Grand Canyon: South Rim
What makes you come alive?
What satisfies you at the same time that it urges you to do more, feel more, be more?
If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you probably know that I am driven by a lust for adventure, always chasing after those sterling, shining moments of beauty that you hold in your heart for the rest of your life.
There’s nothing quite as soul-expanding as a trip to the Grand Canyon. The place itself needs no real introduction, but I’ll set the scene:
Our Trip to the Grand Canyon
Matt and I wake up to a scorcher of a Sunday in Carefree, Arizona, just north of Phoenix. We hit the road before 7am and drive three-and-a-half hours north, waving to Sedona and its red rocks on our way. We stop for nothing but coffee and gas, humming along to Rivers and Roads as we reach the park entrance. It’s still morning, but the park is already buzzing with activity. After paying our $30 entrance fee (always glad to support our national parks), we spend another half hour searching for parking along the South Rim.
There are two main ways to visit the Grand Canyon. If you’re coming from Arizona, like us, you’ll travel to the South Rim, which is the most popular part of the park. If you’re coming from Nevada, check out the less touristy North Rim, which I hope to see someday.
We began our day at the South Rim with me annoying the heck out of Matt—I actually made him close his eyes as I led him up to the railing for his first view of the canyon. I had that same excited feeling you get when you watch someone open an amazing present you’ve bought them—I couldn’t wait to see his reaction.
Color him impressed. We hit the major landmarks early on—visiting the Hopi House for gifts, the El Tovar Hotel for snacks and drinks, and the Lookout Studio for artwork and an amazing observation deck. We also took a short hike down into the canyon along the Rim Trail and stopped to take a million photos.
Somehow, we visited almost every major viewpoint along the South Rim that day. This required us to take the park’s shuttle bus, starting at Grand Canyon Village and winding our way towards Hermit’s Rest on the western side of the park. We were quite thankful for the bus on our return trip to the village because it had started to storm—but it was mesmerizing to see lightning and rain roll into the canyon in dark, thunderous clouds.
After our shuttle bus journey, we hopped in our car and drove east along the Desert View Drive towards the Desert View Watchtower. This was the best part of our entire trip. Matt and I camped out at a deserted spot along the rim and watched the sun set over the course of the hour. We took pictures but mainly just sat in awe of the raw, sublime beauty before us.
Sunset from Navajo Point 
Desert View Watchtower in the distance
It was a moment of divinity. You’re alone on the edge, staring into an abyss carved by hundreds of thousands of years of water coursing over red and purple rocks. You realize how insignificant your life is in the scheme of life on earth, but at the same time, you’re there too. Millions of years of time and space before your eyes, and your little life gets to be part of it. It’s those myriad feelings that flit across my mind as I stare out into the canyon that make me come alive: gratitude, joy, disbelief, wonder, beauty, a sense of self, a sense of belonging.
It’s an absolute privilege to witness this and to be reminded of the interplay of our lives in the world. It’s the reason I travel; it’s the reason I wake up each day.
Eight Tips for Seeing It All
I hope that this blog post inspires you to see the Grand Canyon. If you travel to the South Rim, here are my top tips for exploring this national treasure:
- Get there as early as possible to find good parking.
- Do some research and figure out which viewpoints are the most important to you beforehand. Then, study the shuttle bus routes. Be prepared for long lines and crowds. Unless you’re there for the entire day, remember that it’s unlikely you’ll be able to see every single viewpoint in a meaningful way. Our favorites were:
- Navajo Point
- Grandview Point
- Maricopa Point
- The Abyss (you can see the Colorado River from here!)
- Desert View Watchtower
- Take time (about 2 hours) and travel along the less-popular eastern route, Desert View Drive. It’s a 26-mile drive from the entrance to Grand Canyon Village that takes you to far more deserted and less crowded spots. We encountered far less people and were able to take our own car from viewpoint to viewpoint, which made that part of our trip so much more enjoyable.
- If you take the shuttle bus towards Hermit’s Rest, start this voyage early. This shuttle route takes about 90 minutes round-trip, but that’s not factoring in time you’ll need to hop off the shuttle, visit the viewpoint, and catch the shuttle to the next viewpoint.
- Bring snacks, water, sunscreen, hats, and a jacket. We encountered an entire year’s worth of weather on our day trip to the canyon—freezing cold rain and winds, followed by a hot blazing sun.
- Stay for sunset (or come for sunrise)—I recommend watching the sunset at the Navajo Point vista along Desert View Drive. The Desert View Watchtower is also a popular vista, but more crowded.
- Mules have the right of way!
- Put your camera down for a minute. Look and listen. Watch how the clouds and angles of the sun cast different colors on the canyon walls, or shut your eyes and see if you can hear the Colorado River at the bottom. Breathe it all in and let the canyon remind you of your worth and your place in the universe. Be thankful to exist in the same space as such beauty.
Enough about me—now I want to know: what drives you? What expands your soul? What makes you come alive? I’d love to hear from you. Share with me in the comments below.
