Grand Canyon – Car Full of Harmony

After hanging out at the North Rim for awhile, it was time to visit the most popular spots of the Grand Canyon. We drove in from the East entrance, and stopped at Grandview Point for the girls’ first glimpse of the view from the South. Hubby had let us out to get the views while he circled for a parking spot, as it was pretty busy. This spot has a nice lookout, and then stairs going down to a trail with a rock ledge to stand out on. It was the perfect first stop for the girls!

View from our spot sitting on the ledge off of the trail at Grandview Point

Next, we drove in to the Visitors Center area, which had changed A LOT from when I was here last – it looked like the park entrance of Disney World with all of the multiple lots and shuttle buses stops! I realize it’s been since 2008 since Hubby and I went, but whoa! Like all of the other parks we had been to on this trip, they had the Visitors Center stuff (maps, junior ranger badges, etc) all outside so no one had to enter a building due to Covid. After we picked up what we needed, we decided to go into Tusayan and check into our hotel/get dinner (some of us were getting hangry…).

After dinner, we went back into the park to check out Yaki Point. We were back to the Visitors Center area to walk out to Yaki Point. Surprisingly, there weren’t very many people around anymore. I think the fact that it was cloudy so there wasn’t going to be an epic sunset sent people packing early.

We continued around the rim for awhile, looking for even quieter spots to enjoy the canyon from. It was neat watching the light change, even without the sun being out. It was also nice having the canyon to ourselves from the spots we found.

A lovely spot we found to just sit on a rock and enjoy the blue hues coming out. I also found this little tree growing out of the rock very inspirational – if it can persevere and grow off the side of this rock, I can fight through anything, too!

After the lovely views, we walked back to the car to go back to the hotel for some swimming. While we were walking, we saw a deer super close to us. The funny thing was so many people were walking right by and didn’t even notice! They thought the only sights to see were the ones that happened at the viewpoints and overlooks!

The next morning, we got up and headed for some shopping first at the Market Plaza, as Wormy badly wanted a Night Sky book. We walked around the rim trail for a bit, and enjoyed watching the hikers down below in the canyon!

Next, it was off to take the shuttle to Hermits Rest. We had a driver who took her job very seriously – the girls still joke about her a little, as she would yell at people to get out of her way (so they would hear her…as I tried to explain to the girls), and she was very serious about everyone keeping their masks on while on the shuttle. She discouraged people from going all the way out to Hermits Rest because she said it would be hard to get a seat on the shuttle for the return trip and she always hated turning away families with small children in this heat. Hubby and I glanced nervously at each other, but decided to stick with our plan to go all the way out.

We got off at Hermits Rest and walked a distance past the building to get some beautiful views, while everyone who was on the shuttle with us stopped in the building. Once the crowd had passed, we went back into the building for some shopping and to buy the girls some fruit popsicles. They totally hit the spot, but the girls had to finish them before getting on the shuttle. The fruit popsicles were nice and thick, so it took them awhile!

When it was time to go, we did not have any problem getting a seat on the shuttle that was waiting, so we were relieved that the first bus driver’s prediction did not hold true for us. I think the girls really enjoyed the Grand Canyon, but really – what’s not to like???

View from Hermits Rest – the trail past the building

I have been to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon before, but never the North Rim. Since we were going to be going to so many hot and busy locations, I thought the cooler, less visited North Rim would be a great stop for us.

See? SOOO much cooler…only 90 degrees for the high! Hahahaha

After driving past a large herd of bison, we went directly to the Visitors Center to get our passport book stamped and get our Junior Ranger books. The views we were greeted with even in the parking lot were amazing! We took a long time walking back to our car from the Visitors Center because the lot follows the rim of the canyon.

“Hey – I’m walkin’ here.” I don’t know why I hear this in my head with a New York accent….

Because we were coming back again tomorrow morning for a lovely mule ride, we went to the farthest out point to get our Grand Canyon views. We drove the 23 miles out to Cape Royal. The scenic drive road ends at this point, and you can then do the 0.8 mile round trip hike to Cape Royal. It was amazing. We were the only ones at this stop (despite there being many other cars in the large parking lot). The views were amazing, the hike was super easy, and you really couldn’t ask for a better spot to enjoy the North Rim. In fact, one blog I read before we came here said there was a 270 degree view of the canyon around you, and I would have to agree with her assessment. You just don’t get that full immersion on the South Rim.

Just one of a thousand pictures I took of the view at Cape Royal!

Along this path, you can stop to walk out on the Angels Window, and there was another path that brought you to a rock perch without a railing. That view took my breath away. In fact, Hubby wasn’t keen on doing it. I went out to check it out and photograph the view, but it was so amazing, I helped the girls to come out and see it (they were seriously twitching at wanting to get out there to see it). The view was so great that I managed to coax Hubby out, too, and I think he thought it was worth overcoming his fear of heights for a brief bit. We didn’t get anywhere near the edge, but you didn’t need to be hanging off of this point to feel the canyon all the way around you. I’d share a picture from here, but the panorama picture I took doesn’t translate well in this blog.

We decided to head back to the hotel (which was a stage coach stop!), since we had to be up pretty early for our MULE RIDE in the morning. We got dinner at a Navajo Fry Taco truck in Jacobs Lake, and then headed back down.

The next morning, we drove back up to the North Rim, and said good morning to our buffalo friends again.

It was time for our mule ride. We checked in at the Grand Canyon Lodge and waited for our shuttle to take us to the trailhead. There was a hilarious man from Oklahoma who was going on the mule ride with his daughter. He kept talking about how Wormy and Squid were going to show him up on their mules. When we got off the shuttle, we arrived at the holding area for the mules. We got introduced to the mule we would be riding – the cowboys asked us how much horse riding experience we had and then paired us up with a mule appropriate for our level of skill. Wormy got a sweet little mule called Pumpkin, Squid’s was named Leslie, I got Bill, and I can’t remember what Hubby’s mule was named. It wasn’t long before we were off. For those reading this and trying to figure out whether it is a good idea for them, know that the mule does this thousands of times a year, and does it all without any help from you. Worry’s mule had a rope, and the lead cowboy held her rope the whole time, so no worries if you have little kids. They took great care of her.

The rules for mule riding were to keep your mule close to the one in front of you and not to let them snack. Well, I learned I stink at mule riding, because good ‘ole Bill was not in the mood to keep up with the tour. The funny Oklahoma guy was behind me, and I swear his mule was honking at me & Bill to get moving. However, I will say listening to Mr. Oklahoma’s southern accent made me feel like I was in a Wild West movie. Oh, and did I mention that Bill likes to snack more than I do?!? I didn’t know that was possible…it was like we were in the Mule Taco Bell line or something. Regardless of this, I may not have been the worst mule rider of the group, as there was another young girl on the tour with us who lost her shoe while riding her mule. I don’t know how that happens – Bill was snacking at the time while I begged him to follow the rules. We took the 1-hour mule trip, thinking this would be great for us first-timers, and it was perfect. Our butts were a little sore afterwards, but we had a lot of fun. We mainly went through the first area, but we definitely had glimpses of the canyon at a few stops as well. I had read about how people who take mules into the canyon sometimes get nervous because they feel like they will fall off the path or the mule, and we didn’t have much of that to worry about on our tour.

View from my mule, Bill (he’s probably snacking on tree bark while I took this)

After our mule ride, we were going to eat lunch at the Grand Canyon Lodge, as the views were awesome there (floor to ceiling windows facing the canyon), but they weren’t open until dinner. Instead we sat in the dining room and looked out, and then hiked out the path from the lodge patio that leads to Bright Angel Point. The North Rim was such a different experience from what I had experienced at the South Rim. I had read that only 10% of all people who visit the Grand Canyon make it to the North Rim. If you are ever able to do it, I highly recommend the North Rim – so relaxing and peaceful compared to its southern lay neighbor. I also read that to hike the North Rim to the South Rim, it is only 21 miles, but to drive it is 220 miles (4.5 hours, in case you are curious).

Tag: Grand Canyon

Grand Canyon South

Grand Canyon North Rim