Day Tripping to the Canyon
- Lisa Tierney
- Jun 15, 2015
- 4 min read
In order to escape at least one day of guranteed alcohol poisoning in Las Vegas during my recent Bachelorette trip, I took a day trip to the Grand Canyon with two friends. Unfortunately, the night before our trip, we stayed out til after 2.30am, and had to meet our bus at 6.20am. Uggghhhhh. So much tired. Our bus picked us up from our hotel, New York, New York and made another two hotel pick ups before dropping us at a bus depot where we stocked up on breakfast pastries and coffee. Hopping back on the bus, I reclined back, settling in for the lonnnnng ride to the Canyon. Our bus driver, who's name was Frosty, came over the PA system and spoke for way too long. He had a voice like Peter Griffin and I kept hoping for something side splittingly hilarious to happen.....but it just never eventuated. As we reached Boulder City, just before the Hoover Dam, one of my friends realised a uni exam she was supposed to be taking the next day was in fact, scheduled for today....in less than 2 hours....and here she was, on a bus traveling through the middle of nowhere, Nevada. Ooops. Frosty pulled over to the nearest supermarket and my friend embarked on her own little adventure to get back to Las Vegas. We crossed the Hoover Dam overpass, but didn't stop. I know some of the tours do stop at the dam, but I wasn't really that keen to see a dam, so went with the dam-less option. After about 2 hours on the road, we had a comfort stop in God knows where. Then, another 1.5 hours or so and we we stopped at an old train station, converted into a restaurant, where we had a buffet lunch (included). It was tex mex style - quite tasty. It was perhaps another hour on the bus before we reached the Grand Canyon. The first gimpse of the canyon is something I don't think I'll ever forget. It's impressive....like, words can't explain it, impressive. It's expansive, colorful, dry, perfectly picturesque...and I can't stress this enough...just so, so, so vast. Just leaning against the wire railing and drinking it in for the first time was one of those WOW moments that gives you goosebumps. Dani and I didn't read the tourist brochure that we were given on the bus that mentioned how the Canyon was actually formed....so we started throwing about our own theories. I think we settled on it being the place where the big meteor that killed all the dinosours hit. Of course, a quick wikipedia search later told me it was just time. Eons, and eons of time. The tour included stops at two south rim lookouts, the first of which was Mathers Point. I may be biased, and I can't really compare, but I think this may be one of the best lookout spots at the Canyon, since you are able to see almost a whole quarter of the entire Grand Canyon. Mathers Point
(Photo Credit: Dani Delilo) Just being all pensive and deep dangling over the rim of the Canyon
(Photo Credit: Dani Delilo) Selfies at the Canyon with my Vaca....and my beautiful canyon wind swept hair
My Amazingly Photogenic Vaca, Dani
We were given a little over an hour at the first look out, which was plenty of time to wander around and take it all in. There is an option to walk to the second look out, which would be a great walk along the Canyon rim trail, and only 2.3 miles, but given the heat and my lack of decent walking shoes, we opted for the bus to the second look out - Bright Angel Point. There's a little more in the way of amenities at this lookout, as it's more of an actual village, which is why we were given more time here (maybe 1.5 hours?). The main lodge has a large gift shop, a bar, cafeteria, restaurant and visitors center. If you walk a little way down the path there is also a gorgeous little stone building called the Lookout Studio, which has another gift shop and another breathtaking view from. The building itself was under a lot of repair when we were there, but from the picture postcards, it's even more beautiful. Bright Angel Point
I lived in Canada for almost 2 years, and the first moose I see in the wild is in Arizona!
We hopped back on the bus after having our fill of the Canyon and drove for quite a few hours, finally stopping somewhere in Arizona at a Carls Junior (be still my burger clogged arteries). Can you believe this is a menu item? This is why you are fat, America! You don't put hot dogs and chips on a burger that already has one third of a pound of meat on it!
Finally, just before 10pm we arrived back at our hotel....where a loooong nights sleep for myself was waiting. Not so much for our hen, but that's another story! If you're heading to Vegas and keen on following in my footsteps....we went with these guys: http://www.grandcanyontourcompany.com/bussouth.html $80 inc tax - it's the cheapest day you'll have in Vegas!
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