The Adventure Lives On – A Tribute to the North Rim of Grand Canyon

How one spontaneous phone call became the spark for a 13-year tradition — and why the spirit of that journey still shines brightly today.

This is more than a travel story.

It’s a tribute to a place, a community, and 13 summers of unforgettable connection on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. From laughter-soaked hikes to water fights around the lodge, and quiet sunsets beneath Ponderosa pines, we’ve captured the heart of a tradition interrupted — but not ended — by the 2025 Dragon Bravo Fire.

Grand Canyon - North Rim - Tribute Video

🎥 Watch.

💬 Reflect.

🌄 And if it feels familiar…Maybe that’s because you were there too.

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In 2009, a single phone call changed everything.

That summer, we were simply looking for a place close to home to host a July 4th adventure. The South Rim was fully booked. So—on a whim—we called the North Rim Lodge. We had never been. Honestly, we hadn’t even considered it.

But we remembered a conversation with Nancy Graves, one of our early Walking Connection friends who worked on the South Rim. She’d casually mentioned the North Rim—just once—but it stuck. So we made the call.

Us: “Do you have any cabins available for the July 4th weekend?”

Grand Canyon Lodge: “Yep,” came the reply.

“Western Cabins. Best views in the Canyon. Most expensive.”

“How many would you like?”

“Ten,” we said.

And just like that, a new chapter began.

That weekend would become the first of 13 consecutive annual North Rim Adventures. What we stumbled into was unforgettable—a squirt gun fight billed as the world’s largest, laughter echoing through the lodge cul-de-sac, kids and grownups soaked in joy. There were trucks, golf carts, hoses, and high spirits. It was chaotic. It was perfect. It was us.

Each year after that, we returned. And so did our guests.

New faces blended effortlessly with the familiar. Together, we hiked Uncle Jim’s Trail, North Kaibab, and the Transept Trail to the General Store for ice cream. We watched the canyon walls turn brilliant in the glow of the sunset, swapped stories over too-hot (or not-hot-enough) pizza, and ate from the secret raspberry patch on Widforss Trail.

We came for the views, but we stayed for the people—for the connection.

Then in 2025, the Dragon Bravo Fire swept through the North Rim, taking with it the Grand Canyon Lodge and reshaping a landscape we held sacred.

The loss is real. And it hurts.

But nature endures. So do we.

The rocks remain. The vistas are still there. Fire may scar the surface, but it doesn’t erase the soul of a place—or the stories that made it home.

What the Dragon didn’t take was our connection to this place, and to each other.

We’ve created a short video tribute to honor that connection. It’s filled with snapshots from our many years on the North Rim—moments that mean the world to us. And we hope they mean something to you, too.

Toward the end of the video, you’ll find links and QR codes that lead to a special photo gallery on GenesJourney.com. You can view and download photos, and even upload your own memories.

Because this story isn’t just ours—it’s yours too.