GRAND CANYON vs ZION NP
We recently did a trip to Zion NP (ZNP) and then went down to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Many people have traveled to the South Rim Grand Canyon (near Flagstaff) but the difference is spectacular. At either rim of the GC you travel down to the bottom. AT ZNP you are in the bottom and have to travel up to get to rim. ZNP closes the main road through the park and you can only travel by bus to get to the viewing areas. (midMay to Mid Sept) We had our bikes, you can put your bike on the bus, take them up the road and ride back, wow, what fun. Note, some people rode their bikes up the road of ZNP,, it is mainly uphill, but the ride back is 98% downhill and a blast. You can make reservations at the ZNP site
http://www.recreation.gov/ you want to stay at Watchman, what is neat you can view the RV sites,… read the site, gives all kinds of info. Ranger told me it does get hot in the summer so plan ahead. We went in early May, weather was gorgeous, but getting a little warm. These are some pictures we took while at ZNP
http://www.flickr.com/photos/63914311@N05/sets/72157635175088264/ if you go to the site and clik on individual picture you can get full screen if you want.
We then drove down to the North Rim, it does not open till the May 15, there was still snow on the ground…. We have been to the North rim a couple of times usually stayed in the cabins,, very nice. This was the first time we camped. Dry camping only, they have nice restrooms, also there is a shower and laundry room across from the campground, very nice. Campground was full. Reservations again, get them early.
http://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/campgrounds.htm this is for the north rim,,, it’s about a mile and half to walk to the main lodge and rim. Very shady,,, stays cool in the summer also.
Now the purpose of going to the North rim again was my great adventure,,, I walked from the North Rim to the South Rim, quiet an experience if you like to punish yourself haha… if interested you can see and read about this
http://walkingrimtorim.blogspot.com/ Donna drove the Beast over to the South rim to meet me.
South rim is really spread out,,, need to take the shuttle run to get anywhere,, were going back on our next trip that direction and spend some more time. Park had full hook ups. We stayed at trailer village campground,,
http://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/cg-sr.htm One last thing,, we have some more pictues of the grand canyon in case your interested. These are mainly pictures I took while on the walk and did not use in the blog.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/63914311@N05/sets/72157633633301068/ We love going to Vegas, stayed at Main Street,, this is a good trip Vegas couple of days, over to Zion, then down to the Grand Canyon and home,,, if you have any questions feel free to contact me directly
davidmsparks@gmail.com
enjoy
Sparky
