The Grand Canyon and Desert View Watchtower

Let’s take a trip to the Grand Canyon, shall we? Thanks so much for joining me as I share our visit to the Grand Canyon, the incredible Desert View Watchtower, and the magical night we spent stargazing under the clearest sky ever. It was yet another one of those goosebump moments I’ll never forget!

Here we are back in the van again. I felt very attached to our van, which took us on all these wonderful adventures. It was like our little home on wheels—always ready for the next part of our road trip, packed with snacks, music, and fun.

Such beautiful scenery and the endless road that stretched forever.

We took a quick bathroom break at a spot that had snacks, drinks, Navajo souvenirs, and a small museum.

Minimal snow but maximum fun! The younger cousins made the most of every pitstop, launching into snowball fights with whatever tiny patches they could scrape together. I think there would be more snow in a snow globe than at this spot! Haha.

What better way to thaw out afterwards than with some hot chocolate and whipped cream?

Soon after, we arrived at the highlight of the day…

The Grand Canyon and Desert View Watchtower

The Grand Canyon

The next photo on my camera roll has us at the South Rim of the Canyon. I remember walking up to the lookout and just being hit by how massive the Grand Canyon actually is. I mean, I knew it would be big, but I didn’t expect it to be that big and that deep.

Now I feel a bit awful admitting this (and yes, I even Googled to see if anyone else felt the same), but I remember feeling a little underwhelmed at first. And I felt so guilty even thinking that!

But it’s just… It’s so vast that when you’re standing at the lookouts, you kind of lose the finer details. For once, it wasn’t that my phone camera didn’t do the views justice—this time, it was my eyes!

The Grand Canyon is spectacular—there’s no doubt about that. But because of its sheer size, you don’t get that instant scenic hit like you do at a place like Bryce Canyon.

So I think what I felt wasn’t so much a wow moment. Instead, it was more of a quiet, intense sense of awe. Like… how is it even possible for something this massive and beautiful to be carved completely by nature? I felt very, very small.

The Desert View Watchtower

Next up, we made our way to the Desert View Watchtower. It was built in 1932 and designed to resemble an ancient Pueblo watchtower.

The climb up was definitely worth it (all those stairs!) Because the views of the Canyon from the top are amazing, and again, you can see just how massive the Canyon is from another angle.

Seriously, the Grand Canyon seems to go on forever, no matter where you are. Here are some photos I took from inside the Desert View Watch Tower.

The Desert View Watchtower is more than just another lookout point. The inside is spectacular, filled with beautiful murals painted by Hopi artists.

It was such an awesome place to visit, and I really felt honoured to be in a place with so much history and meaning.

The Grand Canyon Visitor Center

After the Desert View Watchtower, we spent some time at the Visitor Centre on the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. It was another fantastic stop, packed with so much interesting information. We got lucky and caught the hourly showing of We Are Grand Canyon.

The film gives a glimpse into the culture and stories of the 11 tribal communities who’ve called this place home for thousands of years, and I was really moved by it.

I found the film on YouTube and linked it here in case you want to watch it—it was a real highlight of our visit.

It helped me wrap up what I was feeling about the Grand Canyon. It’s not just about the views—how could my eyes possibly take in all the details of such a huge, immense, and spectacular wonder?

The film showed me the canyon through the eyes of the people and generations who have lived and experienced it. It’s more than just the views—it’s an incredible sense of wonder that’s hard to put into words.

After the most amazing day visiting the Grand Canyon and the Desert View Watchtower, we headed back to the hotel. Even though we’d had such a full day of sightseeing, we still weren’t ready to call it quits.

So, some of us went for a stroll around Grand Canyon Village and ended up stopping inside a beautiful hotel (I can’t remember the name). But I do remember that it was decorated with mounted animal heads. Now that was something I had only ever seen in movies!

Inside the hotel found a bar and enjoyed the smoothest glass of red wine I have ever tasted while we chatted about our day and all the incredible things we had seen. It was such a cosy moment that’s embedded in my memory forever.

We went back to our hotel, where we were staying, grabbed the rest of our gang, and went to dinner at a pizza-pasta place.

Star Gazing

Then it was time to go and see some stars. We drove to one of the nearby carparks—don’t ask me which one, I just remember how freezing it was even though I was wearing all the layers!

But it was so worth it to see the most spectacular pitch-black sky lit up with millions of stars. My cousins S and M really impressed me with all their knowledge of constellations and star names, while all I could think was, “Oooooh, so pretty!”

These next four photos were taken by my cousin J. She’s an amazing photographer, and I have no idea how she captured all these incredible shots. I got the latest iPhone 16, especially for the trip, but I definitely need some photography tips because all my photos just ended up looking like black screens. Major photography fail!

Then it was time to go back to the hotel, and we hit our pillows hard that night. The next morning, it was time to travel to dazzling Las Vegas.

Goodbye, majestic canyons and starry skies—hello, bright lights and Elvis impersonators. I’ll tell you all about it in my next recap, coming soon!