Grand Canyon Posse

06/10/2026

06/09/2026

If staying at El Tovar Hotel is on your Grand Canyon bucket list…

This summer just got complicated.

The crown jewel of the Grand Canyon is getting a facelift — and that means rooms are disappearing fast.

Here's what's happening.

The North Wing goes offline June 26th through August 8th.

The South Wing goes dark July 31st through September 11th.

There's a stretch right in the middle of summer where both wings are partially shut down at the same time.

The dining room stays open. The retail stays open.

But available rooms? Already tight as a new saddle.

If you're planning a summer trip and El Tovar is on your list…

The time to book ain't tomorrow, partner.

It was yesterday.

👇 Wanna book a room? Link in the comments.

06/09/2026

Twenty feet.

That's how close this hotel sits to the edge of the Grand Canyon rim.

Built in 1905 for a quarter million dollars — part Swiss chalet, part Norwegian villa… dropped right into the middle of the Arizona wilderness.

Hot runnin' water. Electric lights. Copper chandeliers.

Before most of America had any of that.

Presidents stayed here. George Bernard Shaw stayed here. Even Sir Paul McCartney.

And it was named after a Spanish explorer who inspired the first expedition to the canyon…

But never once laid eyes on it himself.

Some things never change, partner. 🤠

Plannin' a Grand Canyon adventure? 👉 Grab my FREE Canyon Cheat Sheets — simple maps and smart routes so you don't waste a single day of your trip. Link in the comments.

06/07/2026

There's a town in Arizona named after a man who never once set foot there.

And it all came down to one letter… written by one man… to an old friend.

Back in 1882, settlers carved out a little camp below the Mogollon Rim with no roads… and no mail service for thirty miles.

Out here, that ain't an inconvenience, partner.

That's abandonment.

So a fella named Frank Hise tracked down his old friend Lewis back in Illinois — a congressman who happened to chair the very committee with the power to create post offices.

Lewis pulled the strings.

The post office opened.

And those grateful settlers named their whole town after him.

He never once showed up to say thank you. 🤠

Plannin' a Grand Canyon adventure? 👉 Grab my FREE Canyon Cheat Sheets — simple maps and smart routes so you don't waste a single day of your trip. Link in the comments.

06/06/2026

So you're stoppin' in Phoenix on your way to Grand Canyon.

In July.

Partner, I respect the commitment. I question the sanity.

Phoenix don't mess around in summer — 110 degrees is a regular Tuesday.

115 ain't unheard of.

The all-time record is 122. The planes literally stopped flyin' that day.

But if you're stickin' around before headin' up to the canyon, here's three ways to keep yer boots from meltin'.

🌊 Float the Salt River — cold water, wild horses on the banks, and a few lazy hours driftin' through the Tonto National Forest.

🦈 OdySea Aquarium in Scottsdale — sharks, sea turtles, penguins, and air conditioning so good it'll make you emotional.

🌵 Desert Botanical Garden — but go at night. Flashlight tours all summer. Cooler temps, stranger world.

Phoenix in summer ain't for everyone, partner.

But now you got a plan. 🤠

Plannin' your Grand Canyon adventure? 👉 Grab my FREE Canyon Cheat Sheets — simple maps and smart routes so you don't waste a single day of your trip. Link in the comments.

06/05/2026

Arizona ain't exactly known for its lakes.

And there's a real good reason for that.

But tucked up at 7,000 feet in the ponderosa pines south of Flagstaff… there's a stretch of water that calls itself the largest natural lake in the whole state.

When it feels like it.

Some years she's gorgeous — seven miles long, five miles wide, proud as a peacock.

Other years… she just disappears.

Marsh. Mud puddle. Nothin'.

Named after Mormon settlers who ran dairy farms out here in the 1870s — which honestly makes more sense than a lake does. 🤠

Arizona's biggest lake, partner. On a good day.

Plannin' a Grand Canyon adventure? 👉 Grab my FREE Canyon Cheat Sheets — simple maps and game plans to help you plan your trip fast. Link in the comments.

06/05/2026

👇 Comment the word CHEAT below and I'll shoot you my FREE Canyon Cheat Sheets — simple maps and smart routes for your Phoenix to Grand Canyon trip.

Won't cost you a buffalo nickel. 🤠

Here's what most folks do when hittin' the trail from Phoenix to Grand Canyon…

They treat it like a straight shot up I-17… and call it a day.

Partner, that's like orderin' a steak and only eatin' the garnish. 🤠

You've got routes through Sedona, Prescott (PRESS-kit)… Payson…

Each one tellin' a completely different story on your way to or from the canyon.

Problem is… most folks don't know how to connect it all without backtrackin' like a lost mule.

So they miss the best stops… waste time… and end up rushin' the whole trip.

That's exactly why I made these Cheat Sheets — and they're yours for free.

06/04/2026

Back in 1864, a scrappy little gold rush town in the Arizona Territory needed a name.
They skipped "Dusty Gulch." Passed on "Broke-Neck City."
Instead they named it after a fancy Eastern historian who never once set foot in Arizona.
And then… they couldn't even agree on how to say it right.
William Hickling Prescott — his Boston crowd said "PRESS-cot."
Arizona said… "PRESS-kit." Like biscuit.
And that's how it stayed.
You can always tell a tourist in Prescott (PRESS-kit) by how they say the name.
Now you know better, partner. 🤠

Plannin' a Grand Canyon adventure? 👉 Grab my FREE Canyon Cheat Sheets — simple maps and game plans so you can plan your trip fast. Link in the comments.

06/02/2026

Most folks fly into Phoenix… and blast straight up I-17 to the Grand Canyon…

Big mistake, partner.

That’s like ridin’ through the Wild West with your eyes closed.

There’s a whole lotta Arizona you’re missin’.

You could be cruisin’ past Lake Pleasant… strollin’ Whiskey Row in Prescott… white-knucklin’ your way through Jerome… then rollin’ through the red rocks of Sedona.

And that’s before you even hit the canyon.

This ain’t just a drive…

It’s the journey.

Plannin’ a Grand Canyon adventure from Phoenix?

👉 You gotta get your hands on my FREE Canyon Cheat Sheets—simple maps and game plans to help you plan your Grand Canyon trip fast—link in the comments.

06/02/2026

Most folks think the Grand Canyon is the biggest geological show in Arizona…

But partner… there’s a line out there that helped create it.

Deep in Arizona runs a massive wall—droppin’ 2,000 feet into country so wild it don’t even bother askin’ your name.

It stretches nearly 200 miles… slicin’ the land clean in two.

When the Colorado Plateau lifted…

Rivers got shoved north…

Forced to carve deeper… and meaner…

Until they helped form the canyon we know today.

And that same wall?

Still blocks the desert heat… turnin’ dry land into the largest ponderosa pine forest on Earth.

This ain’t just scenery, partner…

It’s the line that shaped the West.

They call it…

The Mogollon Rim.

Plannin’ a Grand Canyon adventure yourself?

👉 You gotta get your hands on my FREE Canyon Cheat Sheets—simple maps and game plans to help you plan your Grand Canyon trip fast—link in the comments.