The Grand Canyon

Some things in this world are big enough that you have to devote one whole day to them even if you'd like to spend more than one day- the Louvre, Paris, London, and now the Grand Canyon.

My dad flew into Flagstaff, AZ yesterday to finish the journey with us.

We had a quick lunch at the Black Bean- if you are ever in Flagstaff, AZ go there! Great burritos. After lunch we did the quick 87 miles to the Grand Canyon. The drive out there takes about 2 hours and winds it's way through the Kaibib National Forest and some pretty desolate areas. One of the constant themes we keep discussing is what do people do who live in these far away places? They must be living off the grid.

At any rate, we arrived at the Grand Canyon National Forest.

Pops decided  the only way to see the Grand Canyon was a helicopter ride so we headed for the tiny little Tusayan airport and mounted up.

To say that the sights were amazing doesn't do it justice. There are not words to describe this. I've lived in Orlando all my life and people come there and are amazed by Disney and Universal but they cannot hold a candle to the Grand Canyon. It is absolutely amazing that mother nature created something this breathtaking. It's breadth and depth can't be described and I wasn't prepared. It was just indescribable. 

The helicopter ride was 50 mins and it was amazing. If you ever come to the Grand Canyon spring for the helicopter ride. It is definitely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. 

After the helicopter ride we drove into the park to check out a few of the lookouts. Again, the majesty of the Grand Canyon took our breath away, that and being over 7000 feet above sea level. It was COLD and getting colder as the sun went down. 

There was so much untouched snow on the ground we couldn't get over it. It was as if all they did was plow it to clear the roads but no one dared to walk on it. Someone took the risk though and built a little snowman.

After we finished at the park we went back into Tusayan and had dinner at the Yippie-ei-o Steakhouse and settled in for the night.

It was a great trip and a much needed break from our usual 9-13 hour days in the car. It was nice to get out an experience something that we will likely not see again. 

Today we make the 12-13 hour drive to San Francisco, CA. It's going to be a long one but it is the last long drive of this trip so we'll power through it and with Pops in the mix we are able to split the driving responsibilities so that will make the trip easier. 

Total states: 1

Arizona

Miles driven: 87