In need of some Grand advice (Grand Canyon). Late January trip

[craig_gillette]

If you decide to go through tropical northern Arizona and the potential for closed highways and several feet of snow (nice snow in your gallery, btw) you may also want to be sure that if you arrange for a rental, that chains are included. Highway chain controls are often imposed not for the snowbirds who might be used to truly cold weather or driving in snow or dressing for snow but for the lowland locals or tourists who aren't.

[roy1]

Since there are so many replies it's hard to thank you all individually. but thank you for all the great advice... I'm looking into many of these suggestions now.<p>

BTW.. Kent, I'm not one to think 40F is cold at all.. it'll probably Be warmer then our weather in NY during this time of year (thank you for those links! that down vest looks cool). But yes... It's a little colder then I would like it to be for a vacation. <br>regardless though, I'm very excited, and snow can make any given shot that much more attractive.

[daver1]

Since no one else mentioned it, I'll pipe up: Tusayan, just south of the entrance, has excellent motel facilities and is a mere 10 miles outside the park. No sense is driving all the way up from Williams or Flagstaff (!). Rates are MUCH cheaper in Tusayan than inside the park and the difference in drive time is not substantial, if you're on a budget.<p/>

 

FWIW,<p/>

-D<p/>

<a href="http://coyoteimages.com">Coyote Images</a>

[zapped]

Since other respondents have offered advice for side-trips and even suggested the need to stay at the G.C. for a week, I can't resist chiming in again.

 

My personal feeling is that the Grand Canyon pales in comparison to the beauty of Zion and Bryce Canyon Nat'l Parks. I hadn't been to any of the great parks of the desert Southwest until 2004, and if I had it to do over again I would've skipped the G.C. and spent the time at Zion & Bryce.

 

Why such heresy, you ask? The Grand Canyon is beautiful, no doubt about it, but to me it's a one-trick pony. You get your first view of its grandeur, which is breath-taking, but then every viewpoint >> from the rim << is the essentially the same. To really know it and appreciate it you'd have to hike down & back, really take the time to explore it - something that few tourists and arguably even fewer tourist photographers do.

 

Zion and Bryce are smaller in scale and offer up new & beautiful vistas at every turn of the road, and at every turn of the trail on day hikes. In Zion, you're at the base of the canyon looking up at the amazing Utah sandstone cliffs. At the east entrance of Zion, the undulating reds & oranges are like nothing I've ever seen on Earth. The beauty at dawn or sunset is beyond words. At Bryce, the hoodoos are amazing formations whether viewed above from the rim or on a day hike on the Navajo loop.

 

Zion & Bryce are also much more accessible if you want to start and end your trip in Sin City (Vegas).

 

DISCLAIMER - you will have a wonderful time at the Canyon, there is no doubt. Just be aware that as hard as it might be to imagine, there are even more beautiful parks right up the road in southern Utah.

[rosedoodle]

I went to the GG in Sept '02. Camped in Oak Creek Canyon, waking the next morning to a

tent filling with water due to a rare storm that wasn't ending anytime soon, so we packed

up and went to Flagstaff. The next day we headed to Sedona and were treated to a perfect

photo day. I only had my Leica P & S but was still impressed when I got the prints back.

The Canyon was hazy when we got there, so I didn't stay there long. Seeing the first snow

on the San Francisco Peaks was breathtaking, I must say. It's hard to lose out there, really.

Gorgeous territory.

[roy1]

Just wanted to say that I have no doubt about what you said in regards to Utah...<br>

It's been on my list for quite a while as well... as a matter of fact you can expect me to start a thread titled "backpacking in Utah" as soon as next month :0). Hoping to spend at least 4-5 days in one of those parks.

[gary_anthes]

Mr. Zapped, yes, many will see this as heresy. But I agree with you 100%. The pony knows more than one trick, to be sure, but I agree it's not as rich as, say, Zion. I wouldn't spend more than one day on each rim unless I planned to hike into the canyon. There is so much else to see in that general region. Laurent Martres' wonderful book, "Photographing the Southwest," has just come out in its second edition and seems (I do not have it yet) to have many new places not covered in his first edition. For a table of contents, see http://www.photographamerica.com/martrestoc.htm. I'd give anything to have about three months to spend in that area!