I’d never previously heard of HipCamp, as I usually stick with either VRBO or AirBnB when I need a place to sleep while out on adventures. However, I was looking for something a bit more budget friendly in the Grand Canyon area, and stumbling upon the Grand Canyon Eco-retreat was a welcome surprise.
The place was very unassuming when I first pulled in. It looked more like a lone person’s hideaway from the outside world than a place for weary travelers to hang their hat for a night or two. The gent that runs the place with his wife came around the corner to greet me, dropping some boards and tools he was carrying for a project he was doing.
I got a quick layout of his space as we did a quick three minute walk up to where I was staying for the night. We passed the community bathrooms/shower area, the outdoor yoga/meditation area, and a couple of tent camp spots and yurts before reaching my single room open A-frame shelter. Got a quick tutorial, started a fire, and I was soon left to my own devices.
The fire crackles into the evening as the sun went down. I watch a rabbit nibble on the grasses behind the A-frame, then observe other travelers make their way to their own shelters as the night fell upon us all. A mother/daughter go to one of the yurts, a single women sets up a tent….
We are all evenly spaced out. The stars pop with brilliance as it gets later. The temperatures drop to around 40 degrees. It is only May up the high country of Arizona, but I stay comfortable in the A-Frame.
The morning sun quickly warms everything up. I open up the plexiglass side wall and drink my coffee on the deck. Life is truly all about simple times like these, don’t you agree?
