Visiting The Grand Canyon was top of Mum and Dad’s list of places to visit after BlogPaws® and, thanks to the services of Steve Gerhart and Arizonascenictours.com they had the perfect visit.

Steve did all the driving so Dad was able to relax, not driving on the wrong side of the road, which would be super stressful for us English folk and not make for a fun holiday break.

TIP If you think you will never see the Grand Canyon for real, don’t be so sure. The Dash Kitten crew never dreamed Mum would get to the BlogPaws conference but she did. The lesson here? Never give up on your dreams.

I will let Mum tell the story, well she was there!. Take it away Mum….

“Thank you Harvey. I will start from out base in Phoenix, AZ after the BlogPaws conference shall I?

The heat in Arizona in June and July can be intense, different from anything we have encountered before. As part of a two day journey, we hoped to spend a whole afternoon and evening in the Grand Canyon area which is at a higher elevation, and not quite as hot.  

We drove through different geographical areas as we gained height – starting with the desert, home to the astonishing Saguaro Cactus.  Although it is not an endangered species, there are strict regulations governing the treatment of the cactus. It’s bloom is the State Flower of Arizona.

We stopped off at the Lowell Observatory, as Dad is an astromoner by training. Here, if can you believe it, it rained on us! Having driven high up from the intense heat of the Sonoran Desert it was welcome though, and did not spoil our visit at all.  In a short time we had climbed high enough to reach an area where rain and snow are much more common than in Phoenix!

Visiting The Grand Canyon

We then moved on to see what is truly one of nature’s wonders. Nothing anyone says can describe the impact, on a mere human, of seeing the sheer size and magnificence of the Grand Canyon. The photograph entitled ‘Looking Deep‘ gives you an idea of what you see when you look down from the viewing areas. 

• The Grand Canyon is 277 miles (446 km) long, up to 18 miles (29 km) in width, and cab be  over a mile deep (6,093 feet/1,857 meters).

Thanks to Steve’s local knowledge we visited several of the best vantage points around the Canyon, and managed to avoid a lot of the crowds. We also managed the best seats in the house for a superb sunset which you can see in the video below.  The key we found was not to rush from place to place, but allow plenty of time to see the Canyon from several different vantage points. You need plenty of time, simply to take in the scale of this most amazing of places.

The clouds you can see in the photographs turned out to be an important part of the scenery, and added so much to our visit. Surprising as that might sound; they added drama and interest to the beautiful blue skies, especially towards the sunset. They also added extra depth and shade over the Grand Canyon itself. [TIP Mouseover images for descriptions. Double-click for full sized version of image].

Video Impressions While Visiting the Grand Canyon

The video is longer than our usual presentations because we aim to give what we hope is an impression of the size, and the magnificence of this amazing place. Please stick with it to the end – it’s worth it!

Our trip to Blogpaws has helped launch the blog in a big way, with more views and a range of sponsored posts coming online, but it also allowed us to enjoy some some of Arizona’s most spectacular treasures including Lowell Observatory and Sedona (coming soon). If you enjoy any of the images – get in touch as we are happy to send a copy for you use as computer wallpaper. We also use a Creative Commons licence for online sharing.

Happy Video Viewing!
Grand Canyon Reporter
Harvey Button