Biggest destination disappointment

[FUEGO]

Thanks !

Do you know if day trip is enough to see GC ?

I don't know. Last time I was there I was a kid. I think you can visit one side of it for the afternoon before returning to LV at night. Or opt to stay somewhere out there if you want more time. I guess it depends on what else you have going on during your trip to LV or Cali.

 

[braumeister]

Do you know if day trip is enough to see GC ?

A very common question (and misperception).

The GC is 277 miles long, up to 18 miles wide, and a mile deep.
And all of it is at least interesting, if not downright fascinating.

I've spent nearly 20 days total in the GC, and barely scratched the surface.

 

[LuvSouth]

A very common question (and misperception).

The GC is 277 miles long, up to 18 miles wide, and a mile deep.
And all of it is at least interesting, if not downright fascinating.

I've spent nearly 20 days total in the GC, and barely scratched the surface.

Wow, then I will visit the GC with my kids one day when DW stays put in Toronto Canada

I never thought the GC is so fascinating ... Perhaps when I skip snowbirding in Florida in a particular year, I will spend more time in Cali and take a side trip to LV & GC without my wife unless she is willing to do some hiking with me for a few days !

 

[Moscyn]

I actually enjoyed the combination of Vegas and Grand Canyon. When I got to Grand Canyon, it made me appreciate the quietness and wonder of it away from Vegas. My biggest disapointment is Bangkok - I just don't like the city. Chiangmai is fine but not Bangkok or Phuket. Give me Italy or France anytime and I will have a good time there.

 

[zinger1457]

Just did the drive from the Grand Canyon (south rim) to Vegas, it was about 4.5 hours one way as I recall. You can get a nice view of the GC by walking along the rim trail, about 4 miles of the trail is paved and is an easy walk, the views are spectacular. There are shuttle buses that can take you back to your starting point. You could easily do that in an afternoon. There are hiking trails that go down into the canyon but any hikes to the river would have to be an overnight. We did the Bright Angel trail down to Indian Springs, it's about half way to the river and probably the most one would want to do for a day hike. The hike down is easy, it's the hike back up that gets most people.

 

[DblDoc]

The hike down is easy, it's the hike back up that gets most people.

Actually for some of us it is the opposite. My knees hate downhill hiking...

DD

 

[FUEGO]

I actually enjoyed the combination of Vegas and Grand Canyon. When I got to Grand Canyon, it made me appreciate the quietness and wonder of it away from Vegas.

Red Rock Canyon is just a few minutes east of LV and amazingly beautiful too. Very scenic, though a fair amount of LV tourists visited there the day we were there (as did the snow and sleet).

Hoover Dam was unbelievable. The fact that Man made it (in the 1930's) makes it almost more incredible in my eyes than the Grand Canyon.

 

[ItDontMeanAThing]

I lived in Vegas for 4 years. Just about everyone who did the GC south rim in one day said it was exhausting. I think the canyon looks best at sunrise and sunset which means an overnight trip.

The Hoover Dam bypass bridge is open now which should reduce the trip time by at least 30 min. from when I was there in 2005-08.

 

[M Paquette]

Seeing the Grand Canyon is definitely better at sunrise and sunset than at mid-day. DW and I just spent a couple days there last spring, along the South Rim. We poked around as far as Hermit's Rest on the west, and out to the watch tower at the east entrance. We got to have dinner one night in El Tovar, and caught a sunrise over the canyon the next morning.

MobileMe Gallery

 

[kcowan]

MobileMe Gallery

Great pictures! Thanks.

 

[RonBoyd]

MobileMe Gallery

Great photos! Thanks for sharing.

 

[BTravlin]

Seeing the Grand Canyon is definitely better at sunrise and sunset than at mid-day. DW and I just spent a couple days there last spring, along the South Rim. We poked around as far as Hermit's Rest on the west, and out to the watch tower at the east entrance. We got to have dinner one night in El Tovar, and caught a sunrise over the canyon the next morning.

MobileMe Gallery

Thanks, those bring back a memory or two.

Have only been to the Grand Canyon once and that was back around age 20. Some college buds and I did a road trip during the summer. Frugal travelers that we were, we skipped getting a hotel room and just drove down a sandy old road not far from the park entrance. Pulled off into an isolated area and slept in the car overnight. Woke up in the morning to the sound of "moooo"! Poked my head up to find a nice size herd of cattle milling about the car. Made it into the park early that day!

 

[M Paquette]

Great pictures! Thanks.

Hey, no problem, folks! The photos after the Grand Canyon are from Flagstaff, where we dropped by the observatory to see where Percival Lowell had charted the efforts of a dying civilization in tapping the last remaining source of water in the Martian polar ice caps. We then went on to Sedona, where we poked around for a few days, took one of those Pink Jeep tours, and observed the unusual effects of the Sedona Vortices. No human being would stack pebbles like that...