Standing on the rim of the Grand Canyon is a very humbling experience. This was my third visit to one of the most popular national parks in the country and I was alternately thankful I made the trip and wishing I had stayed closer to Sedona.
The drive to Grand Canyon National Park takes about two hours from Sedona. I drove up through Oak Creek Canyon to Flagstaff and then north to Cameron before entering the park’s east entrance. For breakfast, I had prickly pear stuffed French toast at the Cameron Trading Post, another meal that was unmemorable.
My first view of the Grand Canyon today came at the Desert View overlook where you can also climb the watchtower. There was what I would call “filtered sunshine” today and the lighting was pretty flat for most of the day. Still impressive, but not the cloud-dappled blue skies I had been dreaming of. I was again thankful that I brought my winter coat as the temperature didn’t get above 50 degrees while I was there and there was even snow on the ground!
I continued along the 25-mile Desert View Drive, stopping at a few viewpoints along the way, to Grand Canyon Village where I parked the car for a couple of hours. I took the obligatory pictures from Mather Point by the Visitor Center and then boarded a shuttle bus to the South Kaibab trailhead. The trail was pretty icy so I decided to skip hiking down into the canyon and instead walked the Rim Trail back to the Visitor Center and enjoyed near-constant views of the canyon along the way. That walk was my favorite part of the day. It was quiet, I saw a small herd of elk along the side of the trail, and I stopped to eat a snack on a rock overlooking the Grand Canyon.
After my walk, I hopped in the car again and headed out on Hermit Road, only accessible to cars during the off-season. I stopped at several more viewpoints, but honestly, once you’ve stopped at 10 different overlooks, they all start to blend together. I made it all the way to Hermit’s Rest at the end of the road and then turned around and started the journey back to Sedona.
It took about 2.5 hours to get back to Sedona because there was terrible traffic going through Flagstaff. I went directly to Oak Creek Brewery and had a barbecue chicken pizza for dinner. I don’t regret making the drive to the Grand Canyon today, but it was a long day of driving and I’m ready to call it a night!
Traveling with Laura 