TR Southwest Splendor 5-25 to 6-1

[jenbadeaux]

Cindy18--We are doing this trip Aug 2nd. My husband was in Scottsdale Arizona all this week playing golf. Flew in and out of the Phoenix Airport. I was full of questions about the weather. He said it was definitely hot (106 degrees on Sunday). But we are from Louisiana, and he said it was much more tolerable than 90 degrees here. He said the breeze would blow, and as long as you were in the shade it was fine. His biggest advice is to wear a hat, and not a baseball hat but a big wide brimmed hat that provides a lot of shade. He had brought one, and others on the trip soon bought their own! He also said that he was drinking water or gatorade every hour. Constantly thirsty. Chapstick, sunscreen, moisturizer(even if you don't normally use one) are a must. He really was not bothered by the heat. The oddest thing is that it is so dry that he never really sweated. I would pack light colors that don't absorb so much heat and look into hi-tech fabrics like underarmour/nike workout wear. Please post tips when you get home. I can't wait!

 

[lsutigger2]

Jenb's tips on the weather are accurate. the tour guides will certainly offer water all the time and I would imagine more so if it is hotter than it was when we were there the end of May. We had to wear light jackets some mornings. Drink, drink, drink, and don't forget about the moisturizers for lips and lotions for your body.

On the day that we toured the Grand Canyon, in the morning we picked up a local guide and did a bus tour, stopping several times until about lunch time. Then there was plenty of free time for other activitie. We went back to the hotel and caught the shuttle for the helicopter ride. Several groups stayed and did more hiking. There are plenty of things to see within walking distance and there is a shuttle around so you can see other sites within the park as well. We "hiked" down far enough to say we went into the canyon. It wasn't very far at all. The bus did shuttle back and forth to the hotel a couple of times during the afternoon.

the guides will also offer suggestions of things to do.

I sure hope everyone enjoys their trips as much as we did. Please post trip reports when you return.

If Tiffany is your guide, please tell her that "Janie" says hello

 

[sayhello]

I took this trip in mid-May. It was warm, not hot, but DRY!!! I'm sure by now it's *HOT* and DRY. I agree with everyone that the dryness is the real challenge. The guides will constantly offer you bottles of water. Take 2! (and more when you go to Delicate Arch!)

After our morning at the canyon, we had time for a helicopter ride over the canyon. After that, I hiked down the path that the mules take (the Bright Angel Trail) probably about 2 miles. They say to allow twice as long to get back up as you took to go down, and I totally agree with this. It seems very mild going down, but you start to feel it going back up. I felt the 2 miles was good enough, as it started just being switchbacks from that point on, and I was told it continued that way for quite a distance... Took me about 3 hours.

You cannot hike all the way down to the bottom of the canyon and back up in one day (unless you are a Navy Seal. Apparently a bunch of them did it while we were there!) If you wanted to hike all the way down, you'd have to take camping gear or have arrangements to stay at the lodge down there (I believe calling it a lodge is generous...) Even if you could get reservations, you would not have time to do that with this tour.

They do have mules that go down, but you have to book that like a year in advance. From what I've read, you can only go part way down in one day, even on the mules, and if you want to go to the bottom, you have to stay over, too. The day outing leaves in the morning, comes back mid-afternoon, so you'd have to skip the morning's activities.

Let me know if you have any other questions. This was a FABULOUS trip, absolutely wonderful. I *should* have a trip report up by this weekend (I hope, I hope!)

sayhello

 

[cindy18]

Thanks for the tips on the weather. I had figured out about the hat and the water, but I hadn't thought through how the dryness would affect lips and skin, so those are all really good points. It sounds like if we stay hydrated, the heat will not be as big a factor as I had feared when we decided to go.

We may bring our new laptop with us on the trip, in which case I will try to post reports in real time, if I'm not too exhausted every evening!

A logistical question: how easy is it to find the mythical Starbucks at the airport in Phoenix where we are supposed to meet. We are flying in the day before and relaxing in Scottsdale, so we will be meeting up with the group on departure day not from an arriving flight.

And another question: am I right that this tour is very much an early to bed, early to rise theme???

 

[sayhello]

Thanks for the tips on the weather. I had figured out about the hat and the water, but I hadn't thought through how the dryness would affect lips and skin, so those are all really good points. It sounds like if we stay hydrated, the heat will not be as big a factor as I had feared when we decided to go.

We may bring our new laptop with us on the trip, in which case I will try to post reports in real time, if I'm not too exhausted every evening!

A logistical question: how easy is it to find the mythical Starbucks at the airport in Phoenix where we are supposed to meet. We are flying in the day before and relaxing in Scottsdale, so we will be meeting up with the group on departure day not from an arriving flight.

And another question: am I right that this tour is very much an early to bed, early to rise theme???

Just a warning, there were no safes that I remember in any of the rooms, so if you're nervous about the laptop, just thought I'd let you know that.

I had a really hard time finding the Starbucks (I stayed in Scottsdale for 2 days before the tour, also). After I returned my rental car, and the bus dropped me off at the terminal, not one person I asked knew where it was. If I remember correctly (I was a bit harried by that point) I had to take the escalator upstairs. It's in the actual food court/shop area up there, towards one end.

It's not too horrid on the early to bed, early to rise. I'm not sure what you consider early, but we rarely headed out before 8 or 9 am (and had a couple of mornings where it was later). Of course, that's not including breakfast, which was always buffet-style, so it was easy to get there on the later side and still be OK because you didn't have to worry about being served. The earliest day was Monument Valley, (the schedule says 7:30am, but it's hard to remember exactly, because they would announce minor changes to the schedule the night before) because it's a really long travel day.

I'm totally not a morning person, but I didn't find it too bad. The biggest issue is having your suitcase ready the days it has to be outside early for pickup. I would just pack everything up the night before, and set my alarm for when it needed to be out there. I had a bag I could take on the bus with me to carry all the stuff I'd needed to get ready in the morning.

sayhello

 

[lsutigger2]

One tip that I don't think has been mentioned, but maybe I did , it to bring something to hold a water bottle. Several times during the trip it would have been nice to have a water bottle holder - other than my husband . Either one on the side of a fanny pack, or one on a lanyard, or one that clips to a belt. It was cumbersome to have to hold a water bottle and a camera - and you'll be taking lots of pictures !!
We only had one and another one sure would have been handy to have.

Finding the Starbucks hint: There are actually two Starbucks in terminal four. The meeting place is the "big" Starbucks. It is by the International gate and it at one end of the terminal. I thought the Phoenix airport was great. There are several nice places to shop. We also came in the night before, dropped the rental car off, and took the shuttle to the airport. We grabbed a burger for lunch so as not to miss the noon meeting time. We didn't actually leave the airport until 1:00pm. The guides came to the meeting place and encouraged folks to grab something to eat before leaving. Be there at noon and the guides will let you know exactly what time you'll be leaving the airport. There are a couple of rows of seats to sit in, so it is not just standing around.

Enjoy!

 

[cindy18]

Hmm.....water bottle holder. Does that mean you don't have a backpack with you? I think we were assuming that one or more of us would have a backpack on while we were out and about. Does that not work? Too bulky? Too hot?

Great info on the Starbucks! We haven't looked, but I'm guessing that there is a website for the Phoenix airport to help you get the lay of the land.

We fly out 2 weeks from today!!!!!

 

[cindy18]

Thanks for the info on the morning departures, SayHello. That doesn't sound too bad at all, and I am a morning person, so I guess it will be ok.

In terms of the laptop, to be honest it had not crossed my mind to be worried about leaving the laptop in the hotel room but not in a safe. For those of you who have taken the tour, is there any reason to be concerned that the laptop could be stolen?

 

[lsutigger2]

You certainly carry a back pack if you wish. We are not "backpack" people. And as I mentioned, I wish we had had another water bottle holder. My DH did take the messenger bag with him when he did the hike in Arches Nat'l Park with several bottles of water.

If you plan on bringing a backpack, I'm sure you will be fine.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[cindy18]

I just reread this thread, as we are within a week of departure. I also just finished SayHello's amazing trip report, so it all is starting to feel very real. I asked this question at the end of her trip report but I thought I'd ask it here as well: did you tip your bus driver? The info is very good and detailed on tipping the guides (and it sounds like they deserve every penny) but I don't remember seeing anything about tipping the bus driver, or anybody else. Any thoughts?

Also, one final thought on the weather: given that we will be there in early July, is it worth while to bring anything warmer than shorts and tanks/t-shirts? I figure one pair of jeans per family member in case anyone wants to horseback ride (like me), but more than that? A sweater, long sleeves, etc? Sounds like potentially for early in the morning or after sunset....

 

[tammydel]

Loving all this great information. Our trip is 8/16. We are also flying in a day ahead. I thought tht we would find a hotel near the airport with a free shuttle and maybe just relax, get ussed to the time change and temperature and possibly do/see something close to the hotel. But from what I'm reading should we venture further? How far is Scottsdale? I'm assuming we would need to rent a car for the night then. We arrive late morning on Friday. Guess I'm still trying to understand our options.
Any help gretly appreciated!!!!
Tammy

 

[lsutigger2]

Bus driver tip: Disney does take care of the tip for the bus driver. I did write a thank you note to ours, as he was really great.

We stayed in Tempe which was about three miles from the airport at a Hyatt Place - $89/per night and really nice room. We did have a rental car but didn't get out much. We went to an area of town near ASU. The rental car for the night was very inexpensive - less than $50. You might want to get one if you are really interested in seeing more of Phoenix or driving to Scottsdale.

 

[tammydel]

I asked this on the other Southwest thread as well -
Are laundry facilities at any of the hotels? Especially at the end in Utah?
thanks!
Tammy

 

[lsutigger2]

Yes, there are laundry facilities at the Grand Hotel (Grand Canyon) and at Red Cliffs Lodge in Moab, UT.
I did laundry on the afternoon of the full day at the Grand Canyon. We had come back on the bus in the afternoon, took our helicopter ride, and a few hours to rest before going back to the Grand Canyon for the sunset. It worked out great. I had read about the availability of laundry facilities before going and had brought a couple of snack size ziploc bags with soap powder and a dryer sheet with me. We weren't out of clothes, but it was nice to have some of our favorites to wear again. I think another family on our tour did laundry on the night we arrived at the Grand Canyon. After dinner, if you don't want to go to the IMAX movie there is time. You may even be able to do both
I hope you enjoy your trip as much as we did.

 

[tammydel]

Thanks!
We are going on to spend some time in Phoenix. It'll be nice to have clean clothes.
Tammy

 

[cindy18]

Loving all this great information. Our trip is 8/16. We are also flying in a day ahead. I thought tht we would find a hotel near the airport with a free shuttle and maybe just relax, get ussed to the time change and temperature and possibly do/see something close to the hotel. But from what I'm reading should we venture further? How far is Scottsdale? I'm assuming we would need to rent a car for the night then. We arrive late morning on Friday. Guess I'm still trying to understand our options.
Any help gretly appreciated!!!!
Tammy

We are also flying in late morning and not leaving until the next day. Because we're going in July (when apparently only crazy people like us think that Phoenix is an ok place to visit), we discovered by playing around online that hotel rates, even at the nicest resorts, are really low in Scottsdale this time of year. Given that we have a 12 year old and a 10 year old, it seemed like a good idea to spend the afternoon and evening enjoying, so we've splurged (but again, only a bit, prices were unbelievable) at a room at the Four Seasons, which does mean renting a car. We fly out this Friday, and we're hoping to post reports in real time, if time and energy permit, so I can let you know if it was worth it.

 

[awatt]

How was the hiking? Very strenuous? Also, would any of the hikes be a problem for someone liek me who does not like heights?

 

[sayhello]

Boy, strenuous is a relative word. I wouldn't call any of the hikes the guides took us on strenuous. There's a part of the nature hike at Red Rocks State Park that's a bit steep, but nobody had a problem managing it. And while the hike to Delicate Arch is not strenuous, it is very challenging because it is over what's called slickrock, which you have to be very careful walking over, as it *can* be rather slick. And the hike is totally exposed, so there is a potential for overheating if you aren't prepared with a hat and sunscreen & plenty of water which you drink constantly.

There's a couple of spots on the Delicate Arch hike that you might need to hug the walls, but it's brief and not very bad.

But other than that, I think you'd probably do fine. I'm not fond of heights, but I had no problems.

sayhello