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Travel Snapshot / Southwest / ABQ / LAS / Grand Canyon / New Mexico Travel / Nevada Travel / National Parks Travel / → All Tags

Is This the Most Spectacular Flight in the USA?

A snow-covered part of the Grand Canyon

”Why are you flying to Albuquerque?” were the words on most people’s lips last week when we told them we were cutting short a trip to Vegas to hit New Mexico.

Why Albuquerque? Well, to start with, for the flight—one of the most spectacular ones we’ve ever been on.

From Las Vegas to Albuquerque we were looking south, and got a prime view of the snow-covered high desert, mountains and miniscule trees poking out of the snow. All very beautiful, except we heard the pilot announce that “on the left, you’ll see the Grand Canyon.”

So on the way back, we swapped sides to face north, and were greeted by snow-covered mountains, snow-covered plains…and then, yeah, the Grand Canyon. We flew pretty much all the way along the Grand Canyon—from 40,000 feet we picked out the famous South Rim, less famous North Rim and, we think, possibly the West Rim, too (though we didn’t see the Skywalk).

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Holiday Travel / Christmas Travel / Train Travel / National Parks / Grand Canyon / → All Tags

The Polar Express is a Real Thing, for the Next Month Anyway

If your ride aboard the commuter rail just isn’t giving you that warm and fuzzy feeling this holiday season, it might be time to look for a different kind of train. The Polar Express is certainly an option, especially the one offered by the Grand Canyon Railway in the days leading up to Christmas.

All your favorite aspects of the children’s book—and none of the creepy ones from the feature film—come alive as you board the train just outside the Grand Canyon in Williams, Arizona. After a customary declaration of “All Aboard,” the train chugs off through the woods and wilderness on its way to the North Pole. Cookies and hot chocolate are served on the train while enjoying a rendition of the classic story, and then the main event arrives when it's time to visit Santa and his reindeer.

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National Parks / Green Travel / Active Travel / Grand Canyon / → All Tags

Water Bottle Refilling Stations Arrive at The Grand Canyon

There’s some good news for those looking forward to visiting Grand Canyon National Park this summer, as the park is now fully prepared to quench your thirst for both beautiful scenery and clean drinking water.

The park is upgrading its water offerings, so you’ll no longer need to hunch over water fountains in the main buildings to fill up your Nalgene or Sigg. They're adding around nine new water bottle refilling stations around the park, and this will provide free access to some tasty—and refreshing—Grand Canyon spring water.

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Holiday Travel / Christmas Travel / Train Travel / National Parks / Grand Canyon / → All Tags

Arizona's Polar Express Stops At The North Pole And Grand Canyon

Trains and Christmas go together like airlines and in-flight WiFi. If you agree with our slightly ridiculous comparison then you’re probably already thinking about boarding the Grand Canyon Railway’s version of the Polar Express. Not only will Santa be checking to see what Linda and Timmy want for the holidays, but the train will make a final stop at the North Pole. Well, we’re thinking that it's not exactly the real home of Santa and his Christmas crew, but a little village loaded with lights and decorations looks pretty good to us.

Adult tickets are $29 and seats for the kiddies are either $15 or $19 depending on whether you decide to go during the week or weekend. The Polar Express departs from Williams, Arizona and chugs through the forest in search of their version of the North Pole. Hot chocolate and cookies will keep your blood sugar nice and elevated throughout the journey. In December there’s usually a departure at 6:30pm and 8:00pm most nights of the week, but tickets seem to sell out quickly, so get booking if you’re interested.

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Obama-Around-The-World / Presidential Travel / Barack Obama / National Parks / Arizona Travel / Grand Canyon / → All Tags

The Obamas Show Us How A National Parks Vacation Is Done

With vacation destinations like Miami Beach or Las Vegas, one wonder if American families are still game to take in natural sights at the once-popular National Parks. Well, there's at least one family that kicked off their summer vacation with little good old road tripping out west, and that's the Obamas. Before they head to Martha's Vineyard for some well-deserved down time, the first family spent this last weekend admiring the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone National Park.

Alright, so it wasn't exactly a road trip in the traditional sense, since the family took the Marine One helicopter from the White House to Air Force One to reach the west, but they did hop from one park to another in one weekend, and Obama even brought along his half-sister and her family.

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Grand Canyon / National Parks / Active Travel / Outdoor Travel / → All Tags

North Side Representin' At The Grand Canyon

If you’re looking for a more private experience at the Grand Canyon, you might want to consider the North Rim. Due to the weather it’s closed for winter, but now that sunnier skies are here it has finally reopened for the summer season. It’s usually way less crowded, and there are fewer tour buses crowding you out of that ideal viewpoint.

This year’s season will run through October 16, so you have a few months to plan your trip and head out to Arizona. There’s pretty good facilities here, even though it usually gets second billing when compared to the South Rim. They have camping, camper services, groceries, and even a service station to fill up the Winnebago.

If you don’t want to sleep on the ground, fancier accommodations are available at the Grand Canyon Lodge. Standard view rooms start at $116 a night and offer some pretty basic amenities. Just remember that you’re not going for the spa services, they’ll be plenty of those when you drive back down to Scottsdale.

Please enjoy the view, but just be on the lookout for those pesky Jackalope; they’ve been known to appear in this area or at least on our Flickr search.

Related Stories:
·Grand Canyon's North Rim Open For The Season [NPS.Gov]
·How To Celebrate Earth Day At The National Parks [Jaunted]
·National Parks [Jaunted]

[Photo: ooOJasonOoo]

The Competition / Tourist Traps / Celeb Travel / Matthew McConaughey / Grand Canyon / → All Tags

Shirtless Man Moves Into Our Territory

Guess who just got back from a road trip! Trailer-living, naked-bongo-playing Matthew McConaughey wrote a "Travel Blog" on his MySpace page about driving to Baja California, Mexico with his old friend. After that, he hit some American landmarks. Here's his unedited report on the Grand Canyon:

I spent my 39th birthday on the southern rim of the Grand Canyon...almost got "butted" of the edge by a ram and caught some shooting stars...as for the first sight of the GC, mother nature created something that looks so fake, its real....cool

We think he should stick to stoner surf movies.

Related Stories:
· Travel Blog [Matthew McConaughey's MySpace]
· Grand Canyon Skywalk Update [Jaunted]
· Matthew McConaughey's Surf Epic Disappears Before We Can See It [Jaunted]
· Adventure Bus Travel: A Super-Green Road Trip [Jaunted]
· Celeb Travel coverage [Jaunted]