Grand Canyon South Rim

Early departure from Vegas (deserving of its own story in a later blog) and on to Route 66. We decided to start with a scenic drive through the desert and stopped at a few road side cafes. One of them in Hackberry, was full of memorabilia and stuffed dummies.


It was a long 4 ½ hour drive from Las Vegas and we were keen to get to the Canyon for a walk. We were not disappointed.

We were in awe from the moment we saw the Grand Canyon.

It is steep sided, with sheer rock faces, and huge chasms.

It is 277 miles long, up to 18 miles wide and 1,827meters deep. Makes you feel quite small.

On the South Rim we are at an altitude of 2072m. (Ben Lomond in Queenstown is 1748m Ben Nevis in UK is 1345m, The Blue Mountains in NSW Australia are only just over 1000m)

It changes colour during the day, the colours are most vivid at sunset and sunrise. The colours changed in front of our eyes from gold to pink to red to blue and green haze (as the sun disappeared)

Waking early due to jet lag and a 3 hour time difference with New York, we got up for sunrise at 05:25; it was special.
From green/blue, the canyon changed to a gorgeous orange as the sun came up.

The rocks here date from 4,500 million years ago.

The earliest evidence of people on earth is 1.8million years ago. Our lifespan is  just a blip on this landscape.

The park includes a Geology museum as the rock formations in the Canyon are some of the oldest found on earth.

We stepped out of our lodge perched on the edge of the canyon and walked a few meters to an incredible canyon view. The panorama seemed endless and we found ourselves mesmerized just staring into the vast spaces.

We had to take it easy due to the altitude. It is possible to get altitude sickness if we rushed around (even though walking slowly is a challenge for Sarah) so we had to read every sign and stop frequently.

We walked East along the Rim trail on the first afternoon, being wowed by the views.

A mule deer (named because it ears are like that of a mule) ran out of the bushes close to us.

We spent most of one day walking the rest of the Rim trail (8 miles) to Hermit point, past scenic outcrops, and endless views.

Other animals we spotted included a very small lizard

and a peregrine falcon riding the thermals.

I enjoyed the wind sculptured trees on the rim, also the Spring flowers and Cactus.

We thoroughly enjoyed the Grand Canyon South, probably because we were lucky with the weather (hot enough, mostly clear skies) and we managed to avoid the throng of tourists when we visited. Best to be here early in the year.

Other useful tips:

• Stop before you get to the Park in Williams for groceries and fuel. We catered for breakfast and snack and ate in the restaurants. This is a cheaper option, more variety and healthier than in the Village.

• We bought an annual pass to the US National Parks at $80 (as we intend to visit many national parks on this trip)

• Parking was a nightmare even in May, but still possible. Later in the year we were warned that you have to park outside the Park and get a shuttle bus in. 

• Eating in the restaurants is o, nothing special but it is expensive. You need to book El Torvar; all other are walk in.