Our Winter in Arizona
For our 20th wedding anniversary on May 22 (yes, I have been married to Jim longer than any of my husbands) we went to Sedona, Arizona, first spending a couple nights at the Grand Canyon. This time we stayed at Bright Angel lodge on the south rim. We had a rustic cabin a few short feet from the very rim of the canyon.
We packed for cool(ish) spring weather -- the forecast was for temperatures in the 50s. What happened instead was a weather system that roared through with fierce winds and temperatures in the 30s and low 40s. The sun kept hiding in and out behind scudding clouds. The wind chill never got above 36 degrees.
That's cold. Finger numbing, eye watering, nose dribbling, raw cold. Damp. The winds blew hats off (you don't want to chase a hat over the edge) and made our planned hikes along the south rim trail very uncomfortable. The wind was exhausting. The sweatshirts and windbreakers we packed were not up to the winter cold. We really needed parkas, definitely needed gloves, and could have used ski hats.
A couple drinks at the Bright Angel bar after 40 minutes in the wind warmed us. Our anniversary dinner at the lodge restaurant was nice.
And the canyon sights in any weather are spectacular. We could only do short forays along the rim, both because of the bitter wind and also Jim's balance and mobility were not good -- he's been having spine problems lately that make walking difficult even with hiking poles. So no long walks and a lot of time indoors, but still . . . the Grand Canyon.
We seem to have travel adversities each time we take a road trip in the west. On the way to the Grand Canyon the weather was terrible. It sleeted sideways in Gallup and snowed hard in Flagstaff. It didn't stick to the roads, but the driving snowflakes made a Star Wars blinding blizzard effect in the windshield for many miles and the car shook in the hard winds.
Apparently it snowed all over the west, with some places getting deep accumulations. It's the end of May!
We never made it even part way down the famous Bright Angel hiking trail to the canyon floor, and we barely made it for very brief walks along the rim trail.
The morning we left the cabin to drive to Sedona the wind had died but it had snowed overnight. The drive down was in spitting sleet, 37 degrees, and for some stretches heavy wet snow. The canyon depths were socked in, just a gray mist obscuring all of that gorgeous wonder. Occasionally mists lifted and snow paused, but then it started up again.
By the time we got to Sedona it was a little warmer but not much. It rained all day and was heavily socked in when we arrived and all the next day too. We could not see the famous iron red rocks.
Our late May winter vacation at Bright Angel lodge was bitterly cold and much of the time the canyon was barely visible, and I froze my toes in clothing that wasn't appropriate for winter, and Sedona disappeared entirely on us, but our marriage endures. If we make 21 years we'll spend that anniversary somewhere far, far south.
🌴 🌵 Much farther south.
And it continues:
Snow accumulations at the Grand Canyon on Memorial Day
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| Our cabin. We arrived in a bit of sunshine, but the winds were harsh and the temp was 39 degrees. |
We packed for cool(ish) spring weather -- the forecast was for temperatures in the 50s. What happened instead was a weather system that roared through with fierce winds and temperatures in the 30s and low 40s. The sun kept hiding in and out behind scudding clouds. The wind chill never got above 36 degrees.
That's cold. Finger numbing, eye watering, nose dribbling, raw cold. Damp. The winds blew hats off (you don't want to chase a hat over the edge) and made our planned hikes along the south rim trail very uncomfortable. The wind was exhausting. The sweatshirts and windbreakers we packed were not up to the winter cold. We really needed parkas, definitely needed gloves, and could have used ski hats.
A couple drinks at the Bright Angel bar after 40 minutes in the wind warmed us. Our anniversary dinner at the lodge restaurant was nice.
And the canyon sights in any weather are spectacular. We could only do short forays along the rim, both because of the bitter wind and also Jim's balance and mobility were not good -- he's been having spine problems lately that make walking difficult even with hiking poles. So no long walks and a lot of time indoors, but still . . . the Grand Canyon.
We seem to have travel adversities each time we take a road trip in the west. On the way to the Grand Canyon the weather was terrible. It sleeted sideways in Gallup and snowed hard in Flagstaff. It didn't stick to the roads, but the driving snowflakes made a Star Wars blinding blizzard effect in the windshield for many miles and the car shook in the hard winds.
Apparently it snowed all over the west, with some places getting deep accumulations. It's the end of May!
We never made it even part way down the famous Bright Angel hiking trail to the canyon floor, and we barely made it for very brief walks along the rim trail.
The morning we left the cabin to drive to Sedona the wind had died but it had snowed overnight. The drive down was in spitting sleet, 37 degrees, and for some stretches heavy wet snow. The canyon depths were socked in, just a gray mist obscuring all of that gorgeous wonder. Occasionally mists lifted and snow paused, but then it started up again.
By the time we got to Sedona it was a little warmer but not much. It rained all day and was heavily socked in when we arrived and all the next day too. We could not see the famous iron red rocks.
 |
| The attraction of Sedona is the massive rock formation scenery around the town but we couldn't see anything! |
Our late May winter vacation at Bright Angel lodge was bitterly cold and much of the time the canyon was barely visible, and I froze my toes in clothing that wasn't appropriate for winter, and Sedona disappeared entirely on us, but our marriage endures. If we make 21 years we'll spend that anniversary somewhere far, far south.
🌴 🌵 Much farther south.
And it continues:
Snow accumulations at the Grand Canyon on Memorial Day
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