Our river trip was operated by
Canyon Explorations. We would definitely recommend them to anyone
interested in a Grand Canyon trip. The guides were outstanding. It fun to
paddle, but some days we were glad to sit back and relax in the oar boats.
We'd definitely recommend spending the extra time to go on an oar/paddle
trip instead of the motorized ones. The motorized trips don't have time to
stop as much as we did, and it's hard to hear anything over the engine.
Before the trip, we read two books:
On the Edge of Splendor : Exploring Grand Canyon's Human Past, about the people who lived in the Grand Canyon area, and
The Colorado River Grand Canyon: A Guide, with general information on geology, biology, and human history
We also learned about a few other interesting books on the trip:
We Swam the Grand Canyon, about two guys who thought they'd try it
without rafts
Sunk Without a Sound : The Tragic Colorado River Honeymoon of Glen and Bessie Hyde, about two honeymooners who disappeared under mysterious circumstances in the 1920s
In Flagstaff, we stayed at the
Fall Inn To Nature B&B. The name is kind of silly, but the room
was comfortable and the breakfast was yummy. We also took advantage of
the in-room massages they offered.
Meteor Crater seems super cheesy, but the crater itself is amazing, and the visitor center is actually pretty good.
Walnut Canyon National Monument is an interesting stop very close to Flagstaff.
The Museum of Northern Arizona had a small
natural history section and lots of info on Native American cultures.
