Hiking Grand Canyon and driving to Utah

Our morning started with a walk on the South Rim, stopping at Grand Canyon Museum and Kolb Studio. The first tells the story of the canyon and full of interesting artifacts (The National Geographic Magazine issue from 1914!), and the second has an ongoing free exhibition of art related to Grand Canyon.

We decided to hike Bright Angel Trail, but not all the way down as we had a long drive ahead and were limited on time. The trail is 3 miles long, but at 1.5-mile point (1,000 feet / 300 m difference in elevation) there is a resthouse. The trail is steep and usually it takes twice long to hike back up. I believe we hiked about 1.25 miles and already saw a resthouse ahead when we decided to turn back. It took us about 1.5 hours with stops to take photos and catch our breath.

Around 3 pm we got back on a road to our next destination in Utah. We made a few stops at overlooks while driving along the south rim of the canyon. ‎⁨Lipan Point was especially great as we could actually see a Colorado river flowing through the canyon.

The drive was pretty memorable as you drive for hours and there is absolutely nothing around you. Part of it goes through Hopi Reservation, so occasionally we would see a roadside stand selling beef jerky or native American rugs, but that’s about it. I had to keep a close eye on the car’s gas level as there were only a few stations along the way.

We got to Kanab, UT around 8 pm and stopped at a grocery store to replenish our snacks and get something for breakfast. It’s a cute little town on a way to our final destination, full of hikers as it’s close to multiple parks. For dinner, we went to a cozy Rocking V Cafe. I don’t remember how late we got to our Airbnb in Orderville, UT, but we were dead tired and went straight to bed.

One of the places on our list that we decided to skip was Antelope Canyon. It was on our way, but can be accessed only by booked in advance tours provided by Navajo Tribe. We didn’t have time for it, but photos from this place look absolutely mesmerizing. There is also Monument Valley further east, but getting to it would be a major detour.