24 Hours in Grand Canyon
I flew out to Las Vegas for a four-day getaway and visiting the Grand Canyon was on our list of activities.
The Grand Canyon has always been on my bucket list so naturally, I was pumped. However, none of my family has ever been so we had to do a lot of our own research as far as what to do, where to go, etc. So I wanted to dedicate this post to my Grand Canyon first-timers.
We arrived in Vegas and spent the first day on the strip, rode the High Roller (open bar option of course) and went to a Cirque de Soleil show. The performers are nothing short of amazing. If you've seen Knocked Up, we went to the same show Ben and Pete see when they're on shrooms LOL (added a link for reference).
The next day, we started our trek to the canyon. Lesson #1: You won't have time to see both the West Rim and the South Rim in one day. The West Rim seems to be more of a tourist trap with the Skywalk, so we headed for the South Rim and stopped at the Hoover Dam on our way. WARNING: the winds can get bad in the spring and that day, they were close to 50 mph. It was terrifying. But the dam is insane and I can't believe humans built that thing. Definitely a site worth seeing.
From there, it's about a four-hour drive to the South rim. Be prepared with food BEFORE you get too far because the options are veryyyy limited. We finally arrived at our hotel and prepared for our big day ahead. My mom (who is deathly afraid of heights) told me she wanted to do a helicopter ride at the canyon and I was in shock. But also excited. But also nervous af. Every time I thought about it, my feet would get hot.
If you ever have the chance to ride in a helicopter over the Grand Canyon, you should absolutely do it. There are multiple companies that offer helicopter tours, but we went through Maverick. Our pilot was so kind and talked to us the whole time about the various parts of the canyon and made sure we were all very comfortable. And the views. I mean, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. It was definitely one of the coolest things I've ever done.
After the chopper ride, we went to the GC Village to grab lunch. Overall, the food options aren't the greatest so it's a good idea to have some of your own snacks. We then hopped on the free shuttle bus and stopped at multiple viewing spots to walk around.
I wish we had more time to explore - it's impossible to see everything in a day. Next time, I want to go more north to see places like Horseshoe Bend and Antelope Canyon. Let me know if you have a favorite canyon spot!
