Grand Canyon Road Trip, Anyone?

jloxton

Student
jloxton
Joined
May 5, 2008
Messages
28
Hello folks!

I am sticking around in Las Vegas for a couple of days post-conference and am thinking about doing a bit of geo-tourism. I am a third year graduate student in Earth Science (invert. paleo) and general rock dork. I don't claim to have any special knowledge about the Grand Canyon (not my thing, I do Ordovician biostrat and extinction studies), just a love for getting out and seeing cool rocks, climbing around on them, etc. I am also a big fan of road trips, so this provides a pretty great opportunity. I looked into car rentals superficially and it looks like a two day rental can be had for about $50-60. Gas is still pretty cheap in a small car split a few ways. Throw in a tent or a hostel and a two day trip could be very affordable. I have sent off some e-mails to faculty at the University asking for tour advice in addition to the normal view over the rim stuff (which I am pretty stoked about, regardless).

Anyway, this is all hypothetical, but thought I would float this out there to see if there are any fun loving, adventurous types (grad students or otherwise) who might be into a road trip?

PM me and let me know...

Cheers!

Jason Loxton
 
I'm planning a one-day trip on Monday to the South rim. I don't expect I'll get to do everything there is to do there, but I figure I probably won't be up for more than a couple of hours walking in the heat anyways.

My plan is, leave early (7-8 AM), and it looks to be about a 4 hour drive. So, hang out there for 2-4 hours, then 4 hours back. I talked to someone this week who did a similar trip, so it should be doable.

So far it's just me in an SUV. I could probably fit two others easily, maybe 3, it will depend on the people and the vehicle.
 
Post TAM will be the start of a 4 week road trip through sunny California for this little black duck.:D
Starting on Monday it'll be off to the GC (south rim) and a hike to Cedar Mesa.
Following days will cover monument valley, antelope slot canyon,Wupatki national monument, meteor crater, climbing Humpries peak and anything else involving natural history. I'll be camping and driving. More than happy to have fellow travelers. After a few days I'll be heading west and climbing Mt. Whitney and I am looking for company for this one!
Plan will get more definite over the next week or so.
 
We're leaving out of Las Vegas on Monday and heading back to Tucson. I've lived in Arizona and never once visited the canyon. Might be a good idea to make a stop there on the way home. We won't be heading back toward Vegas but would be great to have company during the visit.
 
We stopped at the Grand Canyon on the way home from TAM5.

It was okay, but I think Grandpap and I share the same sentiment:

 
I think 99% of Grand Canyon visitors stay above the rim, take some washed-out, midday snapshots, and leave underwhelmed. And that's OK. That whole "outdoor thing" isn't for everyone.

Then again, I don't think a lot of people come to the end of their days with regrets like, "I spent too much time hiking the desert southwest when I could have been at home watching TV or posting to an internet forum."

But I've been wrong before.
 
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