The Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon feels like one of those places that you just have to see. For one thing, it seems pretty magnificent. But it also feels like a box you check for cool US sites to see. Only a 2-hour drive from Sedona, I figured we would spend a couple of hours looking at pretty stuff and head back for a 7:30 dinner reservation. Much to my surprise, we exited the park 9 hours after arrival and opted to eat leftovers in the car while we drove back in the darkness.

Turns out, the Grand Canyon is quite grand and well worth your actual attention, as opposed to bringing the energy of going for the sake of saying you’ve been. We hiked 90 minutes down into the canyon and 90 minutes back up, naturally. Some people hike 9 hours down and camp overnight! We did the 1 hour walk through the Trail of Time. And we hopped on and off a trolley for over 2 hours, visiting viewpoints that are not accessible by personal car. At 4:30, we opted for one more long drive to a final viewpoint to watch the sunset on a great day.

Not only was every viewpoint one of wonder but the sheer happiness of how blown away we were kept us smiling from ear to ear. When I travel, I can sometimes get stressed out about all of the must-see sites that I forget to truly enjoy the sites that are beyond worth it. I left the Canyon happy to cancel my dinner reservation and enjoy the nice drive home from a perfect day.