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| View from Red Rock State Park |
One of my stops on my tour of American monuments and attractions (this is an ongoing tour that happens in increments in case you didn't know) was the Grand Canyon. Living in Boston, I try to escape to warmer climates in the winter and what could be warmer than the desert, right? Wrong... unbeknownst to me, the Grand Canyon gets snow in the winter too! Especially when you get visit over MLK Jr Day weekend the middle of January.
My long weekend started out as planned flying into Phoenix and sunny warm weather. Since it was already late, I stayed overnight near the airport at the
Aloft hotel. I've stayed at several Aloft hotels and I really like this chain a lot. It is very minimalistic chic. My only gripe is that they need better pillows. Sometimes you have to sacrifice style for comfort, right? The next morning, I started my day with a Southwestern style breakfast at
Bill Johnson's Big Apple Restaurant. I know it sounds corny, but that's because it was! I loved the kitschy southwest decor and the food was absolutely delicious. After breakfast, I drove up to Sedona with my top down (it was January!!) in my rented convertible.
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| View from Airport Mesa Vortex Site |
Sedona is gorgeous! I almost wish I stayed there the whole time and didn't go to the Grand Canyon. I don't think I've been anywhere quite like this. The beautiful burnt red rocks completely contrast the blue sky leaving you in awe. In addition to the incredible views, the entire town seemed very mellow and welcoming. When I mentioned this to one of the locals, she informed me it was because of all the positive spiritual activity in the area. I only had a day, but I did manage to get some hiking in at the
Red Rock State Park and the Airport Mesa vortex site. Both are must-do's if you are in the area! There are some impressive rock formations that can be seen from both locations. If you don't know what a vortex site is (neither did I before this trip), look it up online. Basically it's an area that has a heavy concentration of positive or negative spirits. I didn't feel anything supernatural when I visited, but there were people, both locals and tourists, everywhere walking around with crystals trying to attract energy. It was very interesting to hear about! Before driving on to the Grand Canyon, I stopped at
Tlaquepaque Arts and Crafts Village for lunch and some shopping. The shops were expensive, but just walking around and looking at
everything is a lot of fun. You won't find your typical keychains and
magnets there, but as a trade off, you won't find crazy tourist crowds
either.
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| From from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon at Sunrise |
I took the Oak Creek Canyon road north to the Grand Canyon National Park. This road is very windy and not the faint of heart. If you can do it, you will be rewarded with some really nice views. Eventually the top on the convertible had to come back up because it started getting pretty cold out after some time on the road. Entrance to the national park is $25/car, but they do have a couple free days each year. I'm pretty sure most people actually stay in hotels outside of the park. There is only one company that has lodging within the park itself, Xanterra. This company actually has a monopoly on lodging at most state parks... I have to imagine they have some kind of contract with the government. Prior to actually visiting the area, I had a grand idea of staying in a cabin the park. After some research and the limitations of finding lodging in the winter, I was booked for two nights in the Bright Angel Lodges. From the outside, they look like adorable little cabins literally steps away from the rim. From the inside, they are pretty much that. Very basic lodging with minimal ammenities. In heinsight, maybe the El Tover hotel next door might have been more my style. As far as location though, it was unbeatable.
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| Trekking through the forest on my mule |
I arrived after dark, so I didn't get my first glimpse of the canyon until sunrise the next day. It's actually very hard to put a description of the canyon into words. Even looking down, you don't really get a feel for how deep it actually is. It was much easier for me to grasp the height of the rock towers is Sedona. I had a very similar experience actually when I climbed Mt. Sinai in Egypt. Looking over the range, my mind couldn't really understand how far it went. Maybe I am just odd, but I guess I get a bigger sense of wonder looking up than looking down. That said, it was still incredible! I was scheduled for an earlier morning Abyss Overlook Mule Ride along the rim. There are a couple of options to mule rides, but the one into the canyon took much longer and I just didn't have the time to do it. Maybe next time! I arrived on time for a quick safetly briefing and was saddled up with a souvenir canteen at my side in no time. The mules were pretty entertaining and the group rode out to a great lookout point, Abyss Overlook, where our guide took lots of pictures for us. It was a lot of fun and I highly recommend this activity. After the ride, I had some time to drive out along the canyon rim to the other scenic lookout points including Hermit's Rest. That night I had dinner in the El Tovar Dining Room. Initially I was a little annoyed that I wasn't seated by a window even though I had a standing reservation for a long time, but eventually I decided it was better to be by the fireplace because it was already dark and I couldn't see anything outside anyways. Dinner was delicious (especially my buffalo steak), definitely 4 star quality with an extensive and impressive wine list.
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| At Hermit's Rest overlook on the South Rim |
The next morning I woke up to a massive snow storm, so I ended up leaving the park early and driving, very slowly, back to Phoenix. By the time I got near the airport, I was starving. Fortunately, there was an Arriba Mexican Grill that I'm pretty sure I owe my life to. I had the most delicious enchilada... yumm, perfect last stop before heading home.
For more in depth reviews on restaurants, activities, and places I went while on this trip, check out my Yelp account.
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