Turkey Day Camping in the Grand Canyon

Welcome to my Camping in the Grand Canyon for Thanksgiving travel diary! So, let me back up a bit. Why the FERK did we decide to go camping for Thanksgiving? Well, we figured it was a nice, long weekend and it’s so close, Why not?! Plus we could swing by the family we used to babysit for, who moved to Arizona, on the way. WINWIN. My parents weren’t too happy that we ditched them buttttt they got over it. Yolo mom, yolo…

We came, we saw, we froze to death.

The Preparation

As one might recall from my previous post, Amanda likes to plan…

Ohhh and this doesn’t even include all the handwritten food lists we had.   I drove down a couple of days early so I could do the last minute shopping. We thought it would be difficult to prepare a Thanksgiving meal by campfire, so we decided to prep and bring one with us! The day before we left, I spent hours slaving away in the kitchen whipping mashed potatoes, preparing brussel sprouts and roasting a turkey.  

The Descent into the Desert

The majority of the road trip to Arizona I spent asleep. I was catching Zzzz’s while Amanda did most of the driving. And by most I mean all of it. But it’s ok because I drove the whole way back. Oh fun fact. When you are figuring out how long it will take to get somewhere make sure you take into account a time change if there is one. And going to Arizona, unbeknownst to us, THERE IS ONE. Which means you will arrive at your destination an hour later than originally planned.

Quick Visit

Since it was sorta on the way, we thought it would be a perfect opportunity to visit a family we used to babysit for – it had been two years since we last saw them. We ended up arriving an hour late to the Corely’s house (damn time change) and unfortunately it meant we had an hour less time with the kids. It was fun seeing them all again after they MOVED AWAY AND ABANDONED US. It was great being able to catch up and play with the kids. After a fantastic game of hide and seek and a trip to the park, Amanda and I had to give our hugs (with some extra hugs, and someone even snuck in a piggy back ride from each of us) and then we set off for the Grand Canyon.  

Grand Canyon Camping Night One

We arrived at Mather Campground after the sun went down so we had to set up in the dark. We left the headlights on so it wasn’t bad at all. JUST FRICKEN COLD. That night, we put on 3 pairs of pants, 4 sweatshirts and bundled up for bed. Periodically throughout the night, Amanda stuck her finger under my nose to see if I was still breathing. I guess she was having dreams I was dead and I didn’t move all night, so she wanted to make sure I didn’t freeze to death. How thoughtful.  

Grand Canyon Campsite

Ok I won’t bore you with my ramblings. Here are a bunch of photos.  

We spent most of the day hanging out and playing games. And eating. Lots of eating.  

I highly recommend fire roasted sprouts when camping. It was the most magically delicious part of the trip.

Yes, I added some fancy table decorations I found on the ground. It was a fantastic meal. I highly suggest making a thanksgiving meal next time you go camping.    

The Grandest of Grand Canyons

Ok enough about the campsite and food. Time for the Grand Canyon!!

Our campsite was about half a mile from the South Rim. We went to a few different lookouts along the South side. The lookouts were about 0.5 miles from the campsite. Even though we could have walked… we drove. It was cold ok!! I think we spent more time circling the tiny parking lots looking for a spot than we did looking at the Canyon. Even though we went during the off season, it was still busy and parking was horrible. If you are planning a trip, keep that in mind, and get there early.  On our last day, we woke up extra early to catch the sunrise before we took off. It was worth it. (Plenty of parking spots before sunrise.)

Driving Back

And that was it! I drove us back to LA and the next day I embarked back home in the holiday traffic. Side note: I wish the 5, between the Grapevine and Sacramento, was the autobahn. Get your damn minivan going 55 mph OUT OF MY WAY.   Overall it was a fun, but freezing trip. Highly recommend going and camping. I also highly recommend camping with Amanda and I because we are so much fun.  

Alright, that concludes my Grand Canyon Camping Adventure! I hope you enjoyed it! If you are bored and want to read more travel diaries check out my Australia, New York or Spain Diaries! Catch ya next time.