America's Canyonlands

Sunrise over the Grand Canyon

We had tickets to visit Spain, in July 2020, when the pandemic hit and canceled all tourism. Rather than get our money back, we "banked" our deposit with the tour company, Tauck, in hopes that someday we'd be able to travel again. That opportunity arrived earlier this month.

Though we visited the Grand Canyon together many, many years ago, we had never seen Bryce or Zion canyons and so decided to take Tauck's 8-day tour of "America's Canyonlands" through Arizona and Utah. Travel was by air-conditioned motorcoach and Tauck made all the arrangements—hotels, restaurants, and land and water excursions. Guests were responsible for their own travel to and from the tour. It was a bit rough living out of our luggage—each passenger was allowed only one large suitcase that had to be packed and ready by 7AM every morning!—plus we stayed in 7 different hotels over 8 nights. But as you can see here and over the four blog posts that follow, we had a fabulous time. We highly recommend Tauck for your next tour.

With COVID still very much in play, I was not yet ready to fly, so we rented a car and drove to AZ, where we met the rest of our crew. But first a visit with family in Phoenix and a day trip to see Taliesin West, Frank Lloyd Wright's former residence and training school, which (happily) was also hosting an exhibit of Chihuly glass sculptures. We spent the night at the Westin Kierland Resort in Scottsdale.

Taliesin West

Bell tower

Chihuly artwork

Another angle: Taliesin West

The Westin—very nice!

Yucca in bloom

Next stop: the Grand Canyon (see next blog entry) . . .

The Grand Canyon

 

Looking north across the Grand Canyon

From Scottsdale, we drove through Sedona to the Grand Canyon. Except for the two of us, all our co-travelers were from either the South or the East Coast and so very few had ever seen the Canyon. In fact, most people said this was the main reason they booked the trip. To make our journey more fun, we were encouraged to collect "passport" stamps at each stop—a clever way to get tourists to stop inside every national park tourist center. 

Our tour guide was adamant that we arrive at the South Rim before sunset, so our driver maintained a quick pace despite frighteningly strong winds, which dogged us the entire trip. We indeed arrived before sunset. Our first stop: Mather Point for our first view of the Grand Canyon. Though I'd seen it before, it was impossible to wrap my head around its immense beauty and so I burst into tears instead! What a glorious sight! I was not the only one moved to tears.

Clouds rolled in by the time we settled into the Kachina Lodge, so sunset wasn't as spectacular as we'd hoped. But we all rose by 5AM the next morning to see the sunrise. We then ate breakfast at the legendary El Tovar Hotel, originally opened in 1905. All dark wood beams and rustic charm. By noon we were back on the road again, first to the Desert View Watchtower, on the east end of the Grand Canyon, and then north to Lake Powell and Glen Canyon (see next blog entry).

Can you find the people standing atop the rocks? (Click image to enlarge)

View from Mather Point

Lots of colors

Sunrise

Breakfast at El Tovar

Looking down on the El Tovar lobby from 2nd floor

The Hopi House gift shop next to El Tovar

View of El Tovar from Lookout Studio

Lookout Studio, built into the rock overlooking the Canyon

Outside Lookout Studio

The Watchtower

Hopi-style ceiling inside Watchtower

First view of the Colorado River

Selfie at the Watchtower

National parks passport stamps (love the Watchtower!)

Lake Powell and Glen Canyon

Dinner on Lake Powell

Lake Powell is a 180-mile-long artificial reservoir on the Colorado River, created when the Glen Canyon Dam was built in the early 1960s. A major recreational area, the lake reached capacity (3700 ft.) in 1980. Due to climate change and perpetual drought, Lake Powell's water level is currently down 20%. As a result, the lake is getting dangerously close to deadpool, which occurs when a dam's turbines are no longer able to generate power. This, of course, is alarming because the lake is a main water and energy source for points south and west, including Los Angeles.

On the other side of the dam is Glen Canyon, just north of the start of the Grand Canyon. One of the highlights of our tour was taking a 16-mile "float trip" through Glen Canyon via pontoon down the Colorado river. No white water rapids, but we certainly got a sense how John Wesley Powell must have felt as he traversed the river for the first time in the 1800s. Unlike the Grand Canyon, where we stood miles above the canyon floor, in Glen Canyon we were right there sailing past massive red rocks. Peaceful yet mind-blowing as we considered how one river could create such amazing landscapes.

Bridge over Glen Canyon Dam

Lake Powell side of Glen Canyon Dam

View of Horseshoe Bend from above

Looking down on the Colorado River

Insert Gorn here (for all you Star Trek fans!)

Boarding our pontoons at the base of the dam

Red rock cliffs everywhere

Sheep petroglyphs

On land . . .

Horseshoe Bend from the water

Next stop: Bryce Canyon (see next blog entry) . . .

Bryce Canyon

Bryce Canyon from the canyon rim

From Glen Canyon, we drove directly to Bryce Canyon, where we ate dinner, saw a country western show at Ebenezer's Barn and Grill, and went to bed early. The temperature was in the 30s—far different from the 100+ temps of Arizona. 

The next morning, we drove to the Bryce Amphitheater, home to the greatest collection of "hoodoo" rock formations in the world. Tim and I opted to hike the two miles along the canyon rim from Bryce Point to the park lodge, where lunch was waiting. Now, we're big walkers—2-3 miles a day when we're home—but it's a whole different story at 8000 feet! We beat the rest of our companions to the lodge, but were exhausted. So glad for our Tauck bus to take us to our next stop, Zion Canyon.

Mapping our 2-mile hike on Tim's phone

Bryce Canyon

"Hoodoos" (detail)

Dead but still beautiful tree on the trail

More "hoodoos"

Hoodoo canyon

Our chariot awaits!

Next stop: Zion (see following blog entry) . . .

Zion Canyon

Zion Canyon

Our last canyon was Zion, one of the most popular national parks in the country. Indeed, the grounds were filled with hikers and families when we arrived in the late afternoon. Felt good to be among lots of people again.

Unlike other national parks, Zion provides shuttles to take visitors through the canyon, therefore eliminating auto pollution and traffic. Despite the crowds, the park was quiet and peaceful—a perfect last stop on our tour.

The view outside our hotel door!

Hiking the path to The Narrows: Tim in wool hat and gloves

Walking beneath red rock cliffs

Marveling at nature's beauty