Alright...I have a huge adult confession to make. Right around the time we started our adventure, I realized I knew very little about the Grand Canyon...to the point of embarrassment...and potentially shame to my family. Not that we have a special tie to it, but because at the very least we are American...and it's in America...and that should be enough. So while talking to my mom, I decided to compile a list of all my misconceptions, and display them on the blockchain for all eternity. It's the least I could do. 😉
1. Location
For my entire life, I pictured the Grand Canyon in the north. Somewhere near Mt. Rushmore. Why? Because whenever I heard stories of families heading west, they always threw those two together in stories. So, obviously they must have been close, right? Wrong! It's actually in Arizona...near the desert. When I finally saw it on the map, suddenly it all made sense! The terrain always seemed out of place before. Face Palm
2. Temperature...and back again to location...
To keep warm...or warmer while traveling, we have been following the weather. We haven't always been successful. #19degreesinlaketahoe looking at you 
So, we start the drive there, and we're slowly going through hillsides. My ears are popping a bit, but I don't think much of it. Then the temperature starts dropping.
60°F
50°F
40°F
Sitting in line at the entrance of Grand Canyon Village...35ish°F...oh...and what is that falling? Snow! It was snow!
Luckily, all of our winter gear was still easily accessible.
It all comes back to location again...
It isn't in the desert...it's in the mountains, where it gets cold and snows.
3. Tourists
Since I was expecting warmer climate, I was also expecting to be around the average Disneyland tourist. Ya know...big hats, big sunglasses, even bigger fanny pack, socks in sandals, and let's add sunscreen on the nose for good measure. Now, what I really saw was large winter coats and explorer wear.
Let's double back there...explorer wear? To explore what?? Which leads me to #4.
4. Terrain
Somewhere...in some movie...I saw a family visiting the Grand Canyon. They drove up, they got out of their car, walked a few steps to the flat edge of the canyon (without a guard rail), looked down the deep crevice, peered over to the other flat side, took a family photo and left.
I'll start with the most obvious...
No one is driving their car up to the Grand Canyon. Like most things, they have taken an amazing wonder of our world and found a way to make money from it. This is my biggest frustration while traveling. However! They did a great job at the Grand Canyon. It was $35 for a vehicle to get in, but once you are through, you enter into a whole village! It's full of cabins, restaurants, ranger stations, gift shops, an art gallery and tons and tons of free parking. It even has a post office, train, bus and trolley sytem. There was also a kennel and a mule barn...full of mule! What the what?!
And...once you park and get settled...you walk the nice maintained path to the edge of the canyon either the North Rim or the South Rim. We chose the south because the north was closed. You are also completely safe behind a guard rail. Did I mention my fear of falling into it? The struggle is real. Then you look out over a canyon so wide that there are practically mountains growing in between! And so deep that you can see trees growing. There was no flat part on the other side to look at, just rolling canyon. It was beautiful!
So, now you might be wondering why anyone might need explorer wear to walk through a town and stand next to a rail...
Well, just past my safety rail, down the steep cliffside laid a hiking trail...with no safety anything! At first I thought it might only be for rangers until I saw normal people casually walking on it. Those brave souls.
It also gave meaning to the mules.
5. Accomadations
In a place crawling with tourists, where they have made an entire community soley based on housing the tourists, we assumed...haha assumed...that there would not be a location for us to sleep for free. But we were wrong!
Just outside the community, a nice dirt road housed disspersed camping. Perfect! When we got there, it was already full of tents and carcampers so we settled right in! The next morning, we drove out of there early...it was super cold!
The best part of our adventure has been taking things that have never seemed quite real and making them real. Or fixing wrong ideas.
I think later, maybe in the summer, we might go to the North Rim. Wait! Maybe that's where you can drive straight to it with lots of sunscreen on!
