Road Trip Day 4: Grand Canyon/Arizona

Today, we got up early to make our way to the Grand Canyon. The plan was to camp here, so we needed to get there at a reasonable time in order to get a camping spot. Since all of the reservation campgrounds were full months in advance, all that we could hope for was a first-come, first-serve camping spot, or we would be driving a couple hours up the road towards the next days destination, Zion National Park.

Me, taking a break in a tree during the south rim walk.

Jen standing on a corner in Winslow, AZ

During the drive down I-40, we drove to Winslow, Arizona. When I was younger and on a family trip, my dad stopped here to fill-up on gas, and made me stand on the corner while he took a picture. I had no idea why, I just knew that people were driving by and staring at me standing on this random corner, in a random town. What I learned, only minutes later and because of my mother’s attempt at singing “standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona” is part of a song by the Eagles titled “Take it Easy”. Since that time, I have always remembered that day vividly. To make a short story long…Jen and I stopped here and took pictures on the corner. It was an homage to my parents and the trips we used to take as a family. So, it was a quick stop, but a memorable one. We continued on to Flagstaff where we fueled up, grabbed a couple odds and ends from WalMart and headed to the Grand Canyon. 

View from the south rim

South Rim of the Grand Canyon

We arrived there around 2pm local time (apparently most of Arizona does not follow the daylight savings time rules, so we gained an hour on the way there). We drove up to the south rim and hiked the path that goes about 2.5 miles to another tourist point, taking pictures along the way. Because we had been in the car all day, we decided to hike it back as well, to get some exercise. We then drove (very quickly) to the only campground with room left on the east side of the park. We grabbed a camp site, ran to the picture view area on the east side of the canyon, where you can see the river really well, and then headed back for dinner and some rest.

South Rim

East End View

The endangered California Condor 

The drive took longer than we anticipated that day, but we got some exercise and had a nice camp spot. It was a fairly early night, but one we needed at that point.