Just had this thought this afternoon, for no apparent reason. And here this thread is!!
See if you can round up a fellow tourist who is a devout fundamentalist, and casually ask him if he really thinks that the Colorado River was able to do all that erosion thru solid rock in only 6,000 years or so. Record his answer for subsequent placing on this board.
Let me know how this works out.
Thank you. This’ll be me at the Grand Canyon.
PunditLisa, I definitely don’t want to do the donkey thing. I have zero experience riding horses or mules or donkeys, plus it just seems like one horrific attack upon my motion sickness.
Speaking of my motion sickness, that is what sort of pushes me away from a helicopter tour. But, I can keep the motion sickness heavily medicated away, so if you guys tell me that a helicopter ride over the canyon will change my life, I’ll give it a shot. What tours are particularly good?
Lare, I definitely will be eating at least a dinner at the El Tovar. I looked up their menu (and pricing!) online and it sounds delicious. Plus, the prices are FAR more reasonable than the TripAdvisor reviews would lead you to believe. Sure, dinner is $20-$30 a person (which isn’t in itself that bad for a steak dinner), but breakfasts and lunches are Applebee’s prices.
Sandra Battye, the ranger talks actually look really cool! I love history and geology, so that’s right up my ally. Thanks for the tip :).
Telemark, I’m not an experienced hiker (well, I mean, I do day hikes and a few hours here and there, but no camping-status-20-mile hikes in my life), but I’m down to give something fun a try. Any shorter, easier trails you suggest over the others? I’m a sucker for killer views.
Also! Can anyone suggest a good book on the Grand Canyon? Ideally one I can throw on my Kindle, but I’m open minded. Truth is, I don’t know terribly much about the history of the canyon, beyond the fact that it’s a giant hole in the ground.
Not on Kindle, but two of my favorite books about The Grand Canyon:
The Man Who Walked Through Time
We Swam the Grand Canyon: The True Story of a Cheap Vacation that Got a Little Out of Hand
Spit into it from the rim. Then you can tell people you can spit a mile. 
We love the Grand Canyon but unfortunately did not get down into it. Stayed overnight at a place on the rim and watched the sunset, viewed the canyon from various vantage points that day and next. We were on a tight schedule that trip and had to leave. It’s a wonder to behold even from above.
If you’re ever feeling very ambitious, there is a place to stay at the bottom of the Canyon. It’s called Phantom Ranch. You can get a steak dinner, a shower, make a phone call, mail a postcard, have a bed for the night and a hot breakfast. Reservations open a year in advance and go quickly.
However, I wouldn’t recommend it for January. But if conditions allow, you can hike one of the two trails from the South Rim down as far as you’re comfortable with and then back up. The Bright Angel Trail tends to be sheltered in one of the side canyons. The South Kaibab Trail probably has better views and more sunlight. There are water stations on Bright Angel, but they might be turned off in the winter. Do a bit of research and check with the ranger station for current conditions.
Or you might just like one of the trails that follows the rim.
Wouldn’t you know it. The perfect thread and no sign of Snowboarder Bo.
Envies Diosa
http://www.frommers.com/destinations/grandcanyonnationalpark/2284026179.html
You can hike down the trail as far as you feel comfortable, and come back up. They key is remembering that it’s going to be harder on the way up than going down, so be conservative, carry lots of water, and check with the rangers for ice conditions on the trails.
Is Bo about to come lay the Grand Canyon hammer down on me or something? 
Anyway, be jealous: look how gorg this is!
Thank you everyone for the great advice, by the way. Keep it comin’, please!
As to a book, I would hesitatingly recommend Over the Edge: Death in Grand Canon an exhaustively-researched treatise into people’s deaths in the Canyon including the whos but mostly the whys.
I don’t mean to be macabre, but it’s an interesting insight into human nature. An astounding number of people try to hike to the bottom in the middle of the summer, or try to climb (with no equipment or training) walls not meant to be climbed. There’s also a very surprisingly high number of people who went plummeting while trying to compose, or be in, a photograph.
From the safety of your cabin, and secure in the knowledge that you won’t do any of the dunderheaded things described in the book, it’s an interesting read and the authors treat the subject matter with just the right touch of wonder and humor to make you appreciate the situations. If you’re a hiker you’ll have an empathy for the stories.
Not available on Kindle, I’m afraid.
By the way, if you’re driving into the park, and if it’s an option, I recommend coming in from the south on US 180 instead of from the east on AZ 64. Coming in from the south, the first time you see the canyon itself it’s “suddenly there” whereas from the east you’re given glimpses of it as you get closer. For a first view, coming from the south is a little more breathtaking, I think.
what should you do? Not fall in the quarry? 
How far from the rim are those cabins anyway, WIth gorg views come perilous heights, I don’t think they try to fence you out too much, so watch where you walk -
I did read Death in Yellowstone (a doper rec) man, some of those accidental deaths were incredible…
Try the one about Yosemite. There’s a whole chapter dedicated to people who, for the most part specifically walked past signs effectively saying “If you go in the river here you will die” so that they could go into the river. Guess what? Most died.
Sorry, not trying to bring down hijack DiosaBellisima’s thread. She will have a wonderful birthday, beautiful views and a grand dinner. Carry on.
And, **DiosaBellisima, **if you’re into photography at all, it’s usually worth it to get up early and get the first sun’s rays striking the Canyon. Most of that desert that you can see to the east of the canyon is the Painted Desert and it looks best at sunrise. Heck, it’s worth seeing even if you’re not into photography!
Whatever you do, don’t try to fill it up!
Not much new to add. But you’ll be close to 7000’ in January, so be ready for the possibility of seriously cold temps.
Provided your stomach can take it, an airplane or helicopter tour (through probably expensive) is highly recommended. If it’s anything like the flights I’ve done there, you’ll come away saying “I can’t believe I was considering not doing that!”
In a weekend you won’t want to stray far. Zion Park is out of the question - but May would be a great time to visit there.
Eat some fired rattlesnake fritters, and grab some super good tex mex while your at it.
AZ Mex, please!
Is it really that much better than what I’m going to get next door in California? If so, I’m down. Tell me where to go. We’ll be driving in from Vegas, so I’m happy to stop wherever is delightful along the way (we’ll be driving just in time to grab dinner, too).
Don’t know if you’d be interested in something like this, but Meteor Crater is less than a 2 hour drive from the South Rim.
That actually is right up my ally, but since it’s the opposite the direction we’d be coming from and we’re only doing a short weekend (with LOTS of driving. Friday-- Vegas to South Rim. Sunday-- South Rim to Vegas. . . then I have to drive from Vegas to Bakersfield, which is four more hours).
If it were a little closer, I’d be all over the crater, though!
Seconding the sunsets! Our first night at TGC in December a few years ago, the sunset hit one of the strata at PRECISELY the right angle for the whole layer of rock to glow red. It was one of the most strikingly beautiful things I have ever seen. I will treasure that memory forever.
Once the sun went down it got cold really fast, and on the rim there’s not much to stop the breeze. Prepare for all kinds of weather. Do what the Rangers and Guides advise. And enjoy the heck out of one of the best canyon in the Solar System!
If you’re driving from Phoenix keep an eye on the local flora - you go through four distinct biomes on the way to the Canyon. Speaking of driving, a nice thing about the park bus system is you can sightsee without worrying about driving.
OTOH the rental car surcharges in Phoenix are killer! Vegas was better for that, but had an undisclosed fee for a second driver. :mad:
Is there a particular place around the Bright Angel lodge that is good for stargazing? Or is that a dumb question because everywhere is amazing for stargazing?
We’ll be driving from Vegas, but I’ll have my car. In fact, it’s my new car-- an Audi Q5 with a panoramic sunroof, so I’m kind of excited to use that sun roof for some stargazing from my nice, heated seats. Of course, I definitely want to actually do some outside star gazing :).
