As part of my first road trip of 2014 I took a day trip to the West Rim of the Grand Canyon from Las Vegas. My favorite mode of travel is by car, but I decided to go with a tour this time both because it seemed like the cheaper option and also because I have spent most of my vacation alone and was longing for company.
I came upon a Groupon for the Comedy on Deck Tours for $79, they also had a package that included breakfast and lunch for $99 but I am vegetarian and somewhat a picky eater so I chose to bring my own food instead. We were supposed to be picked up in Las Vegas on Flamingo Blvd at 6:15 AM, the bus was late almost 20 minutes and that got me a bit worried about how the rest of the day would go. It was a very old rickety bus ( we had better ones 15 years ago in Romania, if that tells you anything), with a thick layer of dust around the windows and in the gaps between the clattery chairs. Most people chose the option with the meal, so they had to fill out a paper with their breakfast choices. Then the driver collected them and put on a video for us to watch on the single tiny screen on one side of the bus, while he called in the breakfast choices to the restaurant. After that we were finally off. Oh, but not for long, just about 30 minutes after rolling out from the parking lot, the bus stopped in Henderson, at a place called the Omelet House where those who purchased the meal option had their breakfast.
There was also a $8.99 “tribal fee” which the driver collected here. By the time we left from the Omelet House it was a few minutes after 9AM. I found this very annoying! There was no need for the “tour” to start at 6:15AM, we were in Las Vegas after all and most of the hotels offer great breakfast options some even make it complementary. So what does this tour company get from taking its customers to this little restaurant I do not know. I would have much preferred to be picked up 3 hours later and get straight on the road!
We had another very quick stop at the Hoover Dam, it was exciting for those who haven’t been before, but I have visited it in the past, and from a much better vintage point.
After that we were finally on our way to the West Rim. Our driver spoke for a good part of the drive, he was informative and funny but it made me nervous he was using a hand held microphone and driving with one hand on those winding two lane roads!!! Even if he does this every day or every other day, it seemed unsafe. Cell phones aren’t allowed while driving, I can’t imagine microphones would be any safer. Please, Comedy on Deck, buy your drivers a clip-on microphone or a headset!
As we got closer to the West Rim we drove up on Pierce Ferris Road which goes through the second thickest Joshua Tree forest in the US. The trees here were more dense than in Joshua Tree National Park!
When we got the the West Rim the bus had to pull into the parking lot where all vehicles are required to park. An important thing to know about the West Rim of the Grand Canyon is that it is not part of Grand Canyon National Park. It belongs to the Hualapai Tribe since 1983.
↑ with some members of the tribe in their traditional clothing
The tribe’s main source of income is from the tourism to this part of the Grand Canyon. The Hualapai do not allow any vehicles past the main parking lot, everyone has to take their hop-on hop-off busses. For us they were included in the price we paid to the tour company but if you drive your own vehicle here you’ll have to pay per person.
There are two points where the buses take visitors to see the Grand Canyon, the first one, is Eagle Point, named so because part of the canyon here is shaped like a giant eagle.
↑ do you see the eagle shape?
This is the place where Skywalk was built a few years ago, the horse-shoe shaped glass bridge that stretches out over the canyon. You can see it behind me in this picture. ↓
It costs $35 per person as of now to go on the Skywalk, however, you can not take anything with you, therefore no personal photos. They do have their own photographers who will take photos of you. From what we’ve been told by our driver photos start at $30. If you want the adrenaline rush of walking on a glass bridge above the canyon, it’s a must on your wish list, or you just have money to blow go for it! I chose not to as the view was the same standing next to the bridge or on it.
Because this part of the Grand Canyon is not part of the national park system, railings are not required and are not installed, so watch your step! I must admit it is very tempting to go as close to the edge as your nerves allow you and to climb to the highest peak.
The second point the busses go to is Guano Point (guano= bird poop). It got its name from the tons (literally) of bat poop discovered in the giant cave beneath what’s called today Guano Point. A lot of it was extracted, it is a very potent fertilizer because of its high nitrogen content. Our driver tried to shock us saying it was a common ingredient in make-up, however this isn’t true, guanine is used in some cosmetics and it comes from fish scales not feces.
This is a bigger, wider area than Eagle Point and if one walks all the way to the end and climbs to the top of the rocks there is an amazing 360degree view. First I climbed about half way to the top all the way on the back-end and chose a quiet picnic spot on the rocks for lunch. I just sat there for a while and took in the view. It was the best part of my trip!
↑ views from my picnic spot at Guano Point
Some more pics from Guano Point:
But…. gee how do I say this??? I mean it’s the Grand Canyon!!!? Well, hmmm…… here goes the great truth: even though the views were beautiful and I got a kick out of climbing to the highest rocks, I was not mesmerized! Perhaps I have to visit the other part of the Grand Canyon to see it as one of The Seven Natural Wonders Of The World. I suppose one’s reaction depends very much on previous travels, if one hasn’t seen much of nature’s work these views might be absolutely dazzling, but for me there have been other places that have left me totally aghast and as much as I enjoyed the views here I just didn’t quite get that “ahh” moment.
Our tour allowed us 3 hours at the Grand Canyon, we were free to split that time as we wished between Eagle Point and Guano Point. If you are wondering if this is enough time to see the West Rim, I can tell you it is enough to see these two points, climb on the few climbable spots, have a meal or just sit for a while, and take plenty of photos. However if you want to also stop by the Hualapai Village (something our tour didn’t stop for even though it was supposed to) and want to perhaps catch the sunset you are better off going independently, although it might cost you more than a bus tour.
I can’t imagine enjoying a trip here in the summer, there is no vegetation around the Canyon which means zero shade and the hop-on, hop-off busses are either not air-conditioned or the Hualapai just don’t believe in using it. It was sweltering hot in those busses even on my visit in January. The same busses go round non-stop taking about 35-40 people from point to point, the windows were only to be opened for emergency and as you can imagine it smelled quite nasty in there. Thankfully the rides between the points were short and quick. As I mentioned earlier the Comedy On Deck tour bus was in pretty bad shape too and I am not sure if its air conditioning can handle the summer heat often well above 100F in that area.
One more thing you can expect at the West Rim is a lot of noise from the constant buzz of helicopter tours. You really are lucky if you get 10 uninterrupted minutes of quietness here and there to enjoy the true character of the place before another flock of helicopters zoom around.
I don’t want to cross off the Grand Canyon from my bucket list just yet, until I have seen the South Rim as well.
