Good Things Come In Threes: The Grand Canyon, Horseshoe Band & Glen Canyon Dam

 My mother came to visit us for a month. She came to make sure her little girl is getting along and not sobbing all day long about her fate. My mother lived in New York many years ago (47 years to be precise), and she was not exactly thrilled to stay in Arizona “what’s there to see anyway?” and quickly booked tickets to New York for three of us.
Determined, I insisted, and decided to show her the wonders of Arizona.

So, the first week we took her to Flagstaff. During the hot summer months, Dim and I took off to Flagstaff to flee the terrible heat. We waited for the temperatures to drop, so that we could take a trip around the Grand Canyon as it was only an hour and a half drive from Flagstaff.
So what is a canyon? – A canyon is a big valley or a deep channel with steep banks and high cliffs surrounding it. Usually a canyon is cut into the ground by a river or a creek. The Grand Canyon is carved thanks to the Colorado river which is 227 miles long and 18 miles wide.

The Grand Canyon was declared a national park in 1919, a week-long entry ticket costs 30 dollars (no one-day entry) per a car, and with this card you can enter all the sites in the area. You can both stay in the observation spots, just to see the breathtaking view, or to take the hiking trails in the area.
My mother was with us, and therefore we stayed in the observation spots, and even had a picnic on the edge of the cliff.

From there we drove for two hours to Horseshoe Band, which is near a town called Page. Many confuse this site with the Grand Canyon. There is a steep and short rise in the sand dunes to spectacular observation spots. The river that flows down is the Colorado River, you can rent a boat and sail along the river (this is the plan for next time).

Before deciding to carry a drone with you, you should know that in the most beautiful sites or views (like Sedona for example) it is forbidden to fly them. We were indeed disappointed, but if we take pictures of our own, how can we buy ridiculously expensive postcards and photographs that they sell in any souvenir shops?

From Horseshoe Band we had a relatively short four-mile trip to a town called Page, where there is the Glen Canyon dam built on the Colorado River. Construction of the dam took about ten years. The purpose of the dam is to divide the water among the states through which the river runs in times of drought. When the water reservoir is filled, the dam regulates the downstream flow of water and provides electricity to the residents of the area.

We wanted to see the Antelope canyon on the same day but it was getting late and we had a two-hour drive back to Flagstaff. This is the place to point out that there are also hotels and hostels near the Grand Canyon, and near Page (even cheaper than around the Grand Canyon), so if you want to take a longer trip in the area – that’s possible, we are just Flagstaff junkies 🙂

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