About
And for this year's National Park Trip we have the Grand Canyon. July is not the recommended time to visit especially for a hike, but something timing is what you work with. Even with the heat it was a great trip and a visit to the Museum of Musical Instruments in Phoenix was a cherry on top of the trip.
Some General Pictures
Some pictures of note.
- A view of the Canyon from the Bright Angel Lodge area.
- The El Tovar Hotel Dining Room
- In the Canyon proper on the Bright Angel Trail
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The Bright Angel Trail Hike
To the Mile and a Half Rest house.
3.0 Miles round trip and 1,120 elevation
This year's big hike the famous Bright Angel Trail. Located in Grand Canyon Nation Park, it's one of the most popular trails for a reason. It's also incredibly convenient if you are staying in one the lodges on the South Rim, so this was a no brainer.
We originally thought we would hike to the 3.0 mile rest stop or maybe even to Havasupai Gardens at 4.5 miles. But it was July and it was hot, very hot, so a change of plans was called for. After scouring the internet for pictures it looked like the view from the 1.5 and 3.0 mile rest stops were similar and the excessive heat was a reason to nix the Havasupai Gardens. So, off to the 1.5 mile rest stop and back for us!
With a trailhead start at 8:30am it was already 80 degrees and climbing so off we went. 2 hours down to the rest house and it was up to 102 degrees making for a bit of a slog back up the 1,220' feet to the top. But only 2 more hours and we reached the top. Success!
A very well maintained trail with some great views. Definitely something for your bucket list. If you have options I would recommend not doing this in July, but it's not a deal breaker if that is the time you have. I think the high elevation is more of a deal breaker than the heat for those of use who live in the southeast United States. Heat we have, elevation we do not.
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The South Rim Trail
For the next day, something a bit less strenuous
The South Rim Trail is simply incredibly. By using the park shuttle you can hike a 3 mile section of trail that is flat and well maintained with jaw dropping views the entire way.
The road West of the Bright Angle Lodge is closed during the summer and the only way to see the views is to take the park shuttle. The shuttle has 9 stops at various scenic overlooks with buses stopping about every 15 minutes. The vast majority of people simply take the bus from one overlook to the next and never hike at all. Don't be one of those people. Instead find a few sections of the trail that are short and just take the South Rim Trail. The views are breathtaking and the crowds disappear. I would highly recommend the section we did which was from Powell Point to Mohave Point and add 1 more mile to get to the Abys if you still have the legs.
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The MIM (Musical Instrument Museum) in Phoenix, AZ
After a couple of days hiking the canyon it was time for something different. Phoenix has Musical Instrument Museum.
I'll let Wikipedia sum it up with "Opened in April 2010,[1] it is the largest museum of its type in the world. The collection of over 15,000 musical instruments and associated objects includes examples from nearly 200 countries and territories"
While the collection is good what really sets this place a cut above the rest is the incredible use of technology. There are over 300 video screens around the museum showing musicians playing the very instruments displayed next to them. When you enter the museum you get a wireless headset that automatically activates when you approach the video screen so that you can hear everything while at the same time another person can be 10 feet away listening to something entirely different. All with no one interfering with anyone else's experience. To top it off, unlike every other museum with interactive exhibits, these actually work! I think we only encountered two the time we were there.
When we first arrived we thought it would be a quick couple of hours and we would be done. 4 hours later we left a bit overwhelmed and feeling like we had to rush just so that we saw a bit of everything. Each exhibit has 3-5 videos and I know I only saw 1 or 2 so I'm sure I could go back and see and hear so much more.
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