The Grand Canyon

If you've never been to the Grand Canyon, or you are thinking about going, I strongly suggest you take the time to visit the North Rim. The South Rim is the more visited of the two, and it has been commercialized much more so than the North Rim. Part of that is caused by proximity. the South Rim is an easy drive north from I-40 and Flagstaff, AZ with different routes to choose from. The North Rim, on the other hand, is nearly an extra 200 miles of driving if you are coming from Flagstaff. There's also only one way in and one way out. The reward for making that trek, you ask? Completely different terrain (think alpine forest and meadows versus desert plains) and NO traffic whatsoever!

We were coming down from Utah, so it was a no-brainer for us to go to the North Rim. However, I purposely skipped the South Rim on our way out to Vegas because I just don't care to deal with all the traffic and people. Plus, the IMAX theater and helicopter rides and all that mess reminds me of Pigeon Forge. I wanted Holly and the kids to have a more natural experience with the canyon.

We stopped in Kanab, Utah to stock up the refrigerator for the remainder of our trip. This was the first stop we made during the entire trip where I felt like people were genuinely nice. The folks in the grocery store, together with the patrons in the parking lot, were friendly and polite...something we didn't experience very often out west.

The drive down from Kanab was beautiful. There had been a forest fire relatively recently along the ridge that had left many of the trees scorched. The wildflowers and undergrowth coming up underneath was gorgeous, though. This is elk country, but we didn't see any driving in or out. I did see a porcupine on the way out and we all saw a couple of wild turkeys with new babies.