Taking my old Camry to the Grand Canyon

I have never been to the Grand Canyon ;-(. I would like to see the Glen Canyon area, Canyonlands, cliff dwellings, etc.

From the "survival" side, always keep 1 or 2 gallons of drinkable water in the car. If you do not have a sleeping bag, you may want to invest in one with synthetic fill (goose down is lighter but will not keep you warm if it gets wet) with a 20 degree rating in case you end up spending a night in your car. You may want to invest in a wide-brimmed

Do the usual pre-trip checks on your car - oil change, check brake pads, coolant change, check condition of radiator, transmission fluid change, check condition of tires and tire inflation, etc.

Have a great trip!

That and about 200K more miles so long as you have been taking care of your car and continue to take care of it.

Two cans of fix-a-flat and inflator. Forget the bags (if you don't have em) - just bring heavy coats or jackets - just in case. The Rim does get cold at night.

j

If you go across in I-40, it's easy enough to stop at Painted Desert and Petrified Forest National Parks. You won't have to stop for long.

After the Grand Canyon, you might camp at Arches or Canyonlands National Parks. We stayed at Island in the Sky at Canyonlands and the view from the observation are near the campground is breathtaking. No water is available there. Purchase it at the ranger station (10 or so miles down the road) or bring it from elsehwere.

Along I-70 on your way back to Denver is a town called Glenwood, which has a fine hot spring feeding a large system of swimming pools. On my next trip there, I plan to pay the $5 and go swimming (got in too late to take advantage on the previous trip).

There's a waiting list of a year or so to camp at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. Campsites at the top of the Canyon on the South Rim can be hard to come by, too. The little town to the south of the park has hotels that are fairly expensive There is BLM land on which you can camp more or less between that little town and the park entrance, if you can't find something else. It's lousy camping on that BLM land but it's really cheap (or maybe free, can't recall).

Don't forget to bring sacks of money. The CYN is the ONLY source of income for AZ - or so it seems. All parks should be free.

j

My info is a little old: from 1987. I approached the GC from the south (I-40): quite a drive. Spent much of the afternoon at the southern overlook near(ish) the east end, where they had loads of info and sun-shelter. As it's a National Park, they didn't allow commercial eateries and such. The last fast food joint was some way south, before the Park boundary: eg, McDonald's (with a sign apologising for high prices, due to having to haul everything in, water included, further than usual).

I got chatting to a Park Ranger, who told me of a motel over in Tuba City, not too far east (northeast?) of the GC. TC is a tiny place inside the Navajo reserve. The motel was on the southern edge and entirely NOT expected: for quality, it could have beaten down most Best Westerns I have ever seen. The breakfast eatery was good, too. I gathered it was a tribal business. On the way (ie, between GC and TC) I passed a spot where dinosaur footprints could be seen in rocks: one looked out for Navajo trinket stalls nearby.

As to survival: I try to take along a 2.5 gallonUS water plastic carboy from which to refill 6 x 0.5-litre bottles I keep chilled in a cooler (with ice -- whose meltwater you can drink if things are getting desperate). Take a hat (with chin strap or risk the wind blowing it away) with wide brim. Proper dark glasses. Sun cream (FP30+). Map (I like the Michelin series which has the USA in three sheets: accurate & manageable). I also take stuff like compass, reflector, string, 10x25 binoculars... but maybe that's just me. These days a mobile/cell-phone makes sense. Oh... and have your car serviced before you go.

I don't recognize the CYN abbreviation. Would you translate?

Some things were a little spendy but not noticeably more so than other parts of the West, where gas, food, etc, get hauled in from far away.

Sorry

Canyon

j

congrats on your proposed trip to Grand Canyon....take your woolies if it's after the middle of October, because it can get mighty cold. And while you're in the neighborhood, go out of your way and visit Bryce Canyon Utah. Sure, it's not around the corner, but it's an unforgettable sight, and you'll remember it all your life....and kick yourself if you have to experience Bryce only thru pictures. Speaking of pictures, be sure to take a digital camera and a big memory card, and lots of batteries on your trip. Or if you don't have a large memory card, unload it frequently at large stores that have printing services. Better to have the big card(s).

No need to be sorry. Thanks for the translation and the link; you've done your bit today to help stamp out ignorance. :-)

I plugged in another acronym I know of and got the answer I expected. I'll have to try to remember that site; it looks useful.

The beauty is to get different contexts - even slang and international uses. Also try - when in google "define: xxxxx whatever"

If you plan to stay overnight, and you should, you should be looking for one of the busses that go to the Grand Canyon daily. Better yet, look for one of the helicopters that fly out of Los Vegas on day trips ;)

mike hunt

Or the train....

When you get to western Oklahoma, on I-40 (also known as the old route 66) there is The Stafford Air and Space Museum 5 bucks for adults

And a good Route 66 museum at Clinton 3 dollars for Adults And there used to be a really good deal at the Calmez Hotel in Clinton, but they tore it down years ago. The old route 66 has so much American history I'd stop at a one of the Route 66 museums along the way, maybe several of them. That's one of my travel goals, maybe next year. Here is a website listing them

You can't do that in a Toyota....you need a Vette....LOL

Not really; just about any ragtop will do. Well, just about any ragtop would be a huge improvement over a minivan.

I would like to thank everybody who participated in this thread for your time and all the useful information. Thank you very much, guys!

We will, of course, be looking for an interesting and informative essay from you, (eg) "What I Did On My Driving Holiday/Vacation".