Day Trip: Grand Canyon

Yesterday was a long day consisting of a day trip to the Grand Canyon. It wasn’t my first time there, but the last time I went 2 years ago with a friend, we went (also on a day trip) from Las Vegas, so I believe I went to the other side of the canyon. Most of us have seen pictures of this natural wonder, but when you see it with your own eyes it is a sight to behold. Seeing it for a second time didn’t diminish the awe I felt at all. Here’s a fun fact for you – did you know that the Grand Canyon is the size of the state of Delaware? That’s insane!

So this 12 hour day started with getting picked up by our guide for the day, who was super knowledgeable, from Redstone Tours. There are a number of different tours you can do through them and even different Grand Canyon packages. The Grand Canyon is 2-3 hours from Sedona and we made a few stops along the way. I don’t want to bore you with a picture heavy post, but I’ve picked out some of the highlights of the day!

The first stop was the Wupatki National Monument near Flagstaff, Arizona. There stands ancient ruins of the Hopi Tribe and you are surrounded by beautiful land. As the official website says, it is “nestled between the Painted Desert and ponderosa highlands of northern Arizona.” The descendants of the Hopi still live nearby on the land.

Next stop was lunch and some shopping at the Cameron Trading Post. Historically, this trading post was frequented only by Navajo and Hopi locals to barter, similar to other trading posts in the west. Lunch was delicious and I was able to pick up a few gifts and maybe a gift for myself too. I felt like this was the perfect opportunity for little souvenirs and trinkets especially if you wanted any Native American art or craft.

I ate the Navajo Taco for lunch which had the typical taco fixings on top of Navajo fried bread. The fried bread is so good that I even bought some of the mix from the trading post to take home!

At the back of the store, this woman was weaving a Navajo rug. So cool to watch!

Then, we finally made it to the Grand Canyon! We stopped at a few different view points along the South Rim. It was quite toasty up there and all the way down at the bottom of the canyon, at the river, it was even hotter! On average it is about 20 degrees hotter at the bottom than up on top. I think they said it was around 112 in the canyon yesterday! On a side note, there’s a Native American tribe that lives in the canyon. I wonder how they deal with the heat down there?! I guess they are used to it?

Here are some photos from this natural wonder…

I think the shadows in the canyon are so cool! Also, the shadows produced by the clouds above are pretty awesome too.

The light brown lines down the center are some of the hiking trails. It takes between 3-6 hours to hike the shorter trails down into the canyon. Beyond the trees all the way down there, there is also an inn because most people can’t hike down and back up in 1 day.

It was a long, but great day venturing out to the Hopi ruins, Navajo reservation and Grand Canyon. To end the evening, once back at the hotel, we had dinner down the road at Schoolhouse Restaurant where we had Fanta Chipotle Wings, Cajun Pork Belly, and I had the Pan Seared Diver Scallops as my entree. Oh and a mixed berry cobbler for dessert! A long day sure works up your appetite!

As for what I’m wearing –

Fringe Top: Mossimo via Target
Denim Shorts: LC Lauren Conrad via Kohls
Hat: GAP Factory Store
Sneakers: Nike
Sunglasses: Matte Wayfarers via Ray-Ban

Just a few days left to this trip! I’ll be sad to see it end, but honestly I’m starting to miss my own bed!