Why This Grand Canyon Trip Stood Out for Our Family

As a family travel writer for the past 18 years, my two children and I have been blessed with many awesome family trips. From celebrating a 10th birthday aboard a cruise ship docked in Mykonos to holding a baby monkey in Costa Rica, my 18-year-old daughter Alexandra and 10-year-old son Ethan have experienced family vacations that sure have been memorable.

But the one that stands out most in our minds is our white water rafting trip down the Colorado River IN the Grand Canyon with Grand Canyon Expeditions (GCEX).

Why? Read on to find out why we gave it our “family trip of a lifetime” stamp of approval!

5. WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE!

What child or teenager doesn’t love water?

On a GCEX family adventure, water is everywhere! The most obvious is the Colorado River’s exciting rapids. Experiencing white water is THE perfect way to bond with your children – and we did! Just like an amusement park ride, runnin’ the white water provides plenty of exciting twists and turns to chat about. For more details on if your child is ready for white water rafting, check out these details.

Another unexpected and very “cool” aspect of our GCEX adventure was standing under a number of waterfalls. Our image of the Grand Canyon as being totally arid was dispelled each time we came across the Shangri La-like waterfalls on our hikes.

We were also wowed by the Little Colorado River. Its azure color made us feel like we were in the Caribbean, NOT Arizona. This was one of Ethan’s top trip-of-a-lifetime memories: strapping his life preserver to his backside and sliding down the natural waterslide formed in the Little Colorado River!

4. WARMTH OF GCEX’S STAFF

While on any guided trip one must rely on the trip directors, when you’re rafting 280 miles down the Colorado River and the only way out prior to trip’s end is helicopter, you must totally feel confident with your guides.

We not only felt our guides were pure professionals when it came to navigating us through the rapids safely, we also relished their versatile talents as chefs, social coordinators and friends.

3. NATURAL AWESOMENESS ABOUNDS

Teens are hard to impress these days. However, our GCEX trip had a bunch of young adults and they were all VERY happy the entire trip. There were many reasons for this including their ability to acknowledge the “awesome” aspects of the natural world they were up close and personal with for the entire week.

One of the top (non-water) awesome things they liked? Playing Frisbee in a huge beach cave – called Red Rock Cavern — on the banks of the Colorado River. Yes, even hard-to-impress young adults were wowed that they were playing Frisbee IN a cave!

2. PRIME OPPORTUNITIES TO BOND

My son Ethan and I have been on countless cruises. While we’ve enjoyed them all, there are so many activities to do on the mega ships these days that it leaves little time for us to truly bond. However, our Grand Canyon adventure kept us on the edge of our seats (rafts) daily yet afforded us down time while in camp nightly.

Gone were the electronic interferences that are constant today. (Obviously there’s no electricity while camping in the Grand Canyon.) In addition, there were no cars or other modes of transportation to separate parents and young adults from connecting in a deeper way. Instead the youngsters and adults found that hanging out together was actually fun! I’ll cherish those moments – surrounded by unforgettable scenery – forever.

1. PINCH ME NOW….WE’RE IN THE GRAND CANYON FOR A WEEK!

The number one reason why our GCEX family vacation was a trip-of-a-lifetime was the jaw-dropping gorgeous scenery. From Alpine vistas to Alaskan glaciers, I’ve seen plenty of stunning landscapes while traveling. However, in the Grand Canyon there is something bigger than any of us that is at play. The enormity of it helped all of us – even Ethan who was the youngest on our trip – put our lives back home in better perspective.