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  #1  
Old May 25th, 2010, 04:38 PM posted to rec.travel.usa-canada
retrosorter
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Posts: 6
Default grand canyon area

Hi,
I will be vacationing in Prescott, Arizona for 3 weeks this June/
July and want to take a side trip to the Grand Canyon area for 2-3
days. Any suggestions of where to stay in the Grand Canyon area that
is not incredibly expensive would be greatly appreciated. Also please
mention things to do in the Grand Canyon area. I've heard that the
heliocopter ride is not to be missed.
Thanks

  #2  
Old May 25th, 2010, 06:53 PM posted to rec.travel.usa-canada
Hatunen
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Posts: 4,483
Default grand canyon area

On Tue, 25 May 2010 08:38:24 -0700 (PDT), retrosorter
wrote:

Hi,
I will be vacationing in Prescott, Arizona for 3 weeks this June/
July and want to take a side trip to the Grand Canyon area for 2-3
days. Any suggestions of where to stay in the Grand Canyon area that
is not incredibly expensive would be greatly appreciated. Also please
mention things to do in the Grand Canyon area. I've heard that the
heliocopter ride is not to be missed.
Thanks


You can stay in Flagstaff, which has the usual quota of
inexpensive freeway motels.

When I take people to the Canyon for a short trip, we stay in
Flagstaff. I take them on a tour through Sunset Crater national
Monument, then the back road to Wupatki National Monument (the
road overlooks the distant Painted Desert) and then on to Cameron
and its trading post. It'struly touristy, but it is an old
trading post for the Navajo Nation and it has a very nice
restaurant.

Then in the east entrance to the GCNP.

We drive the rim to the village, stopping at overlooks that
interest us. In the village we stroll a while along the rim. Then
south to Williams and back to Flagstaff.

I believe the helicopters are along that road from GC Village to
Williams. Fecently some restrictions have been imposed by the
Park Serviceon Canyon flyovers. You should Google for soem of
these services; reservations may be required well in advance.

We actually spend only the last half of the day at the Canyon.
I've been there a number of times on these quicky trips and only
spend the day there. The Grand Canyon has a number of things you
can do there, but you would have to stay there, probably in the
Canyon Village, to take advantage of them, and some, like mule
rides to the bottom require freservations well in advance and
have weight. You can also do some extensive hiking.

The problem really is that you can either spend a few hours there
taking photos and oohing and aahing or you can spend a couple
days there; there doesn't seem to be an in-between.

Highway 89A between Flagstaff and Sedona goes through the
spectacular Oak Creek Canyon and should notbe missed. On a hot
day Slide Rock State Park is a fun place to get wet in Oak Creek.

I remeber Sedona when it wasn't a wold-class resort area and I
thik it's been badly spoiled. But it's worth a stop for lunch.

On your way out of Prescott be srue to make a stop at the
quasi-ghost town of Jerome.

There are a number of sights in the Prescott-GC area, such as
Montezuma's Castle National Monument and Montezuma's Well,
Tuzigoot National Monument, and Walnut Canyon National Monument.





--
************* DAVE HATUNEN ) *************
* Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow *
* My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *
  #3  
Old May 26th, 2010, 04:46 AM posted to rec.travel.usa-canada
Hatunen
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Posts: 4,483
Default grand canyon area

On Tue, 25 May 2010 23:18:33 -0400, Shawn Hirn
wrote:

In article
,
retrosorter wrote:

Hi,
I will be vacationing in Prescott, Arizona for 3 weeks this June/
July and want to take a side trip to the Grand Canyon area for 2-3
days. Any suggestions of where to stay in the Grand Canyon area that
is not incredibly expensive would be greatly appreciated. Also please
mention things to do in the Grand Canyon area. I've heard that the
heliocopter ride is not to be missed.
Thanks


Good luck with that. In order to stay anywhere remotely near the Grand
Canyon, you need to book a room several months in advance.


For various values of "remotely." Rooms are almost always
available in Flagstaff or Williams on, at most, a couple days
notice.


--
************* DAVE HATUNEN ) *************
* Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow *
* My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *
  #4  
Old May 26th, 2010, 05:26 AM posted to rec.travel.usa-canada
Graham Harrison[_3_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 288
Default grand canyon area


"Hatunen" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 25 May 2010 23:18:33 -0400, Shawn Hirn
wrote:

In article
,
retrosorter wrote:

Hi,
I will be vacationing in Prescott, Arizona for 3 weeks this June/
July and want to take a side trip to the Grand Canyon area for 2-3
days. Any suggestions of where to stay in the Grand Canyon area that
is not incredibly expensive would be greatly appreciated. Also please
mention things to do in the Grand Canyon area. I've heard that the
heliocopter ride is not to be missed.
Thanks


Good luck with that. In order to stay anywhere remotely near the Grand
Canyon, you need to book a room several months in advance.


For various values of "remotely." Rooms are almost always
available in Flagstaff or Williams on, at most, a couple days
notice.


--
************* DAVE HATUNEN ) *************
* Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow *
* My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *


Mention of Williams reminds me that http://www.thetrain.com/ is a way of
getting to the South Rim.

My own preference on the three times I've been to the Canyon has been to
stay at one of the places inside the park on the South Rim (I'll get to the
North one day). It's expensive and can be a bit soulless but doing that
I've seen both sunrise and sunset over the canyon and I've been able to hike
down to Phantom Ranch. You also get a slightly calmer view than during the
day when the hordes arrive.

But getting those reservations has always been an adventure. The first
time I did it I booked well in advance and got both South Rim and Phantom
with few problems. I can't remember precisely how I organised things the
second time but I got reservations at Phantom Ranch but for some reason
didn't get reservations for the night before. Found myself driving up from
Williams with a stream of cars coming towards me and suddenly realised that
I'd better do something which turned out to be a not very attractive motel
at the junction with the road from Flagstaff. Last time I only booked the
flights from the UK 3 weeks before departure and when I contacted the canyon
the answer was "full". But I phoned again the night before and got a room.
When we did arrive the full signs were up so I was lucky.

  #5  
Old May 26th, 2010, 04:17 PM posted to rec.travel.usa-canada
retrosorter
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 6
Default grand canyon area

On May 25, 1:53*pm, Hatunen wrote:
On Tue, 25 May 2010 08:38:24 -0700 (PDT), retrosorter

wrote:
Hi,
I will be vacationing in Prescott, Arizona for *3 weeks this June/
July and want to take *a side trip to the Grand Canyon area for 2-3
days. Any suggestions of where to stay in the Grand Canyon area that
is not incredibly expensive would be greatly appreciated. Also please
mention things to do in the Grand Canyon area. I've heard that the
heliocopter ride is not to be missed.
Thanks


You can stay in Flagstaff, which has the usual quota of
inexpensive freeway motels.

When I take people to the Canyon for a short trip, we stay in
Flagstaff. I take them on a tour through Sunset Crater national
Monument, then the back road to Wupatki National Monument (the
road overlooks the distant Painted Desert) and then on to Cameron
and its trading post. It'struly touristy, but it is an old
trading post for the Navajo Nation and it has a very nice
restaurant.

Then in the east entrance to the GCNP.

We drive the rim to the village, stopping at overlooks that
interest us. In the village we stroll a while along the rim. Then
south to Williams and back to Flagstaff.

I believe the helicopters are along that road from GC Village to
Williams. Fecently some restrictions have been imposed by the
Park Serviceon Canyon flyovers. You should Google for soem of
these services; reservations may be required well in advance.

We actually spend only the last half of the day at the Canyon.
I've been there a number of times on these quicky trips and only
spend the day there. The Grand Canyon has a number of things you
can do there, but you would have to stay there, probably in the
Canyon Village, to take advantage of them, and some, like mule
rides to the bottom require freservations well in advance and
have weight. You can also do some extensive hiking.

The problem really is that you can either spend a few hours there
taking photos and oohing and aahing or you can spend a couple
days there; there doesn't seem to be an in-between.

Highway 89A between Flagstaff and Sedona goes through the
spectacular Oak Creek Canyon and should notbe missed. On a hot
day Slide Rock State Park is a fun place to get wet in Oak Creek.

I remeber Sedona when it wasn't a wold-class resort area and I
thik it's been badly spoiled. But it's worth a stop for lunch.

On your way out of Prescott be srue to make a stop at the
quasi-ghost town of Jerome.

There are a number of sights in the Prescott-GC area, such as
Montezuma's Castle National Monument and Montezuma's Well,
Tuzigoot National Monument, and Walnut Canyon National Monument.

--
* ************** DAVE HATUNEN ) *************
* ** * * * Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow * * * * *
* ** My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *


Hi Dave,

Thanks for your reply. I'm thinking that b/c Flagstaff isn't that much
closer to GC than Prescott, it might make more sense to get some early
starts from Prescott, and visit the Canyon two or three times, and
drive home to Prescott in the evening. What thinks you?
  #6  
Old May 26th, 2010, 05:12 PM posted to rec.travel.usa-canada
SMS
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 899
Default grand canyon area

On 25/05/10 8:38 AM, retrosorter wrote:
Hi,
I will be vacationing in Prescott, Arizona for 3 weeks this June/
July and want to take a side trip to the Grand Canyon area for 2-3
days. Any suggestions of where to stay in the Grand Canyon area that
is not incredibly expensive would be greatly appreciated. Also please
mention things to do in the Grand Canyon area. I've heard that the
heliocopter ride is not to be missed.
Thanks


We stayed at the Grand Hotel outside the park and it was $90 a night,
but that was in December which is low season. Very nice but strange
sheets that did not fit the bed and kept falling off. I'm sure in
June/July, the worst times to go to the Grand Canyon, that the hotels
are far more expensive, and harder to book.

Not much to do at the GC in the summer except hiking. If you have a
vehicle with 4WD you can drive down to the bottom of the GC through some
Indian land, but you have to pay about $16 a person for access.
See "http://www.takemytrip.com/featured0705.htm"

The real question is what will you do for 3 weeks in Prescott? I went
there in January on the way back from Sedona, to visit some friends that
had moved there from California. Nice little town, but I don't think I'd
spend 3 weeks there. At least they have a Costco.


  #7  
Old May 26th, 2010, 10:46 PM posted to rec.travel.usa-canada
Hatunen
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 4,483
Default grand canyon area

On Wed, 26 May 2010 08:17:46 -0700 (PDT), retrosorter
wrote:

Hi Dave,

Thanks for your reply. I'm thinking that b/c Flagstaff isn't that much
closer to GC than Prescott, it might make more sense to get some early
starts from Prescott, and visit the Canyon two or three times, and
drive home to Prescott in the evening. What thinks you?


I think Prescott is further from the Canyon than you think.

From Flag the GC is about 100 miles, all pretty smooth driving,
albeit two-lane. From Prescott it's about 128 miles, on two-lane
except for a few miles (Prescott-Ash Fork-Williams-Grand Canyon
village) and there's mountainous driving involved.

The rim drive at GC is over 50 miles long and you'll need to
return to drive back to Prescott. From Flag, it's a kind of loop
drive and you only need to do the rim drive one way.


--
************* DAVE HATUNEN ) *************
* Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow *
* My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *
  #8  
Old May 26th, 2010, 10:49 PM posted to rec.travel.usa-canada
Hatunen
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 4,483
Default grand canyon area

On Wed, 26 May 2010 09:12:57 -0700, SMS
wrote:

The real question is what will you do for 3 weeks in Prescott? I went
there in January on the way back from Sedona, to visit some friends that
had moved there from California. Nice little town, but I don't think I'd
spend 3 weeks there. At least they have a Costco.


The movie "Billy Jack" was filmed in Prescott, and if you've been
there you recognize a lot of the locations. But the hippies and
bikers that tagged along and worked as extras irritated the
townspeople so much filming had to be moved, so about half-way
through the locations become Sante Fe NM, a totally different
looking town.

--
************* DAVE HATUNEN ) *************
* Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow *
* My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *
  #9  
Old May 27th, 2010, 12:59 AM posted to rec.travel.usa-canada
SMS
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 899
Default grand canyon area

On 26/05/10 2:49 PM, Hatunen wrote:
On Wed, 26 May 2010 09:12:57 -0700, SMS
wrote:

The real question is what will you do for 3 weeks in Prescott? I went
there in January on the way back from Sedona, to visit some friends that
had moved there from California. Nice little town, but I don't think I'd
spend 3 weeks there. At least they have a Costco.


The movie "Billy Jack" was filmed in Prescott, and if you've been
there you recognize a lot of the locations. But the hippies and
bikers that tagged along and worked as extras irritated the
townspeople so much filming had to be moved, so about half-way
through the locations become Sante Fe NM, a totally different
looking town.


Wow, I remember that movie, but it was so long ago that I can't remember
any of the scenes.
  #10  
Old May 27th, 2010, 02:17 AM posted to rec.travel.usa-canada
Brian[_1_]
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Posts: 1,152
Default grand canyon area

On Wed, 26 May 2010 14:46:15 -0700, Hatunen wrote:


I think Prescott is further from the Canyon than you think.

From Flag the GC is about 100 miles, all pretty smooth driving,
albeit two-lane. From Prescott it's about 128 miles, on two-lane
except for a few miles (Prescott-Ash Fork-Williams-Grand Canyon
village) and there's mountainous driving involved.

The rim drive at GC is over 50 miles long and you'll need to
return to drive back to Prescott. From Flag, it's a kind of loop
drive and you only need to do the rim drive one way.


It's been a while since we've been there but I remember reading at the
time that the road had a number of fatal accidents. I would imagine it
was because it would be very easy to speed on it but since there are
slow vehicles also, it requires a lot of passing.
 




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