Monday, July 25, 2005
Grand Canyon and a grand deal for the price
Myself and two friends hiked down into the Grand Canyon. This was my first hike down and did not expect the comfortable stay we had at Phantom Ranch. It was great to sit outside and have the fast moving creek run through and put you to sleep at night.
There are cottages for couples and bunkrooms for single genders. We were in the female cottage with 10 beds, an inside bathroom, and a hot shower (HEAVEN!!). Very clean, pillow, blankets, clean sheets, towels for each person and toilet paper were included.
When we arrived, we went to the Canteen to order fresh lemonades. The Canteen closes to get ready for dinner. Dinner was served at 6:30pm and consisted of all-you-can-eat beef stew, corn bread, salad, tea, and chocolate cake. I'm not a meat-eater, and I didn't know I could have ordered a vegetarian dish, so I just had the salad, cornbread, and tea. The salad was very fresh and one of the best salads I had. At night, the Canteen reopens 8pm to serve beers.
There is also a ranger talk we attended. It was about 45 minutes to 1 hour. The ranger was very informative and entertaining.
There is fresh spring water available to fill bladders and bottles before the hike up and a pay phone available.
The next morning, they do two breakfasts. A 5 am and a 7 am (I think). We wanted to get a good start so our reservation was for 5 am breakfast. At 4:30am wake-up call for those attending the 5am breakfast. And that's a staff member going to each cottage to those scheduled and letting them know breakfast will be ready in 30 minutes. Breakfast was pancakes, bacon, eggs, orange juice, peaches, and tea or coffee. They gave us a sack lunch to take with us, which consisted of apple juice, a large bagel with cream cheese/jam, a small beef summer sausage, a package of peanuts, a package of raisins, an apple, pretzels, cookies, and powder electrolyte.
For $87, this was a good deal. If you are the adventurous type or enjoy being out in nature, this is the place to stay.
Paradise Found Tours maintains a website for The Grand Canyon at http://www.paradisefoundtours.com. The site provides information for Grand Canyon tours, special news, fees and other pertinent information.
Other valuable resources
Valuable Links:
Grand Canyon Tours
Las Vegas Tours
Hoover Dam Tours
Las Vegas
Grand Canyon
There are cottages for couples and bunkrooms for single genders. We were in the female cottage with 10 beds, an inside bathroom, and a hot shower (HEAVEN!!). Very clean, pillow, blankets, clean sheets, towels for each person and toilet paper were included.
When we arrived, we went to the Canteen to order fresh lemonades. The Canteen closes to get ready for dinner. Dinner was served at 6:30pm and consisted of all-you-can-eat beef stew, corn bread, salad, tea, and chocolate cake. I'm not a meat-eater, and I didn't know I could have ordered a vegetarian dish, so I just had the salad, cornbread, and tea. The salad was very fresh and one of the best salads I had. At night, the Canteen reopens 8pm to serve beers.
There is also a ranger talk we attended. It was about 45 minutes to 1 hour. The ranger was very informative and entertaining.
There is fresh spring water available to fill bladders and bottles before the hike up and a pay phone available.
The next morning, they do two breakfasts. A 5 am and a 7 am (I think). We wanted to get a good start so our reservation was for 5 am breakfast. At 4:30am wake-up call for those attending the 5am breakfast. And that's a staff member going to each cottage to those scheduled and letting them know breakfast will be ready in 30 minutes. Breakfast was pancakes, bacon, eggs, orange juice, peaches, and tea or coffee. They gave us a sack lunch to take with us, which consisted of apple juice, a large bagel with cream cheese/jam, a small beef summer sausage, a package of peanuts, a package of raisins, an apple, pretzels, cookies, and powder electrolyte.
For $87, this was a good deal. If you are the adventurous type or enjoy being out in nature, this is the place to stay.
Paradise Found Tours maintains a website for The Grand Canyon at http://www.paradisefoundtours.com. The site provides information for Grand Canyon tours, special news, fees and other pertinent information.
Other valuable resources
Valuable Links:
Grand Canyon Tours
Las Vegas Tours
Hoover Dam Tours
Las Vegas
Grand Canyon
# posted by TourGuru : 11:23 PM
