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We've been to the Grand Canyon National Park (south rim) several times over the years. One thing we recommend is to get a reservation for a room on the canyon rim in what they call the Grand Canyon Village (reserve at the El Tovar or the Kachina, Thunderbird or Bright Angel Lodge & Cabins) so you can walk out your door to see the sunrise and sunset from the canyon rim. There's a long paved walk you can take along the rim that doesn't require any special gear.
We stayed at the Kachina Lodge which is fairly modern. Another time we stayed in a cabin at the Bright Angel Lodge. Both are quite nice and just steps from the canyon rim. The El Tovar is an historic hotel with a log cabin motif and very nice, very pricey too. We had lunch there one day. On our first visit many years ago we stayed outside the park in a village they call Tusayan -- there's lots of hotels there but you should reserve as well and be aware that you'll need to ride a shuttle bus to the park or drive (not recommended during the busy season) and park your car at the Grand Canyon Visitor's Center near Mather Point and then shuttle around to the other places. We could take our car into the village as we were staying there .. but parking was scarce, very scarce.
If you are fit and adventure some (we're not fit but are up for adventures) you can stay overnight at the base of the canyon at the Phantom Ranch which, apparently, is very rustic -- cabins and dorms. In past visits we've walked a little ways into the canyon on both the Bright Angel and Kaibab trails but with age, bad knees, broken ankles, etc. we've given up on ever venturing all the way down (although they say the going up is worth the coming down). The only way we'd ever make it to the Phantom Ranch would be to take a mule ride. Kate's not keen on riding a big critter like a mule on narrow cliff side trails. It would be scenic, if only we could.
In any case, no matter when you plan on going book early. Very early (like a year in advance) to get a location on the rim (or in the case of the Phantom Ranch, in the canyon).
We walked into the canyon a little bit on the Bright Angel Trail (trail head is in the Grand Canyon Village near the Mary Colter Lookout and the Kolb Gallery Studios) and while we made it over to the trail head for the South Kaibab Trail we didn't enter it. These two trails connect at the Phantom Ranch on the Colorado River at the bottom of the canyon. People hike down one and back up the other. There are other trails to explore but these are the obvious one near the village and hotels. And they are the most used and well serviced trails.
The Mary Colter Lookout Studio is an impressive, but small, rough stone gift shop right on the rim in the village. It's very pretty and has wonderful views of the canyon and the Indian Garden Campground on the Bright Angel Trail. The Kolb Studio Gallery, at the the top of the Bright Angel Trail, had an impressive exhibit of paintings set in and around the canyon.
We spent some time driving east on Desert View Drive stopping at various lookouts for jaw dropping views to end up at the Mary Colter's Desert View Watchtower on the far east end of the park for impressive sunrise shots (we were there a couple of times). That's also the route east if you're going to Lake Powell or the 4 corners. You can't drive west from the Village to Mary Colter's Hermit's Rest at the west end of Grand Canyon South Rim but there's a good shuttle bus service that makes that easy with lots of scenic stops (and more jaw dropping views) along the way. At the east end, coming back from the Desert View Watchtower, we stopped at the Tusayan Museum and explored the ruins of an old Pueblo village. That was new for us.
We ate lunch at the El Tovar dining room one day (very posh) and had dinner one evening at the Bright Angel Dining Room (nice enough) -- you don't travel here for the food, it's the views!
You may note in our photos that we're bundled up for cold weather. It was very cool, but always sunny. We came prepared for the cold and dressed accordingly. If you come during the winter don't be surprised by the cool. We were also surprised by how busy it was in spite of the cooler weather. I gather that it's just crazy with people in the summer time. We've been there in late May many years before -- that was a good time with mild weather and before the summer crowds.
Within the Village there's lots of things to see. I've mentioned the Kolb and Mary Colter Studios already -- both perched right on the rim. There's also the rustic stone Hopi House (also designed by Mary Colter) -- it's a gift shop of mostly native crafts. And the nearby Verkamp's Vistor Center in a Victorian era wood frame building. There's a train station to explore, shops, geology museum, hikes in the woods, visitor's centers and a ton of things to see. We barely scratched the surface, we ought to have booked a week or more!
When people ask us about our favorite place to visit Grand Canyon is always first on our list. We love it and are constantly amazed by the beauty. We are always "Gob smacked" as the English would say.
Death Valley National Park is a couple of hours west of Las Vegas, Nevada but the bulk of the park is in California. We reserved a room at the hotel in Stove Pipe Wells which is near the middle of the park and right next to the impressive Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes -- we could watch the changing scenery of the dunes from our hotel. The "hotel" is more of a "motel" kind of place with long low green buildings where you could park your car right outside your door. There's a gas station (much cheaper than the station near the Furnace Creek Visitor's Center), a general store (it's really a gift shop), a bar and a dining hall. In years past we've used the swimming pool -- this visit it was closed for repairs (apparently it sprung a leak and water is a rather scarce resource in the valley).
One surprise on this trip was how busy both parks were. There were a lot of tourists wandering about in Death Valley -- note the hordes at the Badwater Basin (lowest point in North America: 282' below sea level) when you chase the link to our photo album. The sand dunes can be impressive if you can get to them after a wind storm and before they've been trampled by the foot prints of the many trying to enjoy them. I was disappointed that we didn't get to see them in a pristine condition as we had back in 2004. But they're still very impressive.
We drove up to Hell's Gate (that's on the exit out to Beatty Nevada) and visited the Keane Wonder Mine where gold was mined many years ago. To get to the mine we had to take a rough road for a mile or so. Not that a 4-wheel drive would have been necessary, but it would have been nice. When we got to the mine we were the only off road vehicle amongst the many who were visiting. In years past we've rented a four wheel drive to get up to the Racetrack Playa on the extreme north end (that's a lake bed that's usually dry with tracks left by stones that mysteriously move around when it's wet). If you want to get to rough country, and there's certainly lots of it here, do rent a 4-wheel drive. Nevertheless there's plenty to see on the paved roads and short side trails with a conventional rental.
The Salt Creek is a bit of wet marsh land between Stove Pipe Wells and Furnace Creek that comes from water draining the north end of the canyon. Most of the water which formed the Badwater Basin salt flats comes from the south end of the canyon. Furnace Creek, in the middle of the park, really is a creek but the water is well under ground.
We saw sunrise over the Manly Beacon at Zabriskie Point and then drove up to Dante's View where you have a panoramic view of the valley with Badwater Basin directly below. We visited Badwater Basin a couple of times and had a lunch at the Oasis at Death Valley (which used to be known as "The Furnace Creek Inn"). It is a lovely "oasis" but very expensive. There's also some accommodation at the Furnace Creek Ranch but of the three in the park we like Stove Pipe Wells the best.
On the last day in Death Valley, Kate sprained her foot on a morning hike in the Golden Canyon (which leads to Zabriskie Point). I had been on her case about wearing proper shoes and the one day she wore her hiking boots that would be the day she twisted her foot on the rough ground. She hurt it pretty bad and was barely able to hike out. At the airport we relied on wheel chairs to get her around. At home we had her foot examined and fortunately there was no serious and long lasting damage. She lives to hike again!
By way of comparison you can read about our Death Valley 2004 adventures and check out pictures when the crowds are far less and the Mesquite Sand Dunes were pristine after a sand storm.
Ps. This 2018 photo album was taken with several different cameras: Canon G10, Canon T4i, Canon pocket cameras, Android phones and even some from a tablet (the fish eye effect is a cheap lens attachment). Lots are taken by Kate, some are by me.
