Ande Flagg/PCS Adventures
The whole Flagg family visits the Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona.
Grand Canyon, AZ & Hoover Dam, NV
Ande Flagg
The Grand Canyon was right there in front of us. We stopped and stood in awe of God’s creation. There was an overwhelming sense of limitlessness that made us feel tiny. Everything was big! The depth of the crack in the ground was BIG and the horizon ahead of us was so open and endless than the only description I had was BIG!
It was fall of 2015. We were moving from Missouri to Washington, but decided not to take the most direct route. That would have taken us about three days heading northwest via Nebraska, the Dakotas, and Montana. However, Tim had leave to use up. I homeschooled the boys and it was fall. Who wanted to travel in Montana in late October? Brr!
We decided to make the most of six weeks of leave and took a very leisurely southern route to the West Coast, then up the coast of California where we headed inland before getting to Oregon. Finally, we made it up to see family in the Yakima, Washington area. That’s near the Yakima Training Center, for you Army folks.
Ande Flagg/PCS Adventures
Large numbers of visitors explore the Grand Canyon each year.
The best part of the trip was the wondrous Grand Canyon! And while we were in Arizona, we drove on to see the Hoover Dam, a major feat of human engineering.
The boys were seven and four (almost five) when we packed them up into our two cars along with the dog for this road trip. It was one of the best, if not the best, road trips we have ever taken.
Grand Canyon National Park
We stopped at a visitor center on the south side of the canyon where we saw a few exhibits and watched a short introduction movie. Truthfully, I don’t remember a lot about the visitor center because we were so eager to see the big star: the impressive, 1-mile-deep crack in the ground!
According to the Grand Canyon National Park website, “The park surrounds 278 miles of the Colorado River and the adjacent uplands which equals 1,904 square miles. The average width of the canyon, rim to rim is 10 miles, with 600 feet at its narrowest spot and 18 miles at its widest.”
Our time was limited, so we did not take on a major hike. But we walked into the canyon enough to get a good idea of what it looked like from a few different vantage points. We hiked about a third of a mile down the South Rim.
Ande Flagg/PCS Adventures
A rainbow stretches across the enormous depths of the Grand Canyon.
During our hike down the path, we saw more views beckoning us further on. The most memorable moment was a view of a rainbow upon an outcropping of brown rock in the distance. I was mesmerized. It was vibrant against the cloud that had settled in the canyon. For me it was a reminder of God’s promise to never flood the entire earth again - in a place that was obviously impacted by some catastrophic weathering.
Then my thoughts went to our pioneer forefathers and mothers – explorers of the West. What must they have thought when they got to the giant crack in the earth? I asked the boys. It made for fun and thoughtful conversation. After all, we were still “having school.”
Ande Flagg/PCS Adventures
The Bright Angel Trail takes visitors down to the very bottom of the Grand Canyon.
We walked a few different visitor paths and trails around the national park on the South Rim. There were paved paths closer to the top of the rim near the visitor centers and nearly smooth hiking trails with compacted rock and dirt that we walked on into the Canyon. Surely there were other harder trails, but we kept it easy since our purpose was to take in the views.
Ande Flagg/PCS Adventures
The Flaggs choose easier hiking trails that still provided great views.
We camped on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon as well, allowing us more views from several vantage points. This was an opportunity to choose our own adventure in some ways. Some folks do more than walk. They may choose to take a burro ride down into the canyon. Some folks take a whitewater rafting trip on the river or a helicopter ride into the canyon. We hiked a little and “Oooed and awed” a lot. We had our little guys with us and we all had fun. We decided that we all would have liked to have stayed longer.
Having seen one of God’s most wondrous creations, we drove on toward California, following the Colorado River to our next stop, a magnificent feat of engineering by men.
The Hoover Dam
The same Colorado River that runs through the Grand Canyon starts from north – central Colorado, heads southwest through Utah, through the Grand Canyon in Arizona into the southern part of Nevada and south into the Gulf of California, making it the natural border between California and Arizona.
The river regularly caused a lot of destruction to the agricultural fields and homes in its flood plain as it rolled southward prior to the construction of the Hoover Dam. Proposed during the turn of the twentieth century, Congress debated the construction of the dam for 20 years. Then, it took 10 years to secure funding and find construction companies who were willing to do the work. Finally, ground broke under Hoover’s administration and was feverishly pursued as a part of FDR’s New Deal.
Ande Flagg/PCS Adventures
The Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge carries travelers safely over the Colorado River near the Hoover Dam.
It was hard to miss seeing the Hoover Dam when heading west from the Grand Canyon to California. Even so, we wanted to make a point to see the monster up close, not just rubber neck from the highway. I had seen the dam about 15 years earlier and was supremely impressed. After all, it was a man-made wall that held back an enormous expanse of water.
Sean Pavone Photo/Adobe Stock
The Hoover Dam holds back the Colorado River to create Lake Mead.
According to the National Park Service,
“The Hoover Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam, 660 feet (more than two football fields) thick at the base and wide enough for traffic [to flow] on old US 93 across the top…. The Colorado River lies tamed [726 ft below] behind this concrete wedge.”
We were running late the day we wanted to see the dam, so we did not make it to the visitor center museum. That was ok because the overlook area on top of the dam was open to the public 24/7. So, we enjoyed our views and the information on the placards.
The Hoover Dam was a massive project. Even now, this Dam is enormous. As I stood observing the dam, it was hard to imagine this behemoth being constructed before so much of modern technology existed.
What we saw was a lot of water being held back by a giant wall. It was massive.
superjoseph/Adobe Stock
The Hoover Dam towers 726 feet above the Colorado River.
To help you, reader, understand the enormity of this project, here are some stats according to the National Park Service:
- It is made using 5 million barrels of cement and45 million pounds of reinforcement steel.
- A battleship can float through its enormous spillways.
- Hoover Dam created Lake Meade which has enough water when full to cover Connecticut 10 feet deep.
- It took 5,218 men employed during any one month over five years to build it.
- More than 100 men died in the course of building it.
We walked the top of the rim and looked down over the side of the Dam. How did they stop the river? How did they figure out how to create this concrete wall in the middle of the river? We decided it was truly a wonder of human intellect.
Ande Flagg/PCS Adventures
Looking down from on top of Hoover Dam shows the enormity of the project.
We camped not too far away, still in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, which was managed by the National Park Service. Since it was a quick stop and about 10 years ago, I do not remember a lot about our stay.
Ande Flagg/PCS Adventures
A lower water level overall meant a longer walk from our campground to the water.
The one thing that stands out in my memory was seeing the water line where the lake used to be years before. The water levels have sadly receded hundreds of feet. What was once a very short walk out to the water’s edge from the camp ground had grown to about a half mile walk. The recession of the water made for a wide beach, which I took time to walk on with the dog prior to our next four hour trip in the car to Los Angeles.
Yes, having to drive two cars was a bummer, but the memories we made looking at these grandiose creations of God and man will stay with each of us for a life time. It was a great reminder to travel – adventure – with our kids to make memories and teach lessons that stay with them for a life time.
Closest Military Installations
(to the Grand Canyon)
Closest Military Installations
(to the Hoover Dam)
MWR Locations Nearby
(for the Grand Canyon)
MWR Locations Nearby
(for the Hoover Dam)
If You Go:
- On the way to the Grand Canyon, we stayed at Fort Tuthill, Luke Air Force Base’s recreation area, about 15 minutes from Flagstaff. We rented a yurt for the night. It was warm and fun for the whole family! At about 90 minutes from the Grand Canyon’s South Rim, it was a convenient place to stop, get warm on a cold, wet evening and also inexpensive.
Ande Flagg/PCS Adventures
Fort Tuthill’s yurts are a fun alternative to hotels.
- Editor’s Note: The entire North Rim of the Grand Canyon is closed for the remainder of 2025 due to the Dragon Bravo wildfire. The closure includes many trails, the Phantom Ranch, Bright Angel Campground and all structures. The park service hasn’t indicated when it might reopen, so check the website before planning a trip.
- Check the Grand Canyon National Park’s website. There is a wealth of information about ALL the things including geological and historical information. The website also includes information about on-site accommodations, special trips and additional activities available through the park service.
- While many friends and family recommended that we go to the North Rim, the north side had already closed its campgrounds for the season. Even though the Grand Canyon is in Arizona, it gets very chilly in October at this high elevation. Since the North Rim closes for the winter, be sure to check the website to find out when it will close and reopen if you are planning an October – March trip.
- The Hoover Dam is open for tours and tourists can see the generator room. There are also guided tours. Check out the website to plan your trip if you want to do more than walk around the outside of the dam.
Krzysztof Wiktor/ Adobe Stock
The Flaggs camped at Lake Mead after exploring the Hoover Dam.
- Camping near the Hoover Dam was easy. Check out the Lake Mead National Recreational Area’s website for a lot of information. We stayed on there on our way out of the area before heading west.
- We spent as much time at each place as we could. If we had it all to do again, we might have made Hoover Dam a day-long visit alone and spent another two days at the Grand Canyon. PCS adventuring sometimes places time constraints on the schedule that going on a stand-alone vacation might not have. Figure out what the priority is for you and do what you can.