Glamping

Yes, that's right - not camping, but glamping. When searching for a place to stay for our visit to The Grand Canyon I happened upon the company, Under Canvas. They offer 'glamping' vacations in many of the National Parks so what an opportunity to give it a try.

Their tents range from basic tents to ones with flushing toilets and full showers. We chose the latter (obvioulsy) and what a great time we had.

Under Canvas Grand Canyon is in Valle, Arizona, about 30 minutes from the south entrance visitor's center, and is located on the edge of the Kaibab Forest.  The last mile driving in was on unpaved, bumpy ground. The main "lodge" is a large tent area complete with gift shop, tables to sit and eat, a small kitchen for ordering breakfast, lunch, and dinner, board games for all ages, plus an outside area to sit and eat or enjoy the view and a fire pit for making s'mores in the evening. You could also enjoy a game of horseshoes or cornhole.

Lots of tents populate the property in what seemed like a very random set-up; however, I think it was purposely arranged this way to resemble a camp site. 

Out tent (#49) was about a 1/4 mile walk from the "lodge" although we could drive our car and park within 100 feet of the tent.

It was amazing - warm summer weather when we arrived, we quickly unzipped the tent flaps to allow the breeze to blow through. An entry porch complete with two chairs and table was there for our use. Battery packs were provided to charge your phones as well as two small fans that sat on either side of the comfortable king-size bed. Battery-charged lanterns hung around the cabin and could be used at night when walking around the campsite. The toilet was a regular flush toilet and the shower (with hot water heated by propane) worked well with a pull chain (so when you let go the water stopped - a good way to save water). The sink only had cold water but that was fine. And there was a wood-burning stove that could be used to warm the tent if needed (we did not need to use it). A bear rug and two sling leather chairs rounded out the furnishings.

We enjoyed dinner at the campsite that night, along with some alcoholic beverages and s'mores over the campfire when darkness came and the full moon rose.

Couples and families with small children were enjoying their stay and many of them had been to Under Canvas before. This particular Under Canvas had just opened for their first season at The Grand Canyon. We even met a young man who grew up in Middletown and Rumson and had graduated CBA - such a small world.

After dark we were sure to zip up our tent flaps as it cools down quickly after dark. The beds were topped with down comforters and it was very comfortable sleeping and although my nose did get a little cool in the night - it felt good; and the silence was deafening,

The sun rises early and we were up and ready to enjoy a breakfast before packing up to head back to The Grand Canyon (we had stopped there on our way in on Monday just to get our first glimpse).

Will definitely try another one of these Under Canvas sites - we hear there is one in the Great Smoky Mountains, a little closer to home.