I'm soooooo jealous!
I've been there, but I've been dying to go back. You're right- there are too many people at the Grand Canyon. We were there in the Summer, and it seemed I just couldn't get away from them- maybe I didn't walk far enough.
Did you see the new glass skywalk, or whatever it's called? Although, I think that's at the South Rim maybe? I'm not afraid of heights, but I think that might freak me out!
Did you happen to stop at Meteor Crater when you were near Flagstaff? (Sorry, I haven't read your whole blog) It's pretty cool.
When you're out there, it's pretty easy to see why they call it "The Painted Desert"- it's so beautiful!
My favorite thing out West, though, was Monument Valley, most of which is in Utah. And there's not many people there at all.
It's on the Navajo Indian Reservation, which means it's private land, so unless you hire an Indian guide you can only stay on one road. We did, and had basically a private tour. I want to back and go camping, which they also do, as well as night time tours when the moon is full.
A couple of my pics:
