THE GRAND CANYON: IT’S PRETTY DANG GRAND

Back in the day when I lived in New Zealand for 2 years, I remember some rando kid asked me if I’d seen the Grand Canyon. When I said no he asked why not, and I really didn’t have a reason except that my family didn’t travel. (Then again, lots of kiwis haven’t been to the North or South Island, whichever one they don’t live on, so I guess it’s a common thing to miss out on cool stuff in your own backyard). So yeah, for 34 years I never hit the Grand Canyon and I should have. I always meant to, I always wanted to, but I never did it. Until now.

THE SOUTH RIM IS GOOD

Now, I know the drive from Vegas to the West Rim is only 2 hours. And the skywalk looks cool and all, but I read that the West Rim is crazy expensive and crowded and lots of waiting in lines. Hard pass. So we made the nearly 5 hour drive to the South Rim and it was awesome. The drive was awesome because we blasted tunes and it’s just fun to chill with your spouse, even in a small car on a long road trip. Good times.

STAYING IN WILLIAMS ARIZONA IS NOT SO GOOD

We stayed at the Travelodge in Williams Arizona, and we did it because it was much cheaper than staying right at the Grand Canyon. It seemed like a good idea at the time, staying an hour outside the entrance didn’t seem so bad, and it meant we’d get to stop after 5 hours rather than 6. Alas, it wasn’t my best choice.

See, we got into Williams around 2pm, got some eats, sat on the bed for a second, then we had to leave anyways. So it really would have been nearly the same to just keep going. Plus, in the end, we only did like 5 or 6 hours at the Grand Canyon. Had we stayed closer, we could have done more the next morning. Whatever, we didn’t, lesson learned. Next time I think it would make more sense to stay inside the park, even if it means spending more money, because it also means spending more time there.

VISITING THE GRAND CANYON WHILE PREGNANT IS…OK

Let me preface this with a long ramble (as usual). Usually on Jetset Wanderlife, I want to create really in-depth itineraries for people. Planning our first Iceland trip took SO BLOODY LONG because of the vast amounts of info out there and the limited amount of time we had. So I put together a deep itinerary that people could literally use as their entire (or partial) trip without any effort. As a nice side benefit, these blogs serve as fun ways for Caitlin and I to remember the trips well and when people ask about stuff, we can send them a link since nobody wants to listen to me talk for 45 minutes about the pros and cons of renting donkeys at Petra.

And usually, I think I serve my purpose quite well (humblebrag). However, some of these short posts aren’t super informative and I get that. I just want to remember our fun times (also the miserable times while Caitlin was pregnant but I was still having fun) and maybe someone can glean something along the way. The dream is to turn this into some type of income, but honestly, it’s just fun and a good outlet for me. So yeah, this Grand Canyon post isn’t my most in-depth but it’s for my posterity.

So yeah, aside from Caitlin throwing up on the Grand Canyon Rim Trail, this was pretty dope. Her pregnancy nausea made it not as cool for her, but she’s a trucker and pushed through. Me, though?

VISITING THE GRAND CANYON WHILE NOT PREGNANT (ME) IS SO BLOODY AMAZING

Yeah, this ruled. Aside from feeling awful that Caitlin was feeling awful, the Grand Canyon was so amazingly cool. It was $35 to get in (more on this in the Bryce Canyon section/post), but well worth that even just for the afternoon. I’ve seen the Waimea Canyon in Kauai that they say is like a mini Grand Canyon, and I’ve seen lots of other cool canyons around Utah but…wow.

I can’t really describe the canyon in any words that do it justice. The vastness is almost hard for the brain to comprehend. It’s, uh…massive. It’s just amazing and awesome to look at, and the south rim is a great place to see it all.

There were several viewpoints within a few minutes of the parking lot. They were all fairly crowded but not insane, and we just had to wait a few minutes at each one to get to the edge and really appreciate the views. It’s crazy how easily you could fall over the side, which I guess is why people fall over the side every few months. So be careful, kids.

THE SOUTH RIM TRAIL IS PERFECT FOR AN EASY OVERVIEW

We ended up talking to a ranger and she told us to just walk around the rim. She told us the Yavapai Geology Museum was probably a decent stopping or turnaround point, so off we went. And yeah, it’s great. It’s a super easy paved trail but every step is an incredible view. Lots of it has no guardrails or any fencing or anything, so again, it’s not hard to see how easily people fall to their death. Luckily, nobody did while we were there (we think), but I did read about a plane crash in 1956 where two planes hit midair over the canyon and it took ages to find the wreckage. Looking down at the bloody massive canyon, it wasn’t hard to see why.

The museum was cool too, not totally necessary or anything but fun to look at with more cool views. The whole thing was awesome and, even while pregnant and throwing up on the side of the trail, Caitlin crushed it.

STAR PARTY!

As has happened many times to us (like the parade in Austria), we stumbled across something cool on total accident. Even though our last name means unlucky or unfortunate, something things turn up Mitch! There were signs everywhere promoting a star party, and since we’d gotten a fairly late start on the canyon anyways, it was perfect because it was just getting darkish as we finished the trail.

Now, what is a star party, you may ask, just like I did? Basically a bunch of poindexters bring really giant expensive telescopes to the Grand Canyon and let schmoes like me look through them. But alas, I’m ahead of myself.

Before the stars were fully out, they had some egghead come give a presentation about how the moon landing astronauts came and trained at the Grand Canyon. He had a bunch of old photos of them and it was kinda cool to see how it helped prepare them for the moon. I have no idea if these presentations are common there, but it was chill and we all sat outside on the concrete watching and listening, biding our time until cover of darkness.

Annnnnnnd the star party was pretty rad actually. There was a big parking lot blocked off, and we stood in fairly short lines randomly to go look in telescopes. All the ones we looked through were huge, like I’ve never seen such big ones outside of an observatory, and very expensive. And we couldn’t touch anything. But nonetheless it was cool, we saw planets and galaxies and all sorts of crazy things that are hard to fathom. Plus, just looking up at the stars sans telescope was cool. Highly recommended.

AGAIN, STAY INSIDE THE PARK

The hour plus drive was not awesome, it was poorly lit, and we were exhausted (and Caitlin sick, surprise surprise). As we passed all the lodging inside the park, I cursed myself and the world and my existence for not staying closer. We actually didn’t even go back the next day, which I was fine with, but we would have if it wasn’t an hour drive there and back. So just don’t be cheap like I was/am. And thus it is. Amen.

So…what did we miss? Hit us on Facebook or Instagram and tell us how we’re the worst travelers ever and missed the best parts of the Grand Canyon, or drop us a line at [email protected].

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GEAR

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I kinda repeat this section on every blog post, but seriously, this is all stuff we have and use, nothing filler. Below are some of the items we took:

BELOW IS STUFF WE TAKE EVERYWHERE

My Amazing Reef Sandals: Due to an unforeseen tragedy shortly before the Hawaii trip, my original Reef sandals met their untimely end, so I had to very quickly choose a new pair. These rule, trust me.

Caitlin’s Stupid Awesome Space Saver Day Pack Thing: I told her she had way too much junk when she bought this, but I digress: You win, Caitlin, and if you only read this blog you’d see me say this. Oh well. This bag was SUPER cheap, amazing to take on day trips, and folds up into practically nothing. Seriously, just do it now.

Amazon Prime: C’mon, it’s 2019. Get free 2-day shipping (which was necessary since we always found something we needed at the last minute) and lots of good music and TV/movies which make road trips more enjoyable. Try it free and you won’t be disappointed. Plus, pretty much everything below will ship to you free in 2 days in the USA.

AUKEY Powerbank External Portable Charger: This thing has saved us many times. It’s nice to have around the house, but it’s nicer to have during a long flight or a 12 hour day at Machu Picchu. It has 2 USB inputs and charges our iPhones really fast. It’s a bit bulky, but we get 2-3 charges from it each time. SO worth having.

Anker External Portable Charger: Yes, we take 2 portable chargers on our trip. This one isn’t as long-lasting, but it’s much smaller and lighter. It’s a bit annoying charging 2 every night, but really worth it to have charged phones the entire day.

My Pants: Ever since my days braving the brutal Wellington rain in a suit, I HATE having wet pants. These Columbia pants were perfect to put on over my jeans if I needed, which I only did a couple times. Never got even a drop under them. Well worth it.

My Bag: As I said above, we travel LIGHT. Especially with cheap airlines like Ryanair, where things are expensive, having a versatile bag is a must. This bag is not incredibly nice, but it has a lifetime warranty and it can cinch down to unbelievably small sizes. It’s made it through 4 continents with no problems yet.

Ponchos: Another must for pretty much whenever. Just get something waterproof that won’t blow off immediately.

Towels: These ones are awesome because they fold up small and dry incredibly quick. We got an off brand, our friend Loinz has an original Packtowl which he raves about. Your call.

Space Saver Bags: These have proved invaluable on our travels. It’s amazing how small clothing can shrink down to in one of these! Highly recommended.

Outlet Plugs: Of course, when traveling overseas you need a plug
adapter. We’ve had these exact ones for at least 5 years. We’ve taken them to 6 continents and they’re still going strong. And, they’re super cheap and have everything you need all in one, so you don’t have to bring a bunch of different parts. Highly recommended.

Aux Cable: You probably already have a million of these. Most cars we’ve rented have a USB that connected directly to the music, so we could charge our phones and blast tunes at the same time. The longer cable is nice so if someone is in the backseat they can still charge and control the music or navigate or browse Instagram or whatever)

MacBook Air: OK this is probably pushing it for necessities, but I do have to work on the road and it’s perfect to take with us. Small, lightweight, powerful, and mine has a pink cover for good measure.

PLACES WE STAYED

We stayed at the Travelodge in Williams Arizona, and we did it because it was much cheaper than staying right at the Grand Canyon. The place was decent but just stay closer to the canyon. Trust me.

MISCELLANEOUS

Caitlin and I are on T-Mobile, which is awesome because we can text and use data for free. This meant navigation was all free (didn’t have to rent a GPS) and we could find attractions on the go, as well as me managing the business from afar without searching for Wi-Fi. So good!

If you don’t have TSA Global Entry, I highly recommend it. Not only do you get through TSA lines quickly and without removing shoes, belts, and liquids, but you also get to come back through customs much faster. It probably saved us at least 1-2 hours this trip. Once again, the credit card saves our lives.

One of the best travel tips I’ve ever had is to save clothes you’re going to throw away or donate and wear them on trips. Along the way, toss or donate them. Not only does it feel amazing having an empty pack on the way home, but on a strict airline like Ryanair, you’ll avoid heavy baggage fees. I ditched everything I took except what I wore home and it was awesome…except when Caitlin put her clothes into my bag without me knowing.