Flagstaff, AZ to Grand Canyon, AZ
By Simran Jayasinghe
We woke up, at the Hilton Garden Inn, in Flagstaff hoping that it would snow, but, unfortunately it didn’t. We got dressed and went down to have breakfast offered by the hotel. And when they said ‘breakfast’ they meant it! There were scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, potatoes, biscuits with gravy, french toast, waffles, and cereal. They had various types of fruit, including, strawberries, blueberries, peaches (sliced and peeled), cantaloupe, honeydew, and grapefruit (cut in half). They also had whip cream to top the fruit. You might be wondering, if such a delicious breakfast could possibly be free. Well, it wasn’t. This breakfast was $10 per adult and $8 for children (under 12).
After breakfast we picked up some jackets scarfs, gloves, and hats. We headed out of Flagstaff to visit the Grand Canyon. We drove on Arizona route 180 (north) and joined route 64 (north) at Valle. This was a nice scenic drive which took us through both the Coconino and Kaibab National Forests. There was snow on the ground, and it looked like a winter wonderland. On the way, we stopped at the Nordic ski center, but we decided to try this out next time because we did not have much time. The drive from Flagstaff to the Grand Canyon took about an hour and a half.
The Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon National Park is in Northern Arizona. There are Visitor Centers on both the North and South Rims. The North Rim is closed in the Winter. The Visitor Center at the south rim is open 24 hours every day of the week. This is also the most visited part of the Canyon. Getting into the Grand Canyon parking lot took us a long time. There is a fee to enter the Park. The fee is $30 per car. We bought our pass at a gas station in Valle hoping it would make it faster for us to get into the park, but, it didn’t help. All the lines were full of cars. There were five lanes. We thought that they should have had a lane for people that had passes, a separate lane for people who were paying with a credit card, and a separate lane for people paying with cash. We also thought that the signs should be bigger and easier to read.
It was pretty cold at the Grand Canyon, so we were thankful that we had brought our jackets. We watched a 20 minute video about the Grand Canyon at the Visitor Center. Before going to Mather Point Overlook on the South Rim to look at the Grand Canyon. We went to the Bright Angel Bicycle Rental and Café (next to the Visitor Center) to get something to eat. We got a hot chocolate to share and a croissant each. Then we went to Mather Point which is a short walk away from the Grand Canyon Visitor Center. We walked a little bit on the rim trail to see different parts of the Canyon, and finally went to the Grand Canyon Park Store to get some souvenirs.
The Grand Canyon is 18 miles across (at it’s widest), 1 mile deep, and 277 river miles long. The Grand Canyon was carved out from the Colorado Plateau by the Colorado river five or six million years ago. The Grand Canyon is considered a very young Canyon.
Click here for more information on the Grand Canyon.
The Lowell Observatory
On the way back from the Canyon to Flagstaff we went to the Lowell Observatory with hopes of stargazing. The Observatory is in Flagstaff situated on a hill to make it easier to observe the stars. The Observatory is famous for discovering Pluto, but scientists at the observatory have also discovered the rings of Uranus, the atmosphere on Pluto, as well as accurate orbits of Pluto’s two new moons.
On the day we visited they had set up the Clark Telescope to look at the moon. We saw the moon clearly, but by the time our mom and dad tried to look at it the clouds rolled in an covered it up. Then, we headed to the Pluto telescope and learned all about how Pluto was discovered. We went on the Solar System Walk (one of two small walks at the Observatory), and we went a little off the trail to play in the snow. In some places, the snow was at least six inches deep. We had a short snowball fight, and then we headed back to the hotel room.
Click here for more information on the Lowell Observatory.