yk

Day 6 (Tuesday)
Alarm was set for 5:30am this morning ! my son grudgingly got up with us to go watch sunrise (sunrise at 6:10am). By the time we got out to the rim, there was quite a crowd at the Sunrise Point, so we just settled for a spot on the rim near the Sunrise point. There were some clouds that morning blocking the rising sun initially. I did enjoy the warm light across the amphitheater pre-sunrise, and then also seeing the sunlight illuminating the hoodoos gradually as the sun climbs up. We were out there until 30 minutes post-sunrise. (we were dressed warmly in layers for temps in 40sF).

Back to the hotel we had breakfast and packed. The only thing on our agenda that day was to get to Page, which is only 3.5 hours away (also noting that we would gain one hour when we enter AZ). It was still so early when we checked out that we decided to go check out the Mossy Cave Trail, whose trailhead is outside of the main park. The description of the trail in the park guide leaflet isn't that exciting, so I had low expectation. But oh wow, it is a very scenic (and easy) hike! We were also surprised by how popular it was. We finished hiking by 10:15am and there was still so much time, so we took a major detour by continuing on Rt 12 towards Grand Staircase Escalante. I know we wouldn't drive the entire way to Bolder but thought we would at least get to the town Escalante where there is a Bureau of Land Management interagency visitors center. The scenery on Rt 12 north towards Escalante is pretty cool but not to the wow level. The visitors center is quite nice with info panels, restrooms, water fountains, info desk, and outdoor (partially shaded) picnic tables. I wasn't sure if we wanted to keep driving north (we have been driving for one hour, and we have to backtrack all the way to Bryce), and the ranger convinced us that we should at least drive to the Head of the Rocks Overlook, which is just a few more miles further. The most scenic part of UT Rt 12 is between Escalante and Bolder, but that would likely add another hour. We first ate our sandwich lunch at the visitors center, then we followed his recommendation and went to the Overlook. It is quite impressive though I'm not sure if it was worth a 2-hr r/t for it.

Finally we retraced our steps on the road and backtracked all the way through Bryce, then headed southward through Kanab and finally to Page. Since we gained an hour and it was just around 3pm, we decided to first stop at the Glen Canyon NPS Carl Hayden visitors center by the dam (it's on the way to our hotel anyway). The visitors center is super informative, with lots of panels about the construction of the dam, and the colorado river, Lake Powell. It was all very well done. They also have 3 short movies on a loop in the theater, and we watched one of them. You can view the dam clearly from the center. My son picked up the Junior Ranger activity book (and the park ranger slipped me TWO badges — one for Glen Canyon and one for Rainbow Bridge — while my son wasn't watching, so we didn't have to return to "earn" the badges). There is also a NPS passport cancellation station in the center.

We must have spent at least an hour there (I also asked the ranger about hikes in the area), and finally headed to our hotel, the Holiday Inn Express and Suites. I picked this one because I have a discount for HI, and also this hotel has a pool, which I wanted given how hot it is in Page. While at Bryce, with the elevation, it was mostly in the low 70s. At Page, it is >90sF in June. After checking in, we used the laundry facility to wash our clothes (the laundry room was busy in the afternoons and early evenings), and took a dip in the pool to cool off before heading out to dinner.

I had a hankering for Asian food so I found a place called K-pop Kitchen on Elm Street. I'm quite sure the proprietor is Korean. Prices are much higher than what I'm used to here in Boston area. My husband had bibimbap, my son had pork bulgogi, and I had Galbi Tang. The ban chan isn't as authentic as what we would get in Boston; halfway through our dinner the owner brought out an extra dish of spicy radish ban chan, which was really good. Dinner was $80.

Melnq8

What was the water level in Lake Powell? When we were there in January it was shockingly low - some 176 feet below normal.

yk

we were told it's been going up significantly the last few months thanks to heavy winter snow. There was a graph at the visitors center that showed the water level each year for the past number of years. It's definitely higher now than the last several but still low compared to a decade ago? We took a boat tour later on our trip and you can see the exposed discolored cliffs (maybe 100' high?) which showed where the water level used to be back in the late 1990s.

The Glen Canyon NPS website is still showing certain boat launch areas are closed due to low water level. Plus, the point where we boarded our boat cruise has an extra long gangway to get down to the marina, the locals said they had to keep extending the gangway to reach the water.

yk

Sunrise at Bryce; colors are warmer/less harsh

Postcard-worthy views at Mossy Cave Trail at Bryce

View from Head of the Rocks vista outside Escalante on UT-12 (pics don't do the view justice)

Glen canyon dam and Lake Powell beyond

Melnq8

Yeah, still looks low, but sounds like it's improved since we were there.

yk

Day 7 in Page, AZ

Way back when I planned this trip, we were supposed to only stay 1 night in Page, because I thought there wasn't much to see/do besides Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend. I also thought because it gets so hot in June, we really can't do much outdoors during middle of the day.

However, when Grand Canyon lodge canceled my 2 nights stay, I changed our itinerary to 2 nights in Page and 1 night at GC north rim. In the end, this was the RIGHT decision!

Holiday Inn has free breakfast and even though the hotel seems fairly full, the breakfast area isn't too crowded. They have an outdoor dining area but it's in full sun with no shade Breakfast was okay... better than some chain hotels but I was still a bit disappointed, mostly by the lack of fresh fruits and healthier options. Anyway, our first agenda of the day was visiting Lower Antelope Canyon. I booked via Kens (this was in January) and I can't remember exactly why I chose Kens over Dixie. When I checked the night before, there were still walk-in spots available for some tours today, so you definitely don't need to book that far advance like I did.

Kens and Dixie are set up side-by-side, and the route is exactly the same. They stagger it so you're not all in the same space at the same time. Each group has about 10 people because more than that you can't really fit in the space. Lower canyon is reachable by foot; I think other canyons require a shuttle ride? Anyway, I think our guide is new-ish but nonetheless he was nice. We could hear the guide in the group before us and that guide gave out a lot more information.

In any case, the slot canyon is really impressive; the colors, the lines on the wall, the shapes of the canyon. It was nothing like i've seen before. My son said this was the best thing he'd seen on the trip. The tour lasted one hour and FWIW, since we were below the ground surface, it was quite a bit cooler there than up on the ground surface. Just be aware that you are not allowed to carry any bags with you on the tour.

Our tour was done by 10:45am and since it's still early in the day, I convinced my family to go for a hike in the Glen Canyon area that was recommended by the park ranger. We did the Beehives Trail, which was a bit confusing because there weren't really signs for it (we are used to well-marked signs/trailheads/posts etc). Eventually we found it, and you just scramble up the slickrock and then you'll see a "trail" marked by rocks lined on both sides. The trail loop is probably 1-mile or 1.5 long? It was pretty hot but with the low humidity, it actually doesn't feel too bad. We made sure we had sunblock, sunhat, and plenty of water with us. I thought the geology and views were pretty cool. It took us about an hour.

Then we went out to lunch. This is the first restaurant lunch on our trip! I picked a crepes cafe because my son loves crepes, but I have to admit the food here was disappointing. It was getting pretty hot by then so we returned to the hotel and enjoyed the cool water in the pool for a while.

The night before at the hotel I saw a pamphlet advertising boat tour on Lake Powell, so I booked us a boat tour around the Antelope Island for late afternoon, thinking it would be a cooler activity to do on a hot day, as well as actually spend some time on the water given Lake Powell is so famous.

Our tour is at 5pm but reading tripadvisor reviews they recommend arriving an hour early to the Marina, as the "point" is some ways away from the actual marina. Also note that the marina is inside the Glen Canyon NPS so you have to pay entrance fee for it. Luckily we have my son's National Park pass so that saved us $30.

We arrived early with plenty of time to spare, so we got some soft serve ice cream. The boat is a smallish boat with canopy; i thought the guide was again just so-so but the scenery is pretty cool once we get inside the canyon around Antelope Island. They pointed out the discolored white cliffs indicated how high the water in Lake Powell used to be. The water level has been rising all the last few months thanks to snow melt. Even the guide said our boat tour today was able to go further into the canyon than just a month earlier as the water has gotten deeper.

That night we stumbled upon an asian fusion restaurant called Sunset 89. Again, the food was pricier than I'm used to but pretty decent. It somehow didn't occur to me it's called Sunset 89 because of its location... we sat outside and then we saw the SUNSET! It was a pretty view for sure.

TDudette

"However, when Grand Canyon lodge canceled my 2 nights stay, I changed our itinerary to 2 nights in Page and 1 night at GC north rim. In the end, this was the RIGHT decision!".... Glad it worked out, yk. A really super TR.

yk

Antelope canyon is really as amazing as everyone said


Hiking the Beehives trail

Boat tour. You can see how high the water level used to be (the white cliffs were calcium deposits from the water)

Boat tour inside antelope canyon

Arizona sunset from restaurant Sunset 89

schmerl

Thanks for this report.
We also loved Antelope Canyon. It's very special.

yk

Day 8 (Thursday) Page to Grand Canyon (north rim)
We had a leisurely morning as we weren't really rushing off to anything. After the free breakfast and packing up, we checked out of Holiday Inn at Page and headed to Horseshoe Bend, which is on the way to Grand Canyon. When we got there, I wished we had left sooner. It was 10am and quite hot already, and I hadn't realized it's such a long walk to the viewpoint. Long as in being almost 1 mile each way, and there is no shade the entire way except for 2 shelters. I have to say, after seeing photos of it, I thought it was a bit anti-climatic.

Our driving route continued on to Rt 89 and then 89A, which led us to the Historic Navajo Bridge that spans across Colorado River, where we stopped at the Visitors Center where they have a passport cancellation station (for both Navajo Bridge and also for Lees Ferry further upstream) as well as historic background to read about. The bridge area is home to a number of California Condors where we watched for some time soaring in the sky.

Route 89A continued on with the Vermillion Cliffs to our right, which are quite majestic. Finally we climbed up to Kaibab National Forest, which is an entirely different ecosystem; we left behind desert-like landscape and entered a foresty area with pine trees and aspens. We arrived at Grand Canyon North Rim just before 2pm, and found a picnic spot near the parking area.

Since facilities are limited (due to the water main break), park rangers have set up an outdoor info area, which is where we decided to eat our sandwich lunch. We chatted with the park ranger during our lunch, and I was asking her for recommendations for a hike (besides hiking to Bright Angel point). I was debating between the transept trail or hiking a bit of the Kaibab Trail, but she recommended the Widforss trail instead.

We first went out to Bright Angel point. my son felt it was completely anti-climatic. I feel like the canyon is so vast that it is difficult to even comprehend it at this scale. I also have read that the view from North Rim isn't nearly as impressive as from the South. I did feel a bit dizzy walking on that trail, not sure it's from vertigo or from the high altitude?

Anyway, we followed the park ranger's advice to try the Widforss trail, but it was another letdown. The trail is 5 miles out one way, though she said we can walk for as far as we want and turn back, but the trail gives great views of the canyon. We must have hiked for 40 minutes (probably 1.5 miles?) before we get to some clearing where we could see a bit of the canyon. We decided to turn back at that time, and spend the rest of our afternoon doing the Scenic Drive. It's 45 minutes one-way to get to the Cape Royal, but we were getting tired so we ended up stopping at Roosevelt point and turned back. We got out at Roosevelt Point and hiked the very short loop trail for more views.

By the time we drove out of the park and to our lodging, the Kaibab Lodge, it was past 6pm. After checking in and getting settled in our room, we hurried back to the Lodge for dinner. At the lodge they offer buffet-style meals for B,L and D. Since it's the only place where you can get food in miles, you really don't have any choice, unless you want to make your own with supplies from the general store across the street. The buffet dinner is not bad, just regular comfort food but palatable. There was pulled pork, baked beans, mashed potatoes, pasta with red sauce, salad bar, bread rolls. The staff there was really nice. Dinner was $67 for the 3 of us. The main lodge itself is cozy with plenty of comfy sofas and very good internet connection. I hung out there for a while after dinner to use the internet. It was chilly enough that evening that the staff lit a fire in the fireplace.

Our room at Kaibab Lodge was the most basic on our entire trip. The lodge has cabins but by the time I booked (only 1 month prior), the motel-style rooms were the only that's left. our Room is small and only has a small coffee maker. There is not much of anything else. Our room does have our own balcony however, which we spent about an hour that night to watch the night sky. The sky felt darker here than over at Bryce, not only we saw a shooting star, we could see milky way better and several summer constellations, all from the convenience of our own balcony.

As I said in my previous post, I was glad I changed our itinerary to 2 nights in page and 1 night in GC north rim. Honestly a half-day / or maybe 3/4 of a day at North Rim is plenty, unless you are a serious hiker who wants to hike down to the canyon.

mlgb

Glad to hear about the Condors still thriving near the bridge. For those looking for some scratch-made food along the Vermillion Cliffs, Cliff Dwellers Restaurant is back open. I think it may have been featured in an Arizona Highways Magazine article at some point.

They also have a motel aka Lee's Ferry Lodge which has worked for us in the past, tricky to find the website but it seems to be up. If link doesn't post, you can call 928 355 2211. (There are a few others along Marble Canyon). https://cliffdwellerslodge.com/


Yes, its a long way to the North Rim. We were lucky to get a cabin once. Too bad about the water break. We didn't care for the restaurant other than the view, but enjoyed hanging out on the patio in the morning with coffee (in PJs of course) and also watching a spectacular lighting storm on the south rim the night we were there. The most interesting thing that happened was that we saw the Coy-Wolf in the meadow on the way in (we read about it later).

yk

Famous horseshoe bend just outside of Page

Overlooking Colorado River at Historic Navajo Bridge. Vermilion cliffs are off to the far left

View from Bright Angel Point at GC North Rim

View from Roosevelt Point

Melnq8

yk - I had a hard time getting a good shot of Horseshoe Bend - your photo is excellent!

TDudette

More kudos, yk!

yk

Day 9 (Friday) return to Vegas
In the morning (Kaibab Lodge near GC North Rim), we went to the main lodge for the buffet breakfast. Like dinner the night before, it has a decent selection of hot foods, breads, oatmeal, cereal, and made-to-order pancakes. Breakfast was $52. We returned to our room, packed up and headed out. The drive to Las Vegas is only 4.5 hours. Along Rt 389 between Fredonia and Colorado City is Pipe Springs National Monument. We had seen a brief mention of it the day before, and since we had plenty of time, I thought, why not make a stop there to check it out?

It turned out to be quite fascinating, and despite its relatively small size, there is a lot to see and tour. The land belonged to the Paiute tribe but then the Mormons came along and conflicts ensued. They even had a junior ranger activity book for my son. A "quick" stop turned into 2 full hours there! According to the park ranger, Pipe Springs had a lot of visitors when it first opened in the 1920s, as Rt 389 was a main travel route. But once the Zion/Bryce tunnel opened in 1930s, visitors to Pipe Springs dropped by 90%! Anyway, if you happen to be traveling on this road, I do recommend stopping here to check it out.

It was past 2pm before we made it to Hurricane, UT, where we had our second sit-down lunch on this trip — Arby's! Then onward to Las Vegas. Traffic wasn't bad despite it being Friday afternoon until we entered Las Vegas proper. On our return trip, I booked us at the Westin on Flamingo Road. The MGM Signature where we stayed on the first night was 4x as expensive (it's friday after all), and Westin was one of the cheaper on-strip, casino-free hotels. Unfortunately they were doing road work on Flamingo Road and it took forever to travel the final 3 blocks of our journey.

I didn't pay attention when I booked Westin, but turns out the hotel only has King rooms or 2 doubles. I thought it had queen size beds. The check-in staff gave us vouchers for free drinks and free desserts at the hotel. We quickly dropped off our luggage, changed, and then headed out because I had dinner reservations at Din Tai Fung at the Aria hotel at 5:15pm. It was a pretty good walk there and we made it just in time. Despite a reservation, we still had to wait in line twice (!!) before getting seated. But once seated, service was really good and the place felt open and spacious and we had a big booth to ourselves.

We ordered a bit too much food but hey we have been eating homemade breakfast and homemade sandwiches for lunch for most of the week, so it's okay to indulge a bit. Their soup dumplings weren't as good as I remembered them (I had them once in the Din Tai Fung in Hong Kong), but the rest of the dishes were very good. Dinner was $159.

It was still early and bright when we finished; we caught the free tram from Aria hotel to bellagio (did you know that there is a James Turrell artwork installation at the Aria Tram station???) then watched the fountain show. The fountain show was a bit anti-climatic as well, lasting only 3 minutes? Inside Bellagio their Conservatory has a big installation of plants and such. Honestly, everything is just too over-the-top in las Vegas and I find it extremely off-putting. Especially coming off from a week of natural world, seeing all the fake things in Las Vegas and the amount of resources (water, electricity) it uses simply for entertainment just seems so wrong. We headed back to Westin, got free drinks and free desserts in the lobby, and then called it a night.

yk

Day 10 (Saturday)
When I booked the Westin back in January, I paid for the breakfast-included rate. At that time, our return flight was scheduled for 1pm so i thought we can have a relaxing morning to enjoy breakfasts at the hotel. Sometime in the Spring, JetBlue changed the itinerary that our flight moved up to 10:45am (to JFK, a 3-hr layover, then connect to Boston). At that time, I looked at other potential flights home but none of them were any more desirable; besides, when they changed our flight, it became one with Mint and our original regular seats were upgraded to "Even more space" so I just let it be.

As a result, we got up fairly early so we could have time to eat breakfast at the lobby restaurant. Our vouchers entitled each one of us to order an entree, a juice, and coffee. The food and service was very good.

We then packed up, checked out and drove to the airport. I dropped off my husband and son at the curb because they needed to check a bag, and to avoid having to take the rental car shuttle. This time, during Saturday morning, the shuttle ran more frequently. Still, it took an hour from departing the hotel to arriving at the gate utilizing PreCheck security line (despite the fact that we can actually see the airport from our hotel room).

Our flight to JFK was uneventful. We had a 3-hour layover and I was thrilled to see JetBlue is at T5 which is across from the TWA hotel. So we went over to visit. I've been a fan of mid-century architecture way before Mad Men. The hotel is really a total eye-candy; it's beautiful in every possible way. Afterwards we grabbed a mediocre dinner at the JFK terminal, and then the ordeal began.

Our 10pm flight was repeatedly delay (with no explanation) and finally cancelled at 1am on Sunday. We were not rebooked automatically; the website didn't work and it took me an hour to get an agent online via the chat function on the app, who then told me there are no flights available until Monday. By then we were exhausted (it was past 2:30am) with no place to rest, and we certainly don't want to spend another 24 hours at JFK. Our checked luggage (along with everyone else on our flight) was nowhere to be seen. My husband spent another hour standing in line to file a lost luggage claim. By then we decided we will just take Amtrak home Sunday morning at 7am without our luggage. My son fell asleep on the floor in the baggage claim area. By 5am we heard an announcement saying that our luggage will be out "momentarily" so we were overjoyed. Momentarily turned out to take over an hour; we were about to give up when the carousel finally moved. We grabbed our luggage, almost ran to the taxicab stand (it is a long 8-min walk from baggage claim to taxi stand), then told our cab driver we had a 7am train to catch a Penn station. Luckily it was Sunday so there was no traffic and we made it to Penn Station with 20 minutes to spare.

J62

Quite a tale.... I love it how you all always have a plan B when things go awry, or come up with one quickly. Some good lessons for the rest of us.

I agree with your ho-hum comment about the GC as viewed from the rim.... I feel the same about the south rim. I much prefer to spend time down "IN" the canyon as you do at Zion, and even Bryce on a smaller scale.You CAN experience that at the GC by taking a 2 week rafting trip. I think the minimum age is 15 or so. That was one of my bucket list trips that I got to take about 10 years ago.

And I agree with your take on Vegas. Our last trip there (to/from Zion a few months ago) we spent a total of about 2hrs on the strip, and that was plenty for us. I can see how others may enjoy Vegas, but it's not our style.

yk

if you find yourself with a few hours to spare at JFK T5, I highly recommend you go visit the TWA hotel. Besides much to gawk at, there are plenty of information panels about the hotel and about Eero Sarinnen. Outside the hotel is a aircraft that has been transformed into a cocktail bar.

Paqngo

Yk- The sunset picture is so beautiful. I am not really a fan on Las Vegas either. You really got to see/hike quite a bit.

dfrostnh

Thanks for a great trip report. Agree with J62 about your plan Bs. I have only been to Vegas for conventions but in addition to the convention the only thing I enjoyed was a big show. DH went with me once and once was enough for him. He wouldn't even put one coin in a slot machine and considered himself a winner for finding a coin in a pay phone.