Grand Canyon Vacation

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We just got back from our Grand Canyon vacation and it was the best. I can’t wait to share pictures and stories with you guys!!! Have you ever been to the Grand Canyon? In the words of my daughter Mae, “everyone should see this once in their life.” It was breathtaking. 

Early on in this year I made a decision to road trip my kiddos to the Grand Canyon and I wanted to do it in an RV. Of course at the time I didn’t have an RV, but that’s the thing goals and dreams are made of – big plans! I made RV site reservations in the Grand Canyon Trailer Village and set my sights on an epic family road trip. Of course I had to buy and RV, so the hunt started for the perfect little camper for our family. I found one I liked, could afford and had makeover potential on Facebook Marketplace. One big decision later and the camper was parked in my driveway. I didn’t even have a trailer hitch! Talk about literally putting the cart before the horse!

One trailer hitch later and a few coats of paint and our lil camper was ready! You can see the full makeover HERE. It’s a cute one, so don’t miss it. 

Since it’s just me and three tween/teens I decided to break the drive up by stoping halfway and making a little sidebar vacation coming and going. It was a smart move to give me a break and add some extra sites to the adventure. Our first stop was Santa Rosa, New Mexico. 

If I’m being completely honest with you, Santa Rosa didn’t have a ton to offer but the three things we did there were worth the stop! We visited the Power Falls Dam in Santa Rosa, while it was rough and kinda small, it was a beautiful free outdoor excursion for us to take in the cool water on our toes and the fresh air in our lungs. It’s worth a few minutes of your day if you make the stop in town. 

Next we headed to The Blue Hole in Santa Rosa and oh my – were the kids in love. This mama had a ton of fun too. This gorgeous natural spring is as blue as the sky and cool as the fridge. It takes your breath away literally! We took turns jumping, diving and canon balling into the Blue Hole, getting braver with each jump. This is a must see sight for you road trip friend. We had a blast. 

After a morning full of Blue Hole fun we headed to Park Lake to play on the giant inflatable water top playground. It’s the coolest thing, like a real life episode of Wipeout. I let the kids get started and then of course I had to join in the fun – water slides, obsticale courses and water swings – what’s not to love and try? I felt like a kid at heart all day. Total win and goal for the trip accomplished and we hadn’t even made it to the Grand Canyon. It’s always a blast to watch your kids have good clean fun. I was sore in places I didn’t know about the next day, LOL. 

 

We headed out to the Canyon the next morning and after we rolled into camp and got the camper settled, we walked to the Grand Canyon. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the feeling I felt when I approached the Canyon Rim and saw the granduer staring me in the face. Overwhelming. Astonishing. Breathtaking. Awe-Inspiring. God Breathed.

 

I felt small and big all at the same time. The God who pushes up moutains and presses down canyons, who creates wide valleys of unbelievable scale and deep oceans full of unknown that stay in their borders, also created me. And you.  

My children were in awe as well. I wasn’t sure what their response would be, so the beauty of the moment was welcome and made that crazy January decision feel right. We walked in the cool Arizona air and took in an evening I will never forget. Tears may or may not have leaked out a few times. 

Hiking the Grand Canyon is a must, but definitly not for the light hearted! We headed to the trails the next day and as you can imagine, going down was fun, coming up required lots of what my kids called “mom breaks”. I feel confident saying they were grateful their old mom needed breaks!!! Every turn begged for a picture, so I am trying to narrow down the best and favorites for you guys! 

We alternated morning hikes into the Canyon with evening hikes on the Rim Trails and it was a good mix for us. We didn’t hike too far down, because even with three young ones, they realized the Grand Canyon is no joke! 

Sunrise and sunset are nothing to skip if you make the trek to this part of the world.

One day we headed to the little town of Tusayan outside the South Rim and bought souvenirs, got some ice cream and then we headed into the forest. I drove the kiddos trough the Kaibab National Forest. The boys and I are always up for a nature adventure and driving through the unknow, eyes peeled for wildlife with some great music playing is a favorite outing of ours. Mae slept in the backseat for a bunch of the drive! Our drive paid off with a Black Bear sighting! 

Mae perked up and the girls ruled on a climb to the top of the Grandview Lookout Tower.

Unspoiled views from the forest to the canyon – if you were brave enough to make the steep climb. 

We took the dogs with us on our Grand Canyon adventure, they are part of the reason I wanted an RV – I hate leaving them behind! The pups did great, even if we were occasionaly the people with annoying barking dogs in the RV parks.

Overall they did specatcular and we enjoyed having them with us, taking them on walks in the woods with Elk and having them hang in the camper. 

We really took it easy on vacation, didn’t overfill the schedule, and that was so relaxing! We cooked in the RV, took a nap every day and moved through the day without a timeline.

When it was time to turn the RV around and head back to Texas we made one more stop on the road. We spent the night in Albuquerque, New Mexico to break up to drive and have a little extra fun. The zoo has always been a family happy spot, so I took my babies to the zoo and it did not disappoint.

It was a great feeling to know some things never change and all the trips spent traipsing through zoos across the country over the years carved deep and meaningful memories in my kiddo’s spirits. Big kids on the carousel, ice cream treats and all a visit to all our favorite animals made a fun filled, kid-like day.  We remenisced and made new memories, what a treat! 

I hope you enjoy some of the fun pictues I have to share of our Grand Canyon vacation adventure. If nothing else, I am hopeful you will be encouraged to head outside of your comfort zone. Things will happen, it might be difficlt and uncomfortable at times, but in the end it pays off to stretch yourself. I have to admit, I was so proud of myself for seeing this adventure through and creating a memorable vacation for me and the kids.