Like the guides said, 'into the canyon, optional. We were going to head some miles into the canyon and then back out. After that we headed to the South Kaibab trail head. I'd never had it before and it was very good. We rested up, did a little souvenir shopping, then had a great supper at the El Tovar.ĭay 4-This was the big day-into the Grand Canyon! We had a good breakfast at El Tovar. That rim hike was a good warm-up to our canyon hike the next day. What a magnificent sight! It's such a beautiful place. We hiked along the rim back to our hotel. After we got to the Grand Canyon, they picked us up and took us to another tasty lunch, except this time it was on the rim and our first glimpse of the GC. I enjoyed looking for wildlife as we rode along. It was pretty 'meh', but we didn't have anything else to do while waiting for the train.

Joel gave us several recommendations for what to try for supper.ĭay 3-after breakfast the next morning in Williams, we watched a wild west show at the train depot. We would be on our own for the afternoon. We got to feed the grizzlies which was cool. After the hike, we headed to 'Bear'-izona. But, Joel and Bob always had plenty of water and lots of info about local plants, wildlife, and geological formations. After a big breakfast, we headed to Watson Lake outside Prescott. I loved getting Joel's advice on what was good on the menu at each place. The pancakes were huge! My daughter loved her parfait and rest of the crew had tasty omelets. After the kayaking, we headed to Prescott.ĭay 2- we started off with a fantastic breakfast at the Hassayampa Inn. All of the guide lunches we had were very good and plentiful. Bob had lunch waitin for us and it was great. It was a very fun way to get things rolling, esp. We got to paddle and even take turns jumping off of a rock into the channel. The weather was very hot, but the water was cold. They were all very diligent in our need of water, sunblock, and snacks all week. We had an REI guide with us who lead the group, but having our AA guide with us was great too. Joel joined us on our adventure while Bob drove the van to the pick up spot. On day 1, we headed down to the Salt River and got ready to kayak. We got used to seeing the Austin Adventures van and trailer for the next week! They greeted us and the kids and we set out. The next morning, our guides, Joel and Bob, showed up promptly and ready to go. It was a scorching day in Scottsdale waiting for our tour to start. Our trip started off with a long day in Scottsdale after our airline moved us to a very early morning.

There were heat warnings and advisories and even news of a lady that died of heat in the Grand Canyon! We had never done a guided trip before with the kids and there was going to be plenty of hiking in 100+ heat.

'Honestly, we were not sure what to expect: as time drew closer, we were starting to get concerned about our plan of going to the desert in the middle of the summer. 'Honestly, we were not sure what to expect: as time drew closer, we were… read more

Grand canyon family vacation packages