Ripcord: Different stokes for different folks. We don't have to see every rock & pebble more of a highlight best of best makes an impression on us then move on to the next thing & there is always a next time per say maybe the north rim & the skywalk but kinda spendy to look at GC from skywalk but very cool consideration. Stay there a week if it floates your boat but not for me I would be bored looking at the huge hole in ground everyday for a week.
Phoenix, AZ.......Grand Cannon
- Thread starter scott_l
- Start date
My uncle took this trip a couple years ago and said it was one of the greatest experiences he ever had. Two hours? That's like going to the UP in February for 2 minutes!
Tour Southern Utah, the arm pit of the world, & the rest of AZ the same week & then tell me the GC needs more attention. The raft tour sounds like a really neat thing to do & worth while but looking at all the holes in the ground from above that the SW offers gets old quick. Would you stay in the Badlands of SD more than a drive thru? Did that too in same week also Mt Rushmore snapped a few pictures & kept moving xcountry. Black Hills plenty to do there & would go back but GC no way ...saw it & done.
Note that you typically have to make your reservations for the raft trips years in advance!
chords
Active member
- Mule Trip -
How aboutz a ride like the old days deep down in the Canyon. Their rider requirements are a little strict though and they will give a good goin' over prior to make sure you're within the limits :
- Each person gets weighed
- Height measured
- Must speak fluent English and will be checked for competency
- In good physical condition
- Riders must not be afraid of heights. The trails are literally carved out of the side of the canyon and the drops
are very steep. Our mules are sure-footed, but they tend to walk on the outside of the trail.
.
How aboutz a ride like the old days deep down in the Canyon. Their rider requirements are a little strict though and they will give a good goin' over prior to make sure you're within the limits :
- Each person gets weighed
- Height measured
- Must speak fluent English and will be checked for competency
- In good physical condition
- Riders must not be afraid of heights. The trails are literally carved out of the side of the canyon and the drops
are very steep. Our mules are sure-footed, but they tend to walk on the outside of the trail.
.
If you have time and are into stark landscapes, you actually should consider going into southern Utah as well. Bryce Canyon is truly spectacular with its' thousands of rock spires and bright coloration. Zion National Park is not very far from there, either, and has lots of trees, some mountain areas, and tree lined canyon type areas with some large rock formations scattered throughout. Also, some areas in southern Utah that you might drive through even on the small highways are extremely scenic with harsh, rugged, and almost sculptured hardscapes and shallow twisting canyons that at times seem almost otherworldly because of how stark they are. From what I remember, these were in the vicinity of US 89 as you go north out of AZ into southern Utah.
The overall Grand Canyon area took us to both the North rim and South rim (a long way apart compared to what you would think) over the course of about two days in the actual canyon area.
My wife and I have been to Bryce Canyon twice. You can see Bryce in a little less than a full day in that area. We went to Zion NP once and that took about a day also. We went to the Grand Canyon once.
We look forward to going back to Bryce Canyon again in the future. Don't misunderstand, we enjoyed seeing the Grand Canyon and won't forget it because it is so vast and so deep that it seems surreal, but we were just moved more by the overall beauty of Bryce Canyon.
anonomoose
New member
How about a ride like the old days deep down in the Canyon. Their rider requirements are a little strict though and they will give a good goin' over prior to make sure you're within the limits :
- Each person gets weighed
- Height measured
- Must speak fluent English and will be checked for competency
- In good physical condition
- Riders must not be afraid of heights. The trails are literally carved out of the side of the canyon and the drops
are very steep. Our mules are sure-footed, but they tend to walk on the outside of the trail.
.
Dang....too tall....guess I will have to pass....
Whitedust.....you make me laugh! Bet you could tour Europe and Africa in two days and be back home in time to watch a re-run of MASH! Younger generation....sheesh!
I remember my first glimpse of the big hole and I laughed when I thought afterwords about either making that trip or Disney!
Once you stand back and see this thing in person....you are changed for ever! This is one thing that pictures or movies just don't do justice to at all.
In truth you could spend a week there easy...and still not feel filled to the brim or (rim).
Nash...you old salamander....nice to see you can still get that ole heart beating good enough to smack the keyboard around and still keep the spelling on an even keel. Now what's all this talk bout pies.....you know darn well those things are off limits (officially....but wonder if they mail order too??? Hummm.....)
Yep moose I get bored easily & no grass grows under my feet but lots older than you think. Been traveling my entire life so seen a lot. Strange thing happpend I found I can sit my butt on FL beach all day long in hot sun & not get bored. Surf cast a little, sleep a little, hunt for shells & stare at the deep blue endlessly. Atlantic side only ...... Gulf side is boring.lol
anonomoose
New member
Yep moose I get bored easily & no grass grows under my feet but lots older than you think. Been traveling my entire life so seen a lot. Strange thing happpend I found I can sit my butt on FL beach all day long in hot sun & not get bored. Surf cast a little, sleep a little, hunt for shells & stare at the deep blue endlessly. Atlantic side only ...... Gulf side is boring.lol
Hummm....were you ever prescribed Ritalin??
Here's another vote for Bryce Canyon, and for a complete change of pace from the "typical" Arizona scene, in Cochise County, in the southeast corner of Arizona, both Chiricahua National Monument and perhaps to a lesser extent the nearby Cochise Stronghold. Also, (on the east side of the Chiricahua Mountains) the idyllic little town of Portal, AZ — a world away from the Arizona you thought you knew.
I find the unusual landforms of Bryce Canyon and Chiricahua National Monument to be not any less dramatic, but on a much more personal scale in comparison to the Grand Canyon, like comparing the national debt to my own financial situation. And the cool, lush green tranquility of Portal is an utterly refreshing change of pace from the blazing heat of the desert and the hectic pace and traffic of Phoenix.
I find the unusual landforms of Bryce Canyon and Chiricahua National Monument to be not any less dramatic, but on a much more personal scale in comparison to the Grand Canyon, like comparing the national debt to my own financial situation. And the cool, lush green tranquility of Portal is an utterly refreshing change of pace from the blazing heat of the desert and the hectic pace and traffic of Phoenix.
Southern Arizona
Incidentally, if you're anywhere near southern Arizona, here are a few more of my favorite sites:
Pima County Air Museum, near Tucson and Davis Monthan Air Force Base, where you can also arrange a tour of the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) also known as the "Boneyard" at DMAFB.
The Titan Missile Museum, near Green Valley, the only publicly accessible Titan II missile site in the nation.
The relatively new Kartchner Caverns State Park, on AZ-90 about 12 miles south of Benson, AZ.
Incidentally, if you're anywhere near southern Arizona, here are a few more of my favorite sites:
Pima County Air Museum, near Tucson and Davis Monthan Air Force Base, where you can also arrange a tour of the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) also known as the "Boneyard" at DMAFB.
The Titan Missile Museum, near Green Valley, the only publicly accessible Titan II missile site in the nation.
The relatively new Kartchner Caverns State Park, on AZ-90 about 12 miles south of Benson, AZ.
Last edited:
No uppers moose.
No way don't take drugs uppers like Ritalin would have me going 24/7. Gave me some kind of pain killer shots when I was in hospital & I got hyper instead of tired. Drove doctors & nurses nuts would not cooperate & rest like they advised just kept going & going non stop & cutting up. Turned their backs on me & I was either on phone are tooling around in wheelchair with wires & tubes running everywhere. They took me off that stuff ASAP thought I would bleed to death with activity but didn't seem to bother me on that stuff at the time.
No way don't take drugs uppers like Ritalin would have me going 24/7. Gave me some kind of pain killer shots when I was in hospital & I got hyper instead of tired. Drove doctors & nurses nuts would not cooperate & rest like they advised just kept going & going non stop & cutting up. Turned their backs on me & I was either on phone are tooling around in wheelchair with wires & tubes running everywhere. They took me off that stuff ASAP thought I would bleed to death with activity but didn't seem to bother me on that stuff at the time.
November we were in Phoenix and had the same idea but not enough time to make it happen. So the wife and I left the kids with the inlaws and headed northeast out of Phoenix towards the salt river canyon between Apache Junction and Show Low. Man for a day trip about 125 miles each way out of Phoenix it was beautiful and unanticiapated. Thouht it was going to be so so but ended up being a pretty cool ride. Lots of elevation changes and the scenery was beautiful. That canyon obviously doesn't hold a candle to the Grand Canyon (still on my bucket list) but of a day trip, awesome.
My oldest daughter rafted threw the canyon. It was job related, working with youngsters. Her pic's were awesome. She had a great time. I went four years ago. I grabbed a golf ball and a 3 iron and was gonna wack one out there, only to find out I would have got into some trouble and a big fine. But the canyon is beyond words or pictures, Have a good trip. I also 2nd anything frnish says.