Leaving Cortez, we deliberately picked Highway 163 so we could drive through the stunning Monument Valley once more.
Our drive also took us from Ute tribal lands, passed Hopi lands and across the Navejo Nation and into our sixth and final state – Arizona. We stopped for coffee at the Blue Coffee Pot and were surprised to be told ‘we were alright’ when we came to pay. Confused, we hovered, and a girl came over and said the coffee was on the house. Feeling surprised but a little uncomfortable we left money in the tip pot!
We stopped briefly at an overlook for the Little Colorado River …
… then continued to enter the Grand Canyyon NP at the East Entrance and take our first view of the canyon at Desert View.
We were totally amazed, nothing prepares you for the actual size, even other people saying how huge it is! Also, the way the light plays on the different angles of the rock and the colour is stunning, but none of the photos seems to do justice to its splendour.
The viewpoint was developed in 1912, and has a watchtower designed by Mary Colter, a young architect who designed several other buildings including the Bright Angel Lodge. She wanted to make a rest stop, with a view, that fitted into its surroundings and told visitors about the Indians of the South West, so it looks a bit like a tower from Mesa Verde or Hoveweep, decorated with petroglyphs and wall art and gives a huge view of the canyon.
We also stopped at Grandview, further down the canyon …
… took some pics then headed on to check in at Bright Angel Lodge.
We then went out to catch our first sunset in the canyon, and chose Yavapai Point so walked along the rim trail, watching the sun get lower as we went. The dark shadow increased in the canyon but a large part of the north rim was reddened by the by the setting sun.
We walked back and ate in the Harvey House Cafe where we had great build your own burgers, every ingredient a personal choice … yummy.
After breakfast, we started walking the rim trail from Bright Angel Lodge to Hermits Rest, in total 8 miles. We began at Hopi Point.
The first couple of miles were on paved path which was easy walking and quite busy.
Then it became a gravel trail for 3 miles which was far nicer with fewer people.
The views were huge, and changed slowly, the drop was precipitous in places, and the canyon contained every earthy hue imaginable. All the views points had names – Mohave Point …
The Abyss …
Monument Creek …
Despite following the rim, there was still a fair bit of up and down, and lots of stops for photos and before we knew it we’d been out for four hours and had had enough! At this point the trail became a paved path to share with bikes, so we took an executive decision to take the shuttle bus the last two stops to Hermits Rest for a cup of tea and a choc chip cookie, and were surprised there wasn’t a show-stopping view at the end!
On the bus back, feeling guilty for missing the overlook at Pima Point, we got off to take pictures before catching the next bus to the hotel.
After a short rest, we took the bus the other way to Yaki Point for sunset, which was lovely with some pretty cloud in the sky too. A veggie pizza and wine ended our evening beautifully … we should sleep well tonight!
Next day we started with a descent into the canyon down Bright Angel Trail …
… via Indian Garden to the Colorado after 9.5 miles and a descent of over 4,500ft …
Needless to say, we didn’t go that far, just about 1.5 miles down past the first tunnel …
… and the second tunnel which was still a descent of 500ft.
It may have been easier to go by donkey, but it looked a bit precarious …
lt gave a different perspective to be below the rim, but as the trail descends by switchbacks, the views remain much the same.
The trail still descended as we turned round and headed back up to the top. The return wasn’t as hard as we expected, but I bet it’s rather different when it’s hotter than 15 degrees.
We also hiked the last section of rim trail from Pipe Creek Vista …
to Yavapai Point, making around 10 miles along the rim in all. This included Mather Point …
… which had to be the most crowded part of the whole Grand Canyon, as daily coach and train tours deposit their visitors here in droves, and while the view was good, Desert View and Hopi Point were our favourites.
We have been surprised how green it is here, with scrubby trees and bushes along most of the rim …
… and impressed with how well the buildings fit in. This has been an aim at Grand Canyon since the Sante Fe Railway began bringing tourists in 1901 …
… and the Fred Harvey Company started developing the resort with ‘taste and charm’, with buildings often designed by Mary Colter including the Hopi House …
and The Kolb and Lookout Studios.
Obviously plenty of scope for critters etc … and we snapped these just for you!
Our last morning we woke early and went outside to see the sun rise, not maybe the best viewpoint, but certainly the closest, and a essential part of the Grand Canyon experience.
After breakfast we drive north for a little adventure …
We organised a stop here in Flagstaff to break the journey back to Vegas, but actually with the replan, we’ve only had an hour’s drive from Sedona. First we visited the Riordan Mansion, built in 1904 and an impressive reminder of gracious living in a small, territorial logging town. Built in the Arts and Crafts style, it has a rustic exterior of log-slab siding, volcanic stone arches, and hand-split wooden shingles and contains some forty rooms.
We are staying at the Weatherford Hotel, a historic hotel opened in 1900 and host to many famous people including Roosevelt, Wyatt Earp and the author Zane Grey who wrote loads of western stories, including ‘Call of the Canyon’ while actually guest. I’m up to chapter 4 and the hotel already has a mention! The bar was relocated here from Tombstone.
We ate in the hotel, and there was a band on in the bar and also a wedding in the Zane Grey Ballroom, so the place was lively, but we slept ok and are heading out, having finally had a short stack for breakfast!
Next stop is our final trail stop … Las Vegas!
We approached Sedona on the Scenic Byway 179 snd entered Coconino National Forest and stopped off at the visitor centre where we bumped into Smokey again and were told there were 89 trails to hike in the Sedona area … where to start … 2 days was obviously not going to be long enough!
Maybe it was only a matter of time, and we were lucky it hadn’t happened sooner to one of us … I turned an ankle! I hobbled a mile or so back to the car and after an evening of ICE, the swelling had reduced by the morning sufficiently for some sightseeing, if not hiking.
Lured by a giant chicken, we couldn’t resist a little retail therapy and happy snapping round the Son Silver West Gallery, a treasure trove of southwestern trinkets.
A few days ago, we didn’t know that the the Grand Canyon would be reopened, and the last part of our trip could actually go according to plan. We didn’t want to take the chance of Glen Canyon not being open to take a trip on the Colorado River on our wedding anniversary, or that we would be twiddling our thumbs instead of hiking South Rim of the Grand Canyon.
We couldn’t resist a stop at Goldfield Ghost Town, an old mining town, ‘Gateway to the Legendary Superstition Mountains’ for lunch and a couple of snaps, then returned to ZenYard and had a dip in the pool. In the evening we celebrated with cocktails and enchiladas at Ticoz Restaurant.
An unexpected bonus of visiting Phoenix is that we were able to visit Taliesin West, Frank Lloyd Wright’s winter home for not just his family, but also his business and architectural school, summers being spent in Wisconsin.
The original plan was to visit Mesa Verde NP, but it is too far from Cortez to even photograph the sign! Instead we had an early start and made our way to the Ute Mountain Tribal Park. A bit chilly here in Cortez, at some 6,200ft, and will probably be the coldest day of our trip. We had a nice chat on the bus with Faith and Nancy who come from Sante Fe and were staying next door to us in the motel.
We took a quick look at Four Corners Monument, as it was quite close, and is the only place in the USA where four states meet … Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico … so now our tally of visited states is up to 5!
Breakfast was at the Silver Bean, an Airstream which was bought from a pawn shop and converted 14 years ago into a coffee shop. The girls are known locally as The Bean Girls, and we had marvellous coffee and breakfast burritos.
Our Utah Trail began with a series on PBS called “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea” which made us want to visit for ourselves, to see the stunning scenery and the wilderness and hike some trails.
Off Travelling Together 