Grand Canyon Western Ranch

July 2018

The first stop on our Honeymoon was the almighty Las Vegas. During our stay in Vegas we had a day trip out to a ranch in Arizona. This has always been a dream for us.

We had the BEST day at the Grand Canyon Western Ranch. The itinerary we booked was pick up, drop off, horse back riding through the desert, helicopter over the Grand Canyon, sing song with a cowboy and lunch.

Requirements

Before we visited, we had to make sure we packed a few things – mainly long pants and closed shoes – which I was really excited to wear given the blistering heat…not! The ranch had cowboy boots to borrow (we didn’t) and cowboy hats to buy (we did). Water was provided.

I opted for the cowgirl look. Go large or go home. I wore my dungarees, bought a cowboy hat and had my hair in pigtails.

Pick up

We got picked up from our hotel (MGM Grand) at 7.30 am – we were told anytime between 7.30 am and 8 am. Our cowboy driver was at the side entrance to our hotel at 7.30 am exactly – and we were the only people getting picked up!

The Drive

The drive from our hotel to the ranch was two hours. With it just being the two of us and the driver – we got special treatment. He used to be a limousine driver in Vegas so he told us so much history on the city, and all the unique things he has seen and done, including chauffeuring THE RATPACK. I don’t think the three of us stopped talking the entire time. He was a film fanatic, so him and Rich hit it off!

The Hoover Dam

Kindly, he drove us to the Hoover Dam on our way to the ranch, and gave us a tour of it for FREE. He just kept saying “if you tell me you want to go somewhere, I will see what I can do”.

I was in complete awe of the Hoover Dam, due to it being so vast. And at the same time, I was totally terrified.

You could see a ring around Lake Mead that shows how much water levels have decreased. So scary.

On arrival

On arrival, we went straight into the ranch, and it was everything I expected. We were welcomed with entertainment from the onsite cowboy singing songs about us getting married…

We signed a few health and safety forms, bought our cowboy hats and then we were off.

Horseback riding

I would be lying If I said I was really excited about doing this. The moment we turned up, I suddenly got really scared. The thought of being in a desert, in the heat, on a horse… It was overwhelming.

We sat at a table near the stables with a family of three, while the cowboy gave us instructions on riding a horse; how to turn, pick up speed, stop. I was panicking. How am I meant to do this!

We were all assigned our horses – it was based on weight. The horseback ride was scheduled to be 45 minutes long, and boy, did that go fast!

I can count 3 occasions of being in utter tranquility, Lake Ontario, the chair lift in Capri, and this. It was so peaceful. In the middle of a desert, we could hear nothing but the quiet whistle of the wind and the horses’ hooves clopping away. Well, that and the gasps from me as I tried to ride the horse one-handed so I could take selfies of me and Rich!

The cowboy was up front, followed by the family, then me and Rich. Naturally, I was panicking at first. But I shouldn’t have been. The horses were well trained and followed each other, and when I say followed each other, they literally did step by step. There was only a couple of times I had to kick back on the horse to pick up a bit of pace.

There was one moment that caught me off guard though. The path ahead dropped down a little, and then went back up again. Anticipating this, my horse started running in order to gather momentum. I wasn’t prepared for that at all.

When we got to the top of the hill, the cowboy that sang to us on arrival was again, stood in the middle of the desert with his guitar in hand, surrounded by Buffalos – singing about them. We were all handed a glass of prosecco while still sat on the horses. I’ve never wanted to change my career more. I want to be a cowgirl.

We headed back to the ranch gracefully, and I had mixed emotions, happy to hand the horse back over and stretch my legs, but at the same time, I could see myself living like that. It must be great to travel by horse and have that connection.

Helicopter ride

I had zero fear of doing this. This was our second time flying on a helicopter – I had concurred it already, so I could relax. Honestly, some of our holidays test me.

The ride was 25 minutes long, it was a small cockpit, pilot and co-pilot in the front, me and Rich in the back. Headphones on, microphone set up, and we were off!

The ride was smoother that I thought it was going to be, especially going through canyons. I thought we would have been caught in wind tunnels. But no, it was smooth as anything.

How we saw the canyon was better than any other way of doing it, in my opinion. We were flying over the desert, then suddenly the land fell away and boom, you’re inside this humongous canyon. INCREDIBLE. We flew in and out of the canyon, seeing all of the best parts.

We were so in awe of it, the pilot kept trying to talk to us but we were mesmerised.

Lunch and entertainment

We had about 45 mins to an hour left before heading back into Vegas – just enough time for lunch. It was all fresh. Buffalo ribs, with coleslaw and corn on the cob.

Our entertainment was, again, the cowboy. His name was Casey Adams. He was mid 80’s but did not look it. And he was loving life even more when Rich told him that he played guitar, so he gave Rich his, and whipped out his banjo and they started jamming together. It was a magical moment.

Dropping off

The drive back was scheduled to get us to Vegas for around 5 pm, which was perfect – it meant we still had the evening to explore the nightlife of Vegas.

On our way back it was the two of us and the family of three who joined us on the horseback ride. The whole way back, the driver was testing our knowledge on what he had previously told us – it helped pass the time.

Other things available

The ranch offered more than just the activities we did. We chose activities that could be done in a day. If you wanted, you could stay over at the ranch, were you can camp out, sing around a fire, have marshmallows, and all that. They also offer shooting and wagon rides.

Prices

Prices differ depending on whether you are staying over or just doing activities. It’s not the cheapest, but given it was our honeymoon, cost wasn’t really an issue. We wanted to do it in style.

We booked our trip through Expedia, but you can directly book through the ranch. Click here for some package deals.

Overall

This is one of those experiences that I still don’t quite believe happened. You had to be there to get all the feels that we got. It was surreal. It was ridiculous. I didn’t stop smiling.

It was heaven.

Make sure you check out our YouTube video here.