Arizona Road Trip: Cameron & the Grand Canyon

A chronicle of our Arizona road trip, from June 8 to June 16, 2011.

Days 1 & 2: Cameron and Grand Canyon National Park

We rolled out the driveway a little after 9 a.m. on a Wednesday morning, pumped with anticipation for this year's road trip. Traveling up our local stretch of Interstate 15, we were headed for the eastbound Interstate 40, the major artery from Southern California into northern Arizona. Last year, we'd traveled north to visit grandparents and family living outside of Portland. The year before that, we'd traveled north again, to the beautiful coastal region around Big Sur and Monterey. This year, it was time to head in a different direction: east for Arizona!

I started developing the master plan for our trip back in February. I've found that often, the best lodging choices book up early in the year, and this trip was no different. Because I hadn't considered visiting Grand Canyon National Park way back in the summer of 2010, even by Feb. '11, the vast majority of lodging within the park was already booked up – and at this early stage, I had very flexible dates. All I knew for sure was that we wanted to travel sometime in June, to avoid the worst of the summer heat and crowds. But I was already too late: plugging dates into the reservation system at the official lodging site revealed that the historic El Tovar Lodge,  and the cabins and rooms at Bright Angel, were already booked fairly solid. So, if you're even thinking of a trip to the Canyon, and want to stay conveniently within the park, I recommend firming up your plans and making your reservations as early as possible at the National Park lodging website, maintained by Xanterra: Grand Canyon Lodges.com

My first plan of attack when considering any destination is, of course, the web. (Make that, hours and hours on the web.)  But when I need to sink in deeper, I look to guidebooks, where I can easily flip back and forth, and also get vetted, verified information and opinions about a place. So I checked out the Frommer's Arizona from the library, and spent several late nights filling my head with ideas. One idea I got from the guidebook was to avoid the crowded southern entrance to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon (and also avoid the overpriced chain motels clustered in Williams, the biggest nearby town), and to enter the park from the less-traveled eastern entrance.

From the Frommer's, I discovered Cameron Trading Post (declared a “Find” by Frommers).
The Trading Post proved a unique place to stay, totally different from the typical chain motel/hotel experience, and a great introduction to the general landscape near the Grand Canyon. Right outside our room were the bluffs and small cliffs of the Little Colorado Gorge, and to the uninitiated, one could think that this landscape is actually an extension of the Grand Canyon itself. The room was perfectly adequate, outfitted with carved southwestern style headboards and dressers, and everything was clean and functional. We had a nice little balcony that looked out onto the dry riverbed and bluffs. 

Turn now!

The front sign says it all

The peaceful, green garden on the Trading Post's grounds

Balcony View: Sunrise hits the bluffs outside our room

 We'd arrived in Cameron (which is truly just a stop on the side of the road) right around dinner time, and ate at the on-site restaurant, which is largely staffed by Native Americans from a local reservation. The dining room is as interesting as the rest of the property, and features an antique stamped tin-roof ceiling, along with rugs, art and pottery available for purchase. We also ate here for breakfast the next day, before leaving Cameron Trading Post behind and heading about 30 miles west, bound for the eastern entrance of the park.

40 minutes later, we paid the $25 park entrance fee and began. By entering the park from the east, we did indeed avoid large crowds and any traffic. Our first stop (the first in what would be a long day of driving and parking and getting out and doing it all again) was at the Desert View tower and lookout. The Tower was built in 1922, and, if you don't let vertigo get the better of you, you can climb the spiraling staircase all the way up to the top. 

Desert View Tower

Looking up, up, up to the painted ceiling.

Monkey Girl,  making the climb

Partly due to the difficulty in securing nearby and convenient lodging, and partly due to knowing my own kids and what will hold their interest, I planned for only one full day at the Grand Canyon. Now, there are certainly things to do and see to fill up several days of a family vacation at the park. But for us, a full day of checking out the South Rim and its major look-out points proved exactly right. Granted, we weren't able to do any hiking, even partially into the canyon, which my daughter expressed interest in doing. But given her younger brother's age (and temperament), this didn't seem a good investment of our energies.  

Personally, I'd have loved to recreate that Brady Bunch episode, where the whole family rides burros down into the canyon...but again, my son's age (6) and weight (under 50 lbs.), and the fact that the only non-campsite lodging on the canyon's floor was booked solid, made me file this idea away for another year.   (But, yes: You can in fact still take your whole family down into the canyon via burro rides!) Rather, I felt that our one solid day gave our children a great introduction to the splendors of this natural landmark, without their ever complaining or whining of boredom.

My 2, looking and looking.

 In fact, I consider it a testament to how magnificent a sight the canyon is, that my two kids had such a great time during our day of basically doing not much more than gazing down, down, into the canyon from various vantage points. 

That green ribbon is the mighty Colorado River

Our last stop of the day, Hermit's Rest

We ended our exploration by boarding the shuttle that begins at the start of the Hermit's Rest trail, a drive which is closed to car traffic during the major tourist months. Hermit's Rest features some of the best views of the entire South Rim...but you're just going to have to trust me on that. Both my husband and I are mere amateur photographers, and therefore, we took about 120 shots of the canyon, all of which look remarkably similar. Truly, photographs, or at least our typical vacation photographs, just don't do it justice. You're just going to have to see it for yourself. And as my daughter remarked after looking at another diagram explaining the canyon's formation: “It's hard for me to wrap my brain around that much time passing.” Amen, sister. 

  Next Up: Days 3-6: Sedona, Oak Creek Canyon, & another big hole in the ground

Sites of Interest for you:

Grand Canyon National Park, the official site, with comprehensive information.

Grand Canyon Lodges, with an overview of all in-park lodging, and the official reservation system. 

Frommer's Arizona (the 2011 edition)
Cameron Trading Post: unique lodging, dining and souvenir shopping near the park's eastern entrance.