After a conference in Las Vegas, we decided to take a long weekend and visit the Grand Canyon. It took us about five hours to reach the South Rim. The South Rim is at about 7,000 feet and was absolutely packed with tourists. July is the busiest season apparently. The two main observation points (Yavapi and Mather) were unbearably crowded, but all of the viewpoints along Desert View Drive were blissfully deserted.

We made our reservations several months in advance, but the El Tovar (the nicest accommodations - and yes, I know that "the El Tovar" translated into "the the Tovar") was already booked. We ended up at the Yavapi Lodge - it was basic but certainly good enough for one night. We left the park in search for a gas station and ended up having dinner at the "Yippie Ei O" Steakhouse. This was probably the worst meal that we've had in a few years!! We had a good breakfast at El Tovar - should have eaten there for dinner.

The North Rim is only about 10 miles ("as the raven flies") from the South Rim, but that doesn't really matter since the drive takes over 5 hours. It's also not an easy drive, with lots of construction and terribly windy roads with steep drop-offs. Like the South Rim, the accommodations in the park are booked far in advance - we kept checking the web site and there was a cancelation about three weeks before our trip. It's a good thing to, because the two alternatives (Jacob Lake and Kaibab) were 20-40 from the park! We stayed in a "Frontier Cabin" (middle picture) - they are like a grove of little log cabin duplexes. Next time we'll go for the Western Cabins - they are a bit more spread out and some even have great views of the canyon.

Next time we'll also make reservations in the dining room ahead of time. When we checked-in, the only time left for dinner at 9:30! We had a great breakfast there though, and the view is spectacular!