Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - trip report for Grand Canyon, etc.

First thank you to all who post on this site and those who answered my questions. My husband and I flew to Phoenix on September 21 and returned home to NY on October 9.

We stayed overnight at the Hampton Inn, Phoenix Airport North which was very convenient, clean, nice size room and good breakfast. The next morning we went to a nearby Target to pick up snacks, water, etc. for our trip. We drove to our first stop, Flagstaff, where we stayed at the Little America Hotel. We had a lovely, large room and, most importantly, it was quiet. Since it was a very rainy day, we spent our afternoon at the Museum of Northern Arizona which was not too large but full of interesting and well-presented information. We also used free passes I had found on the web and took the tour of Lowell Observatory. This was an enjoyable and interesting way to spend some rainy hours. We walked around the historic district walking into various galleries and interesting shops. Our dinner at Josephine's was delicious. The portions were quite large and we could have done with sharing one appetizer but, since the food was so good, we managed to eat it all.

The next morning was beautiful. The lines at Macy's Coffee House were too long so we stopped at Starbucks and then got on the road to the Grand Canyon. I know many on this website are against them, but my husband really, really wanted to take a helicopter ride so we did the 50 minute tour with Maverick Helicopters. I have to admit that the tour was really exciting as it provided my first view ever of the Grand Canyon. Afterwards we grabbed a delicious sandwich at Jennifer's Bakery and Coffeehouse in a small shopping center on the right side of the road as you drive toward the Canyon.

Our room at El Tovar was not ready yet so we parked the car in a little lot behind Vandkamp's which you reach by driving up what looks like a driveway behind Vandkamps. There were always spots there when the rest of the main lot in front of El Tovar was filled. We took the shuttle out to Yavapai Point and walked back toward the Village along the paved Rim Trail stopping at each overlook and admiring the views all along the Rim Trail. It's an easy walk and the views are just amazing. We finally arrived back at El Tovar, checked into our room (no view, nice size but tiny bathroom and the walls between rooms were quite thin) and then drove our car to Yavapai Point to watch a beautiful sunset.

I had made dinner reservations for the El Tovar dining room as soon as they had become available (6 months ago, I think) but we were very disappointed. The food was expensive and not very tasty and, when our main courses arrived at the table cold, my husband sent them back. We ate breakfast at the hotel the next morning and the portions were huge and that meal was good. The second night we cancelled our El Tovar reservation and went to the Arizona Room. Since we arrived about 10 minutes before the end of the sunset, we only had to wait approximately 1/2 hour for a table. People who came in 15 minutes after us, had to wait 1 1/2 hours. The food was much less expensive than at El Tovar and, although not real high quality, it was tasty.

After breakfast the second day, we checked out the excellent high quality crafts at Hopi House, walked around Bright Angel Lodge, stopped at Lookout Studio and the observation area out back and Kolb Studio for an interesting photo exhibit. We hiked part way down the Bright Angel trail. You don't have to go too far to feel quite removed from the hubbub up on the rim. We saw a big horn sheep pass on the trail just below us which was quite exciting.

We wanted to see the overlooks along Hermit Road today. Unlike the east area, the Rim Trail on this side of the park is not paved and, often, we couldn't even find it. So, we started off walking from one overlook to the next by going along the road. That turned out to be pretty exhausting so we ended up taking the shuttle from one overlook to the next. We started with Powell Point since we thought that Trailview and Maricopa would be similar views to what we saw in the Village. Hopi Point was the best view on this side of the Canyon. We found most of the other overlooks to be disappointing or maybe we were just tired and "overlooked out." We watched a lovely sunset from the rim right outside of El Tovar.

The next morning we got coffee from the coffee bar at Bright Angel Lodge, checked out of our hotel and heading east out Desert View Drive stopping at the overlooks along the way out of the park. There were some beautiful views from many of these overlooks. We filled the car up at Desert View and headed out the east entrance. We stopped at the Little Colorado River Canyon Overlook but found it disappointing. We stopped at the Cameron Trading Post for lunch since we wanted to try the Navajo fry bread tacos. We drove north on US 89 through the Painted Desert turning onto 89A passing the Vermillion Cliffs stopping at the pull out on the left side of the highway for a beautiful view. At Jacob Lake we turned south on Highway 67 driving toward the North Rim. I had read recommendations for the East Rim Viewpoint which involved a 4 mile drive along a gravel road and then a walk out to the viewpoint. This was totally a waste of time and not worth the effort of driving there.

We were registered for a motel room in the Grand Canyon Lodge at the North Rim. Be aware that there are parking lots where you have to leave your car and then move your luggage to your room. You cannot drive right up to your room. The motel room was small, basic but clean and fine for one night although we had a problem with the toilet stuffing up every time we used it.

We walked out to Bright Angel Point for the sunset. The Point isn't very big so I was glad we got there early so my photography-loving husband could stake out the spot he wanted. You get a very different view of the Canyon from the North Rim and I'm very glad we went to both sides of the Canyon. I had made dinner reservations at the Lodge as soon as they had become available and dinner was ok. Nothing special but not terrible either. The dining room is a beautiful place. We were so glad we had flashlights with us because the walk back to our room was a bit dark and the flashlight made it much easier to walk safely.

The next morning, after breakfast at the Lodge, we checked out and drove to Point Imperial which was a beautiful view. We then drove the 23 mile Cape Royal Drive stopping at all the overlooks. Just one week before, the road had been closed intermittently because of a fire so we were thrilled to be able to drive out to the various overlooks. We also walked across the top of Angels Window Overlook which was an accomplishment for me since I don't deal well with heights.

We left the North Rim stopping to fill up the car at Jacob Lake. On the way to Page, we stopped at Navajo Bridge walking a bit out along the pedestrian bridge. We had reservations at the Lake Powell Resort. We were never told that, since the Resort is in the Glen Canyon Recreation Area, you have to pay $15 (good for 7 days) if you do not have the national park/recreation area pass. We had requested a room on an upper floor (there are only two floors) with a view in an upgraded building. Our room was very nice, small bathroom, nice view of the lake. I hadn't made dinner reservations for the evening we arrived and that was a mistake. The hotel gets a lot of tour groups and they filled up the restaurant until about 9:30PM. After a bit of a wait, we managed to get two seats at a shared table in the lounge where we ate mediocre sandwiches. We were just too tired to drive back to Page to find a restaurant. That is one drawback to the Resort since it is not very close to any place else.

The next day, thanks to information posted on this website, we went to see the best view of the Dam which is reach by taking Scenic View Road behind the Denny's off US 89. We then drove further out US 89 to the turn off for Horseshoe Bend. We parked in the lot and walked out along the rocky and sandy route (about 3/4 mile walk) to the edge of the cliff to see the horseshoe bend in the river. My fear of heights kept me from going too near the edge but others were lying down on their stomachs and inching close to the edge that way. It's an amazing view and worth the trip. We then went into Page to Colorado River Discovery to meet up with the 1PM float trip down the Colorado. This was a very enjoyable trip especially because the weather was delightful. I imagine in the summer when temperatures go over 100 degrees, it can get awfully hot on the raft. They provided water and beverages. I was glad we had lots of sunscreen, lightweight long pants, a hat, sunglasses and a light jacket for when the weather turned cool. We found it to be a very relaxing and enjoyable afternoon. After returning to Page by bus, we ate dinner at Bella Napoli which was surprisingly tasty.

The next day, we had coffee and muffins from the coffee bar at the Resort and went to Page to meet up with the 11:30AM photography tour of Antelope Slot Canyon that I had reserved with Antelope Canyon Tours. The tour lasted a total of 2 1/2 hours and I picked it to give my husband extra time to take pictures and because the departure time would put us in the Canyon at what is supposed to be prime time. Unfortunately, it was not a very sunny day so conditions for beautiful photos were not good. The drive out to the Canyon is in an open vehicle and very, very dusty. As others have suggested, you should have a bag to protect your camera on the drive to and from the Canyon. There is no way to protect your camera or yourself while at the Canyon and we and our camera ended up dusty after the time at the Canyon. Part of me wishes we had done another tour because our tour guide, although very friendly, didn't tell us anything about the Canyon. She gave the photographers some pointers about where to take photos. The best part of the tour was the amount of time we got to spend in the Canyon. Other tours came and went and there were times we were the only group there. This day made my husband come to the realization that he needs to upgrade his camera and his tripod to be able to take the photos he wants. I had thought that, if the weather was perfect, we would drive back on our own to see the Lower Canyon but we changed our plans since the conditions didn't warrant a trip back.

We headed back to our hotel to take the Antelope Canyon boat tour. I felt we should get out on Lake Powell and this boat tour was the only way we could do that. It was pretty much a waste of time and money. The layout of the boat is not conducive to being able to see the scenery. For those sitting outside upstairs, the bridge area of the boat blocks the whole view of what is in front of you. For those of us stuck inside downstairs, you can only see out the side windows or you can stand on a small outdoor platform at the back of the boat where you can see where you have been and you can breathe in all the diesel fumes. The whole trip was only 1 1/2 hours so you really didn't get to go far. I had made dinner reservations for the dining room at the Resort. Although we arrived early, we didn't get seated until at least 1/2 hour past the time of our reservation. The food was ok but the service was not particularly good. When my husband finished his appetizer, the busboy took my husband's plate and then stood next to our table watching me and waiting for me to finish my appetizer. We finally had to ask him to leave and come back when I was done. Other times, we couldn't find our waiter, water glasses were never refilled, etc.

The next morning we checked out, filled the car in Page and headed for Monument Valley. Because my husband has limited interest in pueblo ruins, we skipped Navajo National Monument and went straight to Goulding's Lodge where we had reservations for two nights. Originally I was only able to get a reservation for one of the nights I wanted but, based on advice on this board, I kept checking the website and, as soon as I noticed that the other date I wanted was available, I called and secured a reservation for that night also. Our room was comfortable, clean with a small bathroom. We headed over to the park paying our $5 entrance fee and hooked up with Tom Philips. Tom is known for his photography tours and I had arranged for a 4 hour tour starting at about 3PM. The day was incredibly windy and it felt like we were in a sandblaster. I felt so sorry for the people taking the tours which were in the open trucks. The passengers looked miserable and were protecting themselves anyway they could. We bought two bandanas at the Visitor's Center to cover our faces with when we were outside. Tom took us to a lot of areas we couldn't go to on our own and he told us many stories which made the afternoon a lot of fun. He felt that the blowing sand had prevented him from giving us the tour he wanted to so he didn't charge us the full price he had quoted me when I made the reservation.

We drove to Kayenta and had dinner at the Amigo Cafe. The food was ok and very inexpensive. Through the windows, we were able to watch the police use their vehicles to try to herd a group of horses which were running down the middle of the road. We were told to be very careful driving back to Gouldings along the highway because there are often horses, sheep or goats in the middle of the road.

The next day we had an all-day private tour with Richard of Simpson's Trailhandlers. I chose this company because of the many recommendations on this website and they were very good. Again, Richard took us places we could not have gone to without a guide. He gave my husband a lot of photographic pointers and we came home with some fabulous shots. We visited a weaver's hogan (they only ask for $1), Richard played his flute and sang for us and he shared so much information and so many stories. I'm so glad we did this tour. We broke the day into two parts. We went back to Goulding's for lunch (the veggie burger was fine) and then met up with Richard again at about 2PM. Our only disappointment is that we didn't get back to the Visitor's Center in time for the sunset. At this time of the year, apparently that is the best place to get sunset photos. But my husband didn't mind very much because we got so many wonderful late day shots out in the park. We had salads with chicken strips at Goulding's for dinner, checked out the gift shop and the museum and went to bed.

The next morning we checked out, stopped to looked at the Navajo Code Talkers exhibit at the Burger King and then drove to Canyon De Chelly. We checked into the Holiday Inn which is very close to the monument. We had a nice size and comfortable room. We drove the North and South Rim Drives. On the North Rim Drive, Lodge Ruin Overlook is closed because of problems with cars being broken into and other petty crime. For Canyon de Chelly you need binoculars in order to get a good view of the ruins from the rim drives. The weather was very threatening by the time we finished both drives so we headed back to the hotel. There really is very little choice in terms of food in Chinle so we ate at Garcia's in the Holiday Inn. We had fajitas and it was merely ok.

The breakfast at Garcia's was a rip off. They charge $7.95/person with juice extra. The eggs on the buffet tasted powdered. We had some cold cereal and a small yogurt for our $7.95. I had set up a full day private jeep tour with de Chelly tours and we met up with our driver, Don, at the Visitor's Center. I was very glad we did a tour because everything looks so different when you are down in the Canyon. I was also glad we set up the full day tour because it took up to 1 1/4 hours to get to some areas of the Canyon and we would have missed some beautiful and interesting sites if we did only the 1/2 day tour. Don grew up in the Canyon and he shared stories and information with us. That night we decided to pick up sandwiches at Subway for dinner.

The next day we checked out and started on our trip to Sedona. We headed south on 191 to 264 and stopped at the Hubbell Trading Post. The people there were so warm and friendly and spent a lot of time telling us about the history of the Trading Post. We bought two small sand pictures and my husband bought a hat. We then drove on to Petrified Forest National Park. I was surprised at how much hotter it was here. We started at the Painted Desert Visitor's Center and stopped at all the overlooks in the Painted Desert section of the park including the Painted Desert Inn which is worth a stop to see the beautiful murals and the interior painted skylight. We continued south into the petrified forest section of the park. The Blue Mesa area was very interesting but we did not hike the trail. We walked along the Giant Logs Trail near the Rainbow Forest Museum. We wanted to have a bite of lunch but power was out in that section of the park so we just snacked some cereal we had in the car and got back on the road.

We took 89A through Oak Creek Canyon towards Sedona. We stopped first at the Vista where there is a Native American market. From the Vista you get a good view of the road as it winds down through the Canyon. We stopped at Garland's to look at the beautiful jewelry and other crafts. We stopped at a few overlooks including Midgely Bridge. The weather was threatening and my husband was getting tired so we headed right for the Enchantment Resort where we were staying for the next five nights. The Enchantment is off in Boynton Canyon which is on the opposite side of a mountain from the rest of Sedona. That explains why there is pretty much no cell phone reception at the Resort. My husband was a bit annoyed because they also couldn't get our internet access working in our room. Naturally, this was the place where my husband ended up having to be part of a business conference call and having cell service and internet service would have made that much simpler for him. The resort is set up with a main building with the front desk, restaurants, concierge, etc. The rooms are spread out over the property and we were as far from the main building as you could be. But that wasn't a problem. We just drove over when we needed to. Our room was lovely with two televisions (so far we hadn't turned a tv on the entire trip), a very, very large bathroom and a sitting area. My only complaint is that it was so hard to get soap to suds (I think that means the water was hard), that I never felt clean the entire time we were there.

We had dinner that night in the Yavapai Room of the hotel. The food was very good but the service was not as professional as it should have been considering the prices they charge. We had to keep asking for more water, for utensils, for more bread. We had a very good breakfast there the next day (after drinking the complimentary orange juice which was delivered to our room with the newspaper each mornining) and then the service was fine.

Our second day dawned with rain despite being a desert in the middle of a 12-year drought. The rain ended soon but the weather was very changeable all day. We purchased our Red Rock Pass from the hotel and decided to drive around Sedona. We went out to Crescent Moon Park to see the view of Cathedral Rock reflected in Oak Creek. Unfortunately, the lack of sun muted the view somewhat. But we walked along the Creek looking at the various rock towers that people build. We drove up to Airport Mesa for an interesting view over the entire town of Sedona. Then, while the weather was decent, we drove up Oak Creek Canyon to hike part of the West Fork Trail. We hiked up until the third time you have to cross the Creek. At that time, the wind was blowing and it was getting very overcast so we decided to turn back. Even going just as far as we did, it was an enjoyable walk. We drove out to the Chapel of the Holy Cross and were greeted with a double rainbow. That was very special. We drove along 179 parking at the Bell Rock Pathway parking area to enjoy the view. Then we drove back along 179 and up Schnebly Hill Road and parked in the lot just before the road turns to gravel. We were there for a gorgeous sunset. We had a fish dinner that evening at Shugrue's Hillside Grill. It's a pretty restaurant and, when it's light out, there are beautiful views. The food was ok.

One thing my husband has always wanted to do is go up in a hot air balloon. I had made reservations to ride in one in Sedona but they had to cancel because it was too windy. We were very disappointed. Instead we had went into Sedona and walked around looking at some of the shops. Then we had breakfast at the Wildflower Bread Company which was very good. We did the Doe Mountain hike which is located not far from our hotel. The trail is pretty much a climb upwards until you get to the top of the mesa. We enjoyed the climb and the view from the top was lovely. Based on some recommendations on this website, I had made reservations for the Broken Arrow Jeep Tour with Pink Jeep. The tour was fun although the strong winds made it difficult to walk around when we reached the two stops on the tour. Also, although our driver was pleasant, he was a bit dull and it sounded like the other drivers were livelier and funnier. But we had two other couples in our jeep who were very nice so we enjoyed ourselves. I had made reservations in the Silver Saddle room of the Cowboy Club before we left home and I'm glad I did because the restaurant was turning people away who arrived without reservations. We had the cactus fries (which we shared as an appetizer) and the buffalo flank steak and buffalo filet and they were very good. Excellent service and very tasty food.

Saturday I had made reservations for the Verde Canyon Railroad. For us, this was the one mistake of the trip. Most people on this website and in the guidebooks seem to really like this trip. We found it to be very boring with ordinary scenery. It's a four hour trip total. Most people in our car spent the two hour ride back either sleeping or talking with the other people they were with. My husband spent the time listening to his i-pod and I read a book. We didn't see the appeal of this train trip but, obviously, many others do. On the way out to the train depot, we stopped at Tuzigoot National Monument which is just some partly-preserved rock walls a few feet high. It's not really worth a stop unless it's on your way somewhere. When we returned to the Enchantment, we wanted to participate in the stargazing program. Unfortunately, so did about 30 other people. They set the telescopes up on the parking lot so we were often getting lights in our eyes from cars entering or leaving the lot. We finally gave up and went back to our room. An article in the New York Times has mentioned Evening Sky Tours (928-203-0006) and we called and were able to get a reservation for their star gazing program the next evening.

Sunday morning we did the Boynton Canyon Vista hike which was right behind our hotel. I chose this based on Myer's recommendation and it was great. It's not a long hike but the views are wonderful. It was our favorite hike in Sedona. After a late breakfast at our hotel, we drove down to Jerome. I'm glad we got there early because parking can be a real problem as the town fills up with visitors. We walked in and out of the various shops and up and down the hilly streets. It was a perfect place to spend a few hours. Stargazing with Evening Sky Tours was great. We got a call to meet them at the Fay Canyon Trail parking lot. They had chairs and blankets for us. There were only 10 of us so we got to see 8-10 celestial objects. Our guide was a former NASA scientist and he was knowledgeable and funny. It was a great time and a wonderful way to end our trip.

The next day we had to go to Scottsdale for my husband's business and the home. All in all, a very enjoyable trip.