In March, the Bus Clan will do out annual pilgrimage to Arizona to visit my mom, and take in some spring baseball. (Go Sox)
We’ve wanted to see the Grand Canyon for a long time, but are limited by (A) time constraints, with the daughter only having spring break to travel in, ans (2) the fervent desire to take in as much baseball as possible. We’ll fly into Phoenix so the wimmen folk can catch some minor league action in Mesa, then down to Tucson to see some real baseball.
Assuming we fly to Phoneix, what is there, where is there Grand Canyon-esque that’s within a day’s drive of Phoenix, and worth taking a gander at? I Google, and the whole thing looks like a big gouge in the earth, yet I’m sure there are better and not so better places to go see the spectacle.
Help from Dopers?
Don’t do the Grand Canyon as a day trip from Phoenix. You’d be setting yourself up for disappointment. You’d be one of those people who drives up, walks up to the railing, says, “Wow, look at that”, and drives away wondering what all the fuss was about.
Wait until you have time to spend at least a full day there (preferably more) and take either the mule ride or a long hike down into the canyon. Get to know it on its own terms and appreciate its massive size and the multiplicity of ever-changing views. The Grand Canyon is no place for stressed out day-trippers.
For something closer to Phoenix, try Sedona. Or do your wilderness sight-seeing from Tucson and go to Saguaro National Park.
I found that staying in Flagstaff and taking a day trip to the canyon from there worked well. Flagstaff is a little over a two-hour drive from Phoenix, according to Google Maps. As I recall, the canyon was about a 40-minute drive from Flagstaff. Flagstaff is also reasonably well-positioned for a day trip to Meteor Crater, if you’re interested in that.
If you have any tendency toward motion sickness or fear of heights, don’t take the helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon.
I really liked Saguaro National Park, probably better than I liked the Grand Canyon. Those big saguaro cacti are cool!