Jessica - It's been years since I went to the Grand Canyon, but I really enjoyed the Lookout Studio. The rest of the canyon was spectacular, of course, but the Lookout Studio surprised me. In the area, we drove from the south rim to Monument Valley and that was a lovely drive in the winter. It's pretty desolate, but I loved it. Also, in Flagstaff, the Lowell Observatory with its historic telescopes was fascinating. Depending on where you're driving from and the weather, the drive from Flagstaff to Sedona via Oak Creek Canyon is also lovely. Both hilly and twisty, so I probably wouldn't do it in bad weather, but very scenic if it is dry out.

Thanks!

I bet some people put olives in tomato sauce

I mean... sometimes you want puttanesca.

I mean... sometimes you want puttanesca.

Whore's Sauce! It's delicious!

We were scheduled to meet with our Realtor today. He was away in Canada on vacation with his family. When we were making our plans, he said, "My throat's a little scratchy, so we should meet outside just to be sure. I'm sure it's not COVID though because we got tested twice before we could come back into the country."

It was COVID.

If you can't trust Canada to politely not give you a plague, then I just don't know what.

Steph, I am so so sorry. If you want to vent or scream into an ear, let me know. Also please let Tim know we love him.

Also please let Tim know we love him.

Oh, yes, this! I was thinking it but didn't type it out.

Seemingly, Canada has its own anti-vaccination mob, which is about as courteous as our homegrown types. At least they aren't as likely to be armed.

Also, fwiw, it also seems that there are fake testing sites. They offer tests, but they aren't reliable. From what I read, it sounds like it's a data harvesting operation. oh joy

I've only been once, and it was 30 years ago and not during a pandemic. (And in the spring, so the mules and bike rentals etc were all open.)

It has been that long since we were there. I wanted to do the mules, but DH was way over the size limit, and I was quite obviously very pregnant so neither of us were allowed. I really want to go back and hike, during appropriate weather of course.

I'm taking my family to the Grand Canyon over President's Day weekend. With the caveat that almost everything is closed (because winter and also Covid), anyone have recs for must-see things, easy hikes, good food?

The pie at Pine Country Restaurant in Williams is worth the stop.

Bright Angel is a pretty easy way to dip into the canyon without committing to a more difficult hike. Even just going down to the Upper Tunnel (< 100 ft elevation, maybe 5 flights of stairs?) gives you a better perspective than staying on the rim. Of course, you can go down as far as you like, but the tunnel is an obvious turnaround point so you don't go down so far you can't climb out.

Bright Angel is a pretty easy way to dip into the canyon without committing to a more difficult hike. Even just going down to the Upper Tunnel (< 100 ft elevation, maybe 5 flights of stairs?) gives you a better perspective than staying on the rim. Of course, you can go down as far as you like, but the tunnel is an obvious turnaround point so you don't go down so far you can't climb out.

We did Bright Angel the last time I was there - one of our family's more notorious "Daddy Forced March" hikes as I remember. (My youngest sibling was just barely 4 at the time which only added to the fun.)

Anyway I will DEFINITELY be forcing my own kids to reenact it because I'm that kind of Mom.