I was checking my report and just realized I never finished it! So here goes: (if I wait too long it will be time to post a report on our next trip which is in less than two months away! )
Day 7, Zion to the Grand Canyon.
We had a fairly early bag pull but a not-so-early 9:00 AM go this morning. Our first stop was at Pipe Springs a historic Mormon ranch, near Kanab. It was never occupied by more than a few people and was pretty hard scrabble. We learned that at the time, the Mormon Church had plans to extend their "influence" over the entire Southwest and eventually the entire country! We stopped along the way at the Jacob Lake Inn for lunch. It was a rustic and interesting place, kind of in the middle of nowhere. The dining room log walls were decorated with some very nice and VERY pricey Native American rugs! We arrived at the Grand Canyon North Rim Lodge around 4:00 pm and had diner later that evening in the Lodge restaurant. The food was decent for a National Park. For those of you who are familiar with these outfits- Aramark operates the Lodge and facilities on the North Rim (and the Lodge at Bryce) and Xanterra runs the South Rim (and Zion). (Xanterra and Windstar Cruises are both owned by Anschutz (AEC)) in case you wanted to know. Our cabin was about the same as the one at Bryce which is also operated by Aramark. No Wifi or 4G again.
Day 8, Day at Grand Canyon
We had a choice between an 8:30 AM or a noon excursion with guide to Cape Royal viewpoints- it was a bit of a long shuttle ride, but gave us other views of the canyon. We chose the early excursion since we had privately booked a late morning 1.5 hr Canyon Rim mule trek. It was interesting, but I expected it to be a relatively flat, easy trail, with lots of good views of the canyon. It was anything but!! There were a lot of ups and downs on trails full of rocks and cross timbers placed tor traction. Most of it was in pine forest back far enough where you couldn't even see the canyon! There were four Taucktourians and though we would have had much better views, we were all really glad we hadn't booked the 3 hour canyon wall trail trip that goes partially into the canyon! The "highly trained" mules supposedly stay away from the walls so you ride near the trail edges (and the great abyss! ) Yikes!! Hence the Mule Rules: "No leaning, no screaming!" A lot of folks would gather on the Lodge terrace before diner to watch the sunset. Sunrise was around 5:30 am at the end of May when we went, so my wife and I who are not morning people, never got up for the "Dawn Patrol" which was hyped by our TD and by Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan in their video vignettes.
Day 9, Flight over Grand Canyon to Las Vegas.
This was essentially the last day of the tour. Our bus took us north again, from the North Rim back to the Kanab airport where we boarded 3 - 4 small turboprop aircraft (like those used on the African tours so no room for more than a purse or camera bag) for the 1 hr 20 min. flightseeing over the canyon to Boulder City (not Las Vegas). We had fantastic views of the canyon and just before landing our pilot circled Hoover Dam (sometimes referred to Boulder Dam- it was politics) a few times before landing at Boulder City. Our luggage as during other flights, was transported by our Tauck bus. The bus met us and took us to the nearby Boulder Creek Grill (at the Boulder Creek Golf Club) for lunch. Our lunch choices were limited and it appeared many items had been prepared before our arrival- so, so burgers, salmon, salad? After lunch we rode the coach to Vegas, had a drive around part of the city and the "Strip" accompanied by a new driver's excellent narration, before arriving at the Four Season. The Four Seasons, is not in a separate building. It has a separate entrance, its own elevators, but is actually on floors 35 - 39 of the Mandalay Bay Resort Hotel!!!!! You ride the elevator, which doesn't stop or even show floor numbers until you reach the Four Seasons' floors!!! How strange! It is a non-gambling hotel but if you go down to the ground floor lobby (or mezzanine?) you can connect with the Mandalay Bay to use their casino and pool. There really wasn't much time to explore so we packed and got ready for the farewell diner. The dinner was one of Tauck's better ones and came with entertainment- a magician who was darn good, made the rounds of the tables. We left the next morning from the Harry Reid (formerly McCarran) Airport which is just a short 5 min. drive from the hotel.
Great info as usual Alan. We’ve had that magician twice now when in Vegas with Tauck. He was at the Family Bridges tour Farewell dinner and was excellent with the children who loved watching and doing some tricks with him. He is very interesting to talk to.
Spa treatments at the Four Seasons are excellent as is the concierge desk if you stay longer.
There is a secret entrance, a short cut, into the casino for getting to other areas more quickly outside of the hotel.
In addition to the Pipe Springs Mormon site we also stopped at an interesting private little museum. The owner of the Anasazi Museum gave us a detailed rundown of the many interesting and unique Southwest Native American items he had collected over his lifetime.
Of note, during this stop- no cloning and no mirrors were used, but we crossed paths with another identical Tauck motor coach from a different tour.
What I didn't know at the time, so missed an opportunity to photograph both together, was that our driver was the daughter of the driver of the other Tauck bus!
The Pipe Springs National Monument Mormon "ranch" was staged with furniture and items from the period (mid-late 1800's). It was also the site of the first telegraph in that region.
Lunch stop:
There was no hint or warning other than signs that we were approaching the Grand Canyon until we actually saw it. You don't get a true sense of its size from most of the overlooks either.
I got one photo when we stopped but It was basically impossible to take photos from horseback (muleback) during our Rim Trail ride. You were not permitted to carry any bags during the ride.
Our flightseeing from Kanab to Boulder City was awesome but, believe it or not, all too brief. At times, it was impossible to see the Colorado River unless you were flying right over it.
The South Rim Park area was visible off in the distance- it had a lot more buildings and I'm sure people than the North Rim!!!
All too soon we arrived over Lake Mead and Hoover Dam where our pilot made two circles overhead so we could take photos. The water level was still down, but not nearly as much as I've seen in other photos.
Comments
Alan great pictures, enjoy !
The pole people were headed towards the Narrows.
I was checking my report and just realized I never finished it!
So here goes: (if I wait too long it will be time to post a report on our next trip which is in less than two months away! 
)
Day 7, Zion to the Grand Canyon.
We had a fairly early bag pull but a not-so-early 9:00 AM go this morning. Our first stop was at Pipe Springs a historic Mormon ranch, near Kanab. It was never occupied by more than a few people and was pretty hard scrabble. We learned that at the time, the Mormon Church had plans to extend their "influence" over the entire Southwest and eventually the entire country! We stopped along the way at the Jacob Lake Inn for lunch. It was a rustic and interesting place, kind of in the middle of nowhere. The dining room log walls were decorated with some very nice and VERY pricey Native American rugs! We arrived at the Grand Canyon North Rim Lodge around 4:00 pm and had diner later that evening in the Lodge restaurant. The food was decent for a National Park. For those of you who are familiar with these outfits- Aramark operates the Lodge and facilities on the North Rim (and the Lodge at Bryce) and Xanterra runs the South Rim (and Zion). (Xanterra and Windstar Cruises are both owned by Anschutz (AEC)) in case you wanted to know.
Our cabin was about the same as the one at Bryce which is also operated by Aramark. No Wifi or 4G again.
Day 8, Day at Grand Canyon
We had a choice between an 8:30 AM or a noon excursion with guide to Cape Royal viewpoints- it was a bit of a long shuttle ride, but gave us other views of the canyon. We chose the early excursion since we had privately booked a late morning 1.5 hr Canyon Rim mule trek. It was interesting, but I expected it to be a relatively flat, easy trail, with lots of good views of the canyon. It was anything but!!
There were a lot of ups and downs on trails full of rocks and cross timbers placed tor traction. Most of it was in pine forest back far enough where you couldn't even see the canyon! 
There were four Taucktourians and though we would have had much better views, we were all really glad we hadn't booked the 3 hour canyon wall trail trip that goes partially into the canyon! The "highly trained" mules supposedly stay away from the walls so you ride near the trail edges (and the great abyss! 
) Yikes!! Hence the Mule Rules: "No leaning, no screaming!" A lot of folks would gather on the Lodge terrace before diner to watch the sunset. Sunrise was around 5:30 am at the end of May when we went, so my wife and I who are not morning people, never got up for the "Dawn Patrol" which was hyped by our TD and by Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan in their video vignettes.
Day 9, Flight over Grand Canyon to Las Vegas.
This was essentially the last day of the tour. Our bus took us north again, from the North Rim back to the Kanab airport where we boarded 3 - 4 small turboprop aircraft (like those used on the African tours so no room for more than a purse or camera bag) for the 1 hr 20 min. flightseeing over the canyon to Boulder City (not Las Vegas). We had fantastic views of the canyon and just before landing our pilot circled Hoover Dam (sometimes referred to Boulder Dam- it was politics) a few times before landing at Boulder City. Our luggage as during other flights, was transported by our Tauck bus. The bus met us and took us to the nearby Boulder Creek Grill (at the Boulder Creek Golf Club) for lunch. Our lunch choices were limited and it appeared many items had been prepared before our arrival- so, so burgers, salmon, salad? After lunch we rode the coach to Vegas, had a drive around part of the city and the "Strip" accompanied by a new driver's excellent narration, before arriving at the Four Season. The Four Seasons, is not in a separate building. It has a separate entrance, its own elevators, but is actually on floors 35 - 39 of the Mandalay Bay Resort Hotel!!!!! You ride the elevator, which doesn't stop or even show floor numbers until you reach the Four Seasons' floors!!! How strange! It is a non-gambling hotel but if you go down to the ground floor lobby (or mezzanine?) you can connect with the Mandalay Bay to use their casino and pool. There really wasn't much time to explore so we packed and got ready for the farewell diner. The dinner was one of Tauck's better ones and came with entertainment- a magician who was darn good, made the rounds of the tables. We left the next morning from the Harry Reid (formerly McCarran) Airport which is just a short 5 min. drive from the hotel.
I'll post photos tomorrow.
Great info as usual Alan. We’ve had that magician twice now when in Vegas with Tauck. He was at the Family Bridges tour Farewell dinner and was excellent with the children who loved watching and doing some tricks with him. He is very interesting to talk to.
Spa treatments at the Four Seasons are excellent as is the concierge desk if you stay longer.
There is a secret entrance, a short cut, into the casino for getting to other areas more quickly outside of the hotel.
A few more pics.
In addition to the Pipe Springs Mormon site we also stopped at an interesting private little museum. The owner of the Anasazi Museum gave us a detailed rundown of the many interesting and unique Southwest Native American items he had collected over his lifetime.
Of note, during this stop- no cloning and no mirrors were used, but we crossed paths with another identical Tauck motor coach from a different tour.
What I didn't know at the time, so missed an opportunity to photograph both together, was that our driver was the daughter of the driver of the other Tauck bus!
The Pipe Springs National Monument Mormon "ranch" was staged with furniture and items from the period (mid-late 1800's). It was also the site of the first telegraph in that region.
Lunch stop:
There was no hint or warning other than signs that we were approaching the Grand Canyon until we actually saw it. You don't get a true sense of its size from most of the overlooks either.
I got one photo when we stopped but It was basically impossible to take photos from horseback (muleback) during our Rim Trail ride. You were not permitted to carry any bags during the ride.
Our flightseeing from Kanab to Boulder City was awesome but, believe it or not, all too brief. At times, it was impossible to see the Colorado River unless you were flying right over it.
The South Rim Park area was visible off in the distance- it had a lot more buildings and I'm sure people than the North Rim!!!
All too soon we arrived over Lake Mead and Hoover Dam where our pilot made two circles overhead so we could take photos. The water level was still down, but not nearly as much as I've seen in other photos.
That telegraph key looks like a J-38
Great trip report. Your pictures are amazing.
Great report Alan, looks like you had a great time.
Alan, happy you’re back on the road. Your travel report and photography are exceptional … thank you!!
Excellent review.