The nice thing about camping at Trailer Village is the proximity to the Grand Canyon Rim, the Greenway Trail, the Market Plaza, and the Grand Canyon Village. Our first course of action was walking over to the Grand Canyon Visitor Center to check things out, read the information and watch the movie. You can rent a bike from the Visitor’s Center and ride on the Greenway Trail and/or the Rim Trail. Just be careful someone doesn’t accidentally knock you off the rim as it gets narrow in places and there is no railing in many places!
The Greenway Trail is a paved hiking/biking route which connects various areas of the South Rim and also connects to the village of Tusyan about 6.5 miles to the south outside of the park (of which the last 4 miles are not paved). Tusyan is home to IMAX which shows “The Hidden Secrets of the Grand Canyon”. It is an old film as I first saw it over 25 years ago but it is still one of my favorite IMAX movies. We DID go and see it again!
One of our favourite lodges at the park that we have stayed at a number of times is El Tovar. It is currently undergoing renovations to the roof so the dining room is closed for a few more weeks. Darn, we enjoy having a dinner/drinks there. We still managed to sit on the porch and enjoy the scenery.
One of the many other lodges in the area Is Bright Angel Lodge which happens to sit right at the Bright Angel Trailhead (wink, wink). Too bad we just don’t have the right gear (or a Phantom Ranch reservation) to head down and back for a few days. Crampons were recommended since the trail was a bit icy.
Next to Bright Angel Lodge is the Kolb Studio, home to the Kolb brothers who were photographers of the Grand Canyon and the mule riders from 1902 to 1976. A painting exhibition was on-going that we were lucky enough to view. I need to get home and start painting again!
Not only did we hike much of the Greenway Trail between various points but we also hiked most of the Rim Trail from the Grand Canyon Visitor Center and Mather Point all the way to Hermit Road. We hiked some of Hermit Road but did drive the car to Hermits Rest. Hermit Road is only open to passenger vehicles Dec, Jan, and Feb and the rest of the year it is only accessible by shuttle bus. Since it is about a 10 mile hike each direction to Hermits Rest we decided to give this hermit a rest and drive. We took a picnic lunch and bought a nice mocha at Hermit’s Rest and sat outside and enjoyed the day. Beautiful sunny warm weather and not a person to be seen. Too bad the South Rim isn’t always like this!!!
And there’s always the wildlife. Yes, we searched and searched for California Condors with no luck but did see a few herd of Elk while driving and also saw 5 bucks near the campground. In addition, we spent a lovely afternoon with the mules!
We absolutely love the Grand Canyon, it’s grandness, it’s magnificience, it’s beauty, it’s hold on you. But we also find the canyon disturbing. We are always shocked at the number of people who take the rim and the edge for granted and insist on standing on the rim for a picture. We can count on both hands the number of times we see acts of stupidity in less than an hour, people with their dogs or their babies (God forbid) standing right on the edge holding them in the edge. We saw one man telling his wife to get down below the rock and look like she was hanging on so he could get a picture of her, she was right on the edge of a sheer cliff. Day after day after day we witnessed these acts. We even have the book “Over The Edge” detailing the events that have occured, sadly, at this magnificent place. Yes, we know it sounds a bit morbid but it is an intriguing, gripping book full of real life accounts. People, go out and enjoy but BE CAREFUL!! And do not hang babies and/or animals over the edge AND never spouses!
I loved your pics of Grand Canyon. I have hiked into the canyon 4 times now for a total of 26 days/23 nights and hiked about 220 miles. GC is one of favorite places. Phantom Ranch is awesome and beautiful.
I like reading your blog. My wife and I our planning retiring in April 2016 and going full-timing.
Wow, that’s pretty impressive Roger. Glad you are enjoying the blod. AND really enjoy your retirement and full-timing. What a great life!