Wonderful Wonder of the world

Grand Canyon - The West Rim

This is one of our trips that I had been eagerly waiting to share with all of you. Thats our trip to one of the seven natural wonders of the world, "The Grand Canyon".

It is huge.... and rich too

The Grand Canyon spans about 277 miles and would be difficult to explore if not properly planned. It has been divided in the 4 directional rims, North, South, East and West. Due to the time limitations and another one (traveling with kids), we had the west and the south rim on our schedule.

Along with the richness of the natural beauty of the canyon you
can also experience some culture of the Native American tribes that exist around the Grand Canyon. They are Hualapai, Havasupai, Navajo, Kaibab and the Hopi tribes. The West Rim is owned and governed by the Hualapai tribe.

Each trip gives us more insight on how we should travel, what we should carry and take care of etc. But one thing that we have learnt is that ALWAYS plan your trips very well in advance so that you have ample choices for boarding and lodging and of course you will be well aware of what and where to be for sightseeing and other activities. Ours being a short notice trip and that too in summers with the schools closed, gave us no choice except affordable hotels at about 1.5 hrs drive from the Canyon. Beautiful campsites and other lodging options are available at the South rim but as I mentioned, plan your trips well in advance.

The journey begins

It was a five day long trip divided to explore the West and South rims of Grand Canyon along with 2 nights at Las Vegas, Nevada with an en route visit to the historical Hoover dam. We along with our friends (a family of three) started our journey towards the West Rim of the Canyon. After about 8.5 hours of driving and 2 hrs of stopping for food and rest we made our stop at the city of Kingman, AZ right on Historic Route 66. The West Rim is about 1.5 - 2 hrs drive from here. All excited for the next days adventure we just crashed on the beds.

The next morning was bright and sunny and we started our journey right after breakfast towards the West Rim of the canyon. The ride to the canyon was so scenic that it made us fall in love with the beauty and we ended up spending some time on the way too. 

We finally reached the visitor center and took our West Rim tickets for the tour and were ready to board the shuttle bus. The service of the shuttle is awesome and is available every 10 - 15 mins.

The West Rim tour

Our first stop was the Hualapai Ranch. Though we were not much fascinated by this point but it is a good place for the kids with some attractions like rounding up the bulls, rodeo, wagon rides, magic show, a cafeteria serving food, etc. Unfortunately a lot of it was closed too, not sure why, may be for lunch or something else, I don't know :( . After paying the hefty fee for entering the park anyone would get mad if this what they get, But anyways nothing could be done about it...

We soon headed to our next point, which was the Eagle Point and the Skywalk. By the time we were there hunger had taken its toll upon us. We crashed on the food and fortunately it was something that we could munch on.

Without wasting much time we headed for the skywalk. The tickets were already included in our passes so not much hassle. They had provided free lockers for everyone to keep their stuff as nothing except yourselves is allowed on the skywalk, not even the cameras, another bummer. They have their reasons for it and I agree. But no worries they have quiet a few photographers on the glass walk who can take your pictures and you can get them for an additional cost. We did and here are a few for you to enjoy...

The experience ...

Something we had been waiting for. Something worth experiencing. The walk on the glass bridge, the Skywalk. After some hesitation we all were standing on it. Our hearts were bumping standing 4000 feet above the Colorado river. 

On the Skywalk

Innocence can do it well. You can see all the adults trying to gather some courage to walk there while the kids do it so easily, without any fear. That's what we imagined we would feel but it was a bit of disappointing. Well, atleast we enjoyed the view from there, tried to see the Colorado river which looked like just a rope lying there and then got our pictures taken. After that we tried to take a walk around the glass bridge and were out through the gift shop which is the usual way at any attractions you visit. After coming out we enjoyed the view of the Eagle Point and were ready for our next stop. Honestly speaking it was not worth the amount that we paid to get there.

The weather there was extremely HOT and dry. But one thing that was good was that cold water was available at every place provided to you free of cost. 

The Final Stop

The shuttle was soon there and we reached Guano Point which is named after the guano mining that was carried out here in the Bat Cave. I love the way there is some history behind the names that are given to places. This was it. This was the final stop of the day and also the most interesting one (atleast for me after paying so much of money :D ).

Guano Point Peak

It had beautiful scenic views of the Canyon and the Colorado river and offered an interesting hike to the Guano Point peak, that can hardly be resisted. Here are some of the views from the Guano Point.

On Top of Guano Peak

Some views from top of the Guano Point peak.

There are several other tours and activities available here, like the Helicopter tour and White Water Rafting in the Colorado river. You can find some packages and information here.

All in all it was an okay day. Leaving apart the rip off for the entrance fee and skywalk, it offered some great views of the Canyon. We started our journey towards our next shelter for the night, which was in Flagstaff, AZ, another stop about 1.5 hrs from our next days destination, The South Rim of the Grand Canyon.

Hope you enjoyed reading. Stay tuned for my next post on this Wonderful Wonder and our experience at the South Rim.

PS : Did you know ?

There is no specific address for the West Rim Visitor center. If using a GPS or Maps on smart phone use the GCW Airport (Grand Canyon West Airport) as the end point and the visitor center is right there.

Address for the GCW Airport:

Grand Canyon West Airport (GCW),
5001 Diamond Bar Road

Peach Springs, AZ 86434