Arizona and the Grand Canyon
My first trip to the Grand Canyon, and I am being serious. Somehow I missed that quintessential family vacation growing up, and then just never made the visit a priority. I've been told it's the second most visited National Park in the US, just after the Smokey Mountains (visited that last year!). It's about as touristy as you'd ever expect, but the scenery is an absolute must see.
Frankly, it was also my first visit to Arizona. I'm going to say this State exceeded my expectations in natural beauty and lack of strip mall factor. Stereotypically, cactus everywhere around Pheonix. As far as the rest of the scenery, I actually had no idea how much of the State consisted of High Plain Desert. I somehow thought that the Grand Canyon trip would be the result of needing to climb up a mountain range. In reality, the Grand Canyon is part of the elevated plain that had a river carve a very deep path.
It worked out that the trip was going to happen in January. The good news is...there are very few tourists. Therefore, the hotel that generally sells out months in advance, the El Tovar, is available. There is elbow room at the ridge of the canyon. The down side..it's cold, and it can snow. The fog and clouds can also drift over the canyon and obstruct the view, the whole point in being there. We lucked out and had a clear enough day for two days in a row that we got to see the canyon in its full glory.
I elected to book a 'tour' through the Grand Canyon Railway. (See www.thetrain.com). The Tour included one night in Willams and one night in the Park. It was convenient, and one night in the park was enough. The Wild West show was cute, although cheesy. The teenagers did have a few eyerolling moments along the route with the entertainment, but it is always comfortable traveling on a train with space where you can walk about for the two hour trip.
IMPRESSIONS: Making the Grand Canyon a destination is completely worth the trip. I'd weigh crowds versus weather in deciding when to go.
Personally, I'd like it a little warmer, then I'd spend many hours walking along the rim. We drove through Sedona, and I would most definitely like to
r eturn and explore that area a little longer.