Grand Canyon National Park

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I have been to the Grand Canyon before. I was in college, and we were visiting my grandparents that lived in AZ at the time. My memory of the time is that the weather was awful (confirmed by my parents) and that we couldn't even see the canyon due to the clouds/fog (parents don't recall).

Whether or not the memory is accurate, I was excited to see the canyon, either for the first time or again.


Unlike most other national parks, pretty much everyone knows what the Grand Canyon looks like. If you haven't seen it in person, you've seen pictures. Let me just tell you that pictures do not do it justice. People joke that it's a "big hole in the ground." I get what they are trying to convey, and I've probably said it too, but that's not even close to accurate.

First of all, "canyon" and "hole" are two fundamentally different things. But beyond that, "hole" implies that there's nothing in there. Instead, there are all kinds of neat formations within the canyon. It's not just a 'V' with a river running through it. The canyon is miles wide at points (up to 18).


The park is enormous (because the canyon is enormous), but we were confined to a relatively small part of it. This isn't one of those parks that you can just experience via a scenic drive through the middle.

We spent a few hours at the south rim visitors center area on two separate evenings, which isn't much time to fully appreciate it. We were able to hit a few overlooks, attend a ranger talk on bats, and do a small hike down into the canyon. We only made it about 3/4 of a mile before we had to turn around because it was going to get dark, and per a ranger we passed, you don't want to be on the trails after dark. Apparently they aren't lit. Go figure.


I'd love to go back sometime and visit the north rim. The park says that only 10% of all visitors go to the north rim. Additionally, the north rim is 1000 feet higher than the south rim in elevation, which means it looks quite different. When the kids get older, maybe they'll hike the canyon with me. That would be the way to really experience it!
Location: Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, USA

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