Well, what a beautiful day! Not in my normal sense, which is nice and warm, but how can you argue with the beauty of the canyon. It was cloudy and rainy when we left, and I knew this little trip would cost me physically, but we needed a getaway, so off we went. Chris, David's business partner, had never been to the canyon, so we took him and Rachel up for a day trip.
I had never been there when it has been so snowy and foggy, so we couldn't see the bottom of the abyss, but it was still so amazing. We spent more time indoors, and went to the Hopi House, designed by a woman in the 1920's, I think. It's based on a traditional Hopi building, and is now used for a store that displays and sells Native American crafts. We also went to Verkamps, which is a mini-museum and store. Both are some of the older buildings there, and I hadn't been in them since high school. El Tovar lodge is still gorgeous, I'd love to stay there sometime. Less expensive in the winter, so maybe next year. I do better if I have a chance to lay down during the day, so that will be my excuse.
We had lunch there, and tried to see Julie Hutchin's mural at the Shrine of the Ages building, but it was locked. The nice thing about going this time of year is how uncrowded it was. There were a couple buses there, but not dozens, like usual in the summer. With the fog and spaciousness, it felt quite cozy. The road was pretty snowy on the way back, and we passed a nasty 3-4 car accident on the freeway outside of Flagstaff, but we reached home safely.
I haven't been able to walk much since we got home, but it was worth the down time, just to see the canyon in winter.
Showing posts with label Grand Canyon West. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Grand Canyon West. Show all posts
Monday, February 22, 2010
Saturday, May 23, 2009
May's almost over
It's been a couple weeks since I caught up this blog. A very busy few weeks, in fact. I'm just about finished editing the Haines book, now it's down to moving pictures into the positions I want them, tweaking the writing a little, etc. I spoke with Bill Johnson, the son of our Aunt Mamie. It was great, she actually talked to her kids about living in Texas and some of the family experiences, so that is all in the book!
Last week David and I went to Grand Canyon West with some friends, and spent at least half an hour out on the skywalk. They won't let you take a camera, but for a $99 dollar fee there are photographers that will take all the pictures you want, of the view, your group, etc. With 6 of us, it was a great deal, we all shared the pictures and have great memories of the day. There are other photo packages, but that one worked best for us.
It's pretty remote to get there, about 45 miles of good dirt road after you leave I-40, but it was certainly worth it to us. The skywalk is incredible, and the Hualapai tribe is working on further amenities. Right now it only has a couple food stands, 1-2 cafes and a restaurant, which is a bus ride from the Skywalk. But they have several helicopters right there, and for a fee you can fly over the Grand Canyon. They also offer pontoon rides on the Colorado River, but we didn't do the extra things, at least not this trip. It took us 6 hours to get there from Cottonwood/Sedona, and we didn't spend the night, so it was a full day with just the basics.
It is certainly not as touristy as the South rim, but that will change with time. There are already tour buses coming in droves from Las Vegas, but other than the gift shop/ticket sales building, it feels pretty uncluttered. We were told Meadview is the closest town, about an hour away, and I'm not sure what accomodations they have, since we came up Route 66 instead of around from Kingman. Kingman to Grand Canyon West has more paved road, we'll take that next time.
It is an expensive day, there is the cost of the Skywalk ticket, then a separate bus ticket to get there, but it does include a $12 meal voucher. The views, spectacular! To walk out onto the skywalk with only plexiglass between you and a 2000 or so foot drop, priceless. If you don't like heights, this may not be as appealing, but wow! It was cool.
Nic, Gina and I went to Jerome to shoot wedding invitation pictures, and they turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself. I think it's mostly because of the great camera David gave me for Mother's Day- a Canon Power shot. Great zoom abilities, and excellent quality pictures. We also had Dakota over the next day, she is growing so fast and is such a little doll.
May has been so busy! I spent the first week in New Hampshire, the next week at the Grand Canyon for a day, recovered for a couple days then started answering the phones for David for a little while. He was answering phones, to the tune of 20-30 calls per day, then scheduling all the guys, working on books, and going out to cooler calls himself. I think he met himself at the door a few times, so I'm doing what I can to help out a little. We celebrated Gina's birthday while she was here, and Nic's on Thursday. Mom is coming up this weekend, she wants to go to Boyd's grave for Memorial Day.
Last week David and I went to Grand Canyon West with some friends, and spent at least half an hour out on the skywalk. They won't let you take a camera, but for a $99 dollar fee there are photographers that will take all the pictures you want, of the view, your group, etc. With 6 of us, it was a great deal, we all shared the pictures and have great memories of the day. There are other photo packages, but that one worked best for us.
It's pretty remote to get there, about 45 miles of good dirt road after you leave I-40, but it was certainly worth it to us. The skywalk is incredible, and the Hualapai tribe is working on further amenities. Right now it only has a couple food stands, 1-2 cafes and a restaurant, which is a bus ride from the Skywalk. But they have several helicopters right there, and for a fee you can fly over the Grand Canyon. They also offer pontoon rides on the Colorado River, but we didn't do the extra things, at least not this trip. It took us 6 hours to get there from Cottonwood/Sedona, and we didn't spend the night, so it was a full day with just the basics.
It is certainly not as touristy as the South rim, but that will change with time. There are already tour buses coming in droves from Las Vegas, but other than the gift shop/ticket sales building, it feels pretty uncluttered. We were told Meadview is the closest town, about an hour away, and I'm not sure what accomodations they have, since we came up Route 66 instead of around from Kingman. Kingman to Grand Canyon West has more paved road, we'll take that next time.
It is an expensive day, there is the cost of the Skywalk ticket, then a separate bus ticket to get there, but it does include a $12 meal voucher. The views, spectacular! To walk out onto the skywalk with only plexiglass between you and a 2000 or so foot drop, priceless. If you don't like heights, this may not be as appealing, but wow! It was cool.
Nic, Gina and I went to Jerome to shoot wedding invitation pictures, and they turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself. I think it's mostly because of the great camera David gave me for Mother's Day- a Canon Power shot. Great zoom abilities, and excellent quality pictures. We also had Dakota over the next day, she is growing so fast and is such a little doll.
May has been so busy! I spent the first week in New Hampshire, the next week at the Grand Canyon for a day, recovered for a couple days then started answering the phones for David for a little while. He was answering phones, to the tune of 20-30 calls per day, then scheduling all the guys, working on books, and going out to cooler calls himself. I think he met himself at the door a few times, so I'm doing what I can to help out a little. We celebrated Gina's birthday while she was here, and Nic's on Thursday. Mom is coming up this weekend, she wants to go to Boyd's grave for Memorial Day.
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