South Rim of the Grand Canyon, AZ [April 7, 2009]
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Departure Point: Las Vegas
Arrival Piont: Grand Canyon South Rim
We left Las Vegas with our trusty 1993 940Volvo in the early morning and traveled via US-95 S and US-93 S crossing over the Hoover Dam reaching I-40 to Williams Arizona. From there we headed due North on a straight road for about 80 miles until we reached the National Park in the early afternoon. Our Volvo did get a bit bored on the last leg of the trip as the traffic was very slow with many large mobile homes.
Just before entering the park, there is a National Park sign with a small parking ahead. Here there is a great photo op you should take advantage of where there is a stand for your camera if it has a delayed timer. This will give everybody a small relaxing break.
One tip, which your Volvo will appreciate as you will save you a bit of time waiting in traffic, is to get a Park Pass ahead of time which you can do online or at the last gas station before the Canyon. This way you can feel like royalty as you and your Volvo go in the express lane instead of waiting at the National Park Gate to pay for a pass which will cost you $25 for as many people as you can fit in your vehicle; thus the reason for all of the big rigs. But your 940 Volvo can fit comfortably up to five people. This way your average cost per person to experience a view of a lifetime is only $5 which is much better than getting a Foot Long from Subway.
After crossing into the park your GSP won’t be very handy, but not to worry you will be given a map. Then there is a bit more driving (about 7 miles) until you reach the South Rim. Parking during this time was a bit limited and we had to park on the side of the road but for our Volvo this was not a problem as it can turn on a dime. Then we walked the paths, saw the canyon and returned to the comforts of our Volvo for the remainder of our trip.