Travelogue. Grand Canyon. 2007

Interesting Facts:
Starting City: Phoenix (1100ft elevation)
Ending City: Grand Canyon (Tusayan, 6600ft elevation)

My parents and my sister were all joining me in Phoenix this December. So it was the perfect time to plan on some short trip. The first one in the list was a 2 day trip to the Grand Canyon. I had already taken my parents to that place on their last visit here. But that was during the summer, and in winter, you get to see the canyon covered in snow. Plus my sister is visiting here for the first time, and when you come to Arizona, its a "must" that you see the Grand Canyon.

So we left Phoenix at 10am on Dec 20th. Since it was just the 4 of us, I decided to drive. Grand Canyon is about 3.5 hours from Phoenix (210 miles), and you drive via Flagstaff and Williams. I had recorded quiet a few hindi and tamil songs the previous day. So we had plenty of entertainment in the car. Plus once Archana(my sister) starts talking, thats plenty entertainment right there.

One of the interesting aspects of the drive is the change in scenery and vegetation. You go from 1100ft in elevation to around 6600 ft by the time you reach the Grand Canyon. And you can see the vegetation change from shrubs & Saguaro cactus to small trees & bushes to large pine trees and thick forests as you go to northern Arizona.

By the time we reached Flagstaff, the weather had gotten considerably cooler. And we started to see snow on the road sides. Just few patches at first, but as we got closer to Flagstaff, there was snow all around. This was the first time my mom was seeing snow, and she was absolutely thrilled to see it. It had always been her dream to see snow and play in it. And now seeing the whiteness all around her, you could see the excitement in her face.

We too a lot of pictures of the scenery and snow covered roads all along. Past Flagstaff, we decided to stop at a rest area for a while. This place was covered with snow, and it was a perfect opportunity for us(to do what?). We all brought out our jackets and gloves and mufflers as it was quiet chilly. Amma then got out of the car and started playing in the snow. We started mini snow fights.

Rest area.
- Lunch, sandwiches.
- Snow fights. First taste of snow.
- White and powdery. Beautiful.
- Lots of pictures and videos.
- Peaks covered with snow in backdrop.
- Remembered the wide open field where I stopped on my last winter trip to canyon (in 2001). Pointed it out to others. Unfortunately there was no snow.

Reached GC at around 2:30 pm.
Much less snow than in flagstaff. Initially disappointed.
Checked in hotel, took a brief rest and then headed to the GCNP (Grand Canyon National Park).
Reached canyon around 4pm. First went to Mather point.
Canyon was beautiful as always. No matter how many times you see it. Always takes your breath away.
It was a beautiful day to see and photograph the canyon. There was light cloud cover, but the canyon was clearly visible. The rims were covered with snow. And the interior of the canyon was bathed in sun light displaying various colors.
they say the best time to see the canyon is during sun rise & sun set as the angle of the light throws in some shadows and also shows the canyon in different colors. It was breath taking, and we took some really good photos. And on top of the canyon where we were, it was all covered with snow.

It was pretty cold up there, and despite the multi-layered clothing, the cold was seeping in and were numbing out fingers and bones. But the view and the snow was worth the cold.


After Mather point, we drove a little further and went to Yavapai point. This is where they have a small observatory with some history of the canyon. They show the different rocks that form the canyon, and how it was formed etc. It is also a great place to view the canyon as it provides with lot of photo opportunity. Along with the canyon, we also took pictures of some snowmen. :)

After sunset, we decided to stop by the IMAX theater. There they play a 30 mins presentation called the hidden secrets of the Grand Canyon, and its worth a watch. It has some pretty exciting moments.

After the IMAX movie, we had some dinner from the restaurant nearby ad then headed back to hotel. We were all pretty tired after the long day, and we had to wake up early to go catch sunrise at the canyon tomorrow. I wanted to go to bed early, but then Amma and Archana had other plans. They forced me to play scrabble with them. Now thats a game I hate, but I still managed to win (quiet comfortably infact). After that we all hit the bed,

Next day morning when we woke up and peeked outside the window, we realized that it had snowed at night. The hotel driveway, and all the cars were covered with snow. Even the main roads were covered with snow and they were being cleared by a snowplow. We quickly got ready and got a light breakfast at the hotel. Then we headed out. My first job was to clear the snow from the wind shields and glasses. I always say its fun to go to a snowy place for vacation, but its such a pain to live in such a place. Imagine shoveling snow everyday. Too much time and energy for such a boring task.

Once that was taken care of, we headed back to the canyon. Sunrise was supposed to be at 7:30am. We first went back to Mather point. Just in time for sunrise. We took a few pictures, and we could see the canyon color changing beautifully as the sun started rising. From darkness, we could see different shades of red and brown as the canyon walls were bathed in sun light. The air was bone chilling, but we still hung in there for few snaps. We also took lots of snaps of the snow covered rims.

From Mather point, we headed next to Yavapai point, and saw different section of the canyon, and different angles. It was again a beautiful day for taking pictures and viewing the canyon. No clouds and it was just bright and beautiful. Lots more pictures followed along with some videos. We also played for a while in the snow. By now, it was almost 9am. We decided to head back to the hotel so we can finish our breakfast. Then we can complete our checkout, and return to the Canyon. On the way back, we spotted a herd of deer and spent some time taking pictures. Wildlife photography is pretty hard as they don't really pose as we want them to. :)

After breakfast and checkout, we drove back to the canyon. This time, we decided to drive till the very end of the canyon. We drove all the way to Hermits Rest, which is the end road trail. We also stopped at various other vista points on the way. In between, we also stopped by for some snow time. We all got into ankle deep snow, tried to make snowman and snow angles, and had some snow ball fights. We all got pretty wet and cold, but it was super fun.

So finally around 2pm, we decided to wind up our trip and head back home. So we said goodbye to the Canyon. Took some final snaps at the entrance of Grand Canyon National Park, and started out drive back home.

We stopped by at Flagstaff for a quick lunch. And our next stop was Phoenix.

Overall it was a really fun trip. Lots of snow, and some great views of the Canyon., In my many trips to the Grand Canyon, this was the best view I have got. The weather was excellent, and it was always sunny and bright.

In 2 days, we are going to Las Vegas for our next road trip. Stay tuned for another update. :)