Gretchen's Blog

You would think that going from the North Rim to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon would be no big deal, it’s only 10 miles apart as the crow flies …. wrong….. the trip is about 215 miles and 4 ½ hours. We broke up our trip stopping at the Vermillion cliffs, Wupatki National Monument and Sunset Crater. At the Indian Pueblo ruins we saw a brightly colored lizard which the rangers at the South Rim helped us identify later as a Collard Lizard; it was a male due to its bright green and turquoise coloring. Here’s one up close,
and one with A. in the foreground.

We spent the night in Flagstaff and the next day toured Walnut Canyon , Indian cliff dwellings.

After Flagstaff we headed to the Grand Canyon (lunch at an old trading post with a great gift shop, Margie and I liked that!) through the East Entrance and stopped at the Watch Tower, it looks really old but it was built around the turn of the century specifically to view the Grand Canyon.

A’s all time favorite thing to do was watch the Condors fly. We got to see about 8 in the sky at one time right from the rim trail.
So exciting.

More Pictures!



All of us at the El Tovar hotel lobby.


Our last stop was the Avi Casino in Laughlin, NV the same one we stayed at last year. It was as big a hit this year as last.

Happy Trails!

Labels: vacation

Grand Canyon North Rim

The North Rim definitely beats the South Rim for its natural beauty. Not because it’s more spectacular but because there’s a lot less people and the lodge and facilities overhang onto the Grand Canyon. It was spectacular to eat breakfast hanging over and looking out into the canyon. I’ll say it again, spectacular.

Here’s A. and I at Bright Angel Point. You can tell the wind is swift, check out my Lyle Lovett hairdo.

A. got to ride the mules with her Dad; it was a one hour trip. I would have loved to make the mule trip as well but there was only one thing standing in my way…. the scale… da da bum. Stole that one from the cookout entertainment, yes I’m desperate.

Labels: vacation

This is our second trip to the Grand Canyon but this time we headed for the North Rim along with the South Rim to complete our trip. The North Rim is waaaaaay out of the way but it was worth the extra effort. So who came with us on our trip? No way! Yes! A.’s dad and his wife Margie came with us. Although a little weird at times it worked out well and A. loved it.

A. Day One

We spent our first night in Las Vegas at the Orleans hotel because they have a kid’s area that A. absolutely loved and so did I because I could play some blackjack and craps (wink wink.) The Orleans is a little off the strip but not a small hotel. We took their shuttle to the strip and walked over to the Bellagio for their water show which ran every 15 minutes or so. It was amazing, beautiful and artistic which I have a hard time saying considering its well… Vegas.

The next morning after the complimentary Vegas style breakfast buffet, we headed for the North Rim via Utah and Zion national park. Zion was very cool. It’s now on our list of National Parks to explore. It took us a while but we made it to the North Rim and our Pioneer log cabins and Pioneer they were. At least there was a bathroom.

Labels: vacation