me the buttermilk and blueberry for him; a stack of three each. Our server asked us "what meat would you like for your side" somewhat implying that meat sides came with the cakes. WHOOOPS - not so! I selected the country ham while David did the bacon. Both were generous portions, but we were surprised when we got our check and found the add-on price of $3.20. (LOL - the same price as a small scoop of vanilla ice cream when you order your pie ala-mode!)

The pancakes were very good, as were our breakfast meats. We just didn't appreciate what felt like a fast one pulled by the restaurant. Service was prompt and David's coffee cup was never less than half full . . . so all in all a good breakfast dining experience.

Breakfast was $30 including tax and gratuities. Again, given the location and the premium paid for dining inside the Grand Canyon, one can expect a higher than expected meal price.

Bright Angel serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. More information may be found on their web site: http://www.grandcanyonlodges.com/dining-419.html.

Maswik Lodge is one of several options for those who wish to stay inside the Grand Canyon National Park. Located approximately a quarter mile from the south rim village area, we thoroughly enjoyed being this close in, and yet not right in the hub of the village activity.

Maswik Lodge (south) is comprised of a cluster of six two-story buildings with approximately 16 rooms each. We were in building two, unit 6616 which was a lower level, parking side room. It was pretty much your standard motel type room with the features you would expect. Our room had two queen beds, a sitting place with a small round table and two chairs and a decent television (although there was no cable - just the main network stations). The bathroom was adequate and stocked with a nice assortment of toiletries.

In the room there was also a small dorm sized refrigerator and a four cup coffee maker complete with all the stuff to get you going in the morning. I was especially impressed with the choice of Bigalow teas.

The Maswik Lodge area also offers guests a central building that is the location for registration. In that building there was a nice gift shop and a cafeteria style restaurant that was open for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacking in between.

If you stay here, the lodge is on the GCNP shuttle bus system, the "Village Line" which connects all of the lodging locations, restaurants, the visitors' center and the connecting points to the two bus lines that go to viewing areas of the Grand Canyon only accessible via the shuttle buses. I must say that the bus system is a nice feature that allows visitors to the park to leave their cars and let someone else do the driving, making your visit less cluttered with cars and other motorized vehicles.

I booked our lodging at Maswik months ago via their online system. With a prepaid reservation our room for two was $95 including all taxes. Please be aware, this does not include admission to the park, which is $25 per car. You should also be prepared to pay higher fees "in season" and during holidays.

Other lodging options inside the park include two right on the rim (El Tovar and Bright Angel) and another off-rim lodge (Yavapai). Yavapai Lodge is priced consistent with Maswik Lodge and the two on the rim are significantly more (as you would expect).

The Grand Canyon National Park has contracted to an outside vendor to handle all in-park services including housing. Xanterra is the concessionaire at Grand Canyon and they seem to do a very good job. More information, including making on-line reservations can be found at: http://www.grandcanyonlodges.com/.