A few Grand Canyon Questions

My girlfriend and I are travelling to USA for the first time this summer (3? weeks in California/Nevada). We arrive in Los Angeles and depart from San Francisco. In between we would like to visit Las Vegas and Grand Canyon.
1) Should we visit GC after Vegas or before?
2) Can we stay overnight at the bottom of GC? (Walk down in the afternoon and head back up early in the morning)
I feel like I have forgotten a question or two, but these must be the most important ones for our planning...

the river but they book solid well in advance and it`s doubtful you could get a reservation on short notice.
There`s a campground near Phantom Ranch (Bright Angel) but it also fills up quickly. You have a better chance of getting a spot here (it`s still a tough ticket though) but you`ll need camping gear. Go to the official GC web site and look under "Backcountry Reservations" or similar to get the details. It`s pretty tough hiking in the summer, with inner canyon temperatures usually ranging from 105 F to 115 F. People die hiking in there almost every year and there are several hundred rescues each year as well.
You can do a robust day hike if you like, say down to Indian Gardens (about mile 4.7) and back up on Bright Angel trail, or to Cedar Ridge and back (about 3 miles roundtrip, but steep) on the Kaibab Trail. This isn`t too bad if you start early in the day when it`s cooler, but you won`t reach the river doing this.

generally book up a couple of years in advance for peak summer times. Check with them, though, because sometimes they get cancellations. Also if you don`t mind not knowing in advance, you could try to book the day you get there. They do sometimes have no shows, and while you have to wait to descend, you may be able to get in that way. In any case call them. They may have an odd wednesday or something available, though it is unlikely. If you have a lot of flexibility that willhelp.
When hiking be sure to take LOTS of water. Summer is brutal in the inner canyon, and you will need at least a gallon or a gallon and a half each to drink on the way down.
If you cannot get reservations at Phantom Ranch, then just do a day hike in the inner canyon. My favorite is the South Kaibab Trail to Cedar Ridge; such incredible vistas, but Bright angel Trail to the 1 1/2 mile guesthouse is also nice (and they have water there).
A good web resource on the grand canyon, with info on how to contac Phantom Ranch is

people who`ve already hiked in the maintained corridor trails at least once (you trying to get this guy killed? . It`s pretty dangerous in the summer if the heat builds up since there`s little help if you run into trouble. Rapids), then traversing over to the Bright Angel trail for the ascent is indeed a great trip, one you`ll never forget.

great trip too, and one you will never forget, if you have not done it before.
Less than 1 % of the visitors to the canyon make it to the River. Once you get past the first mile and a half you are having a unique incredible experience.

non-maintained wilderness trails. Sometimes you can hike 2 days and never see another person, there are never any crowds, and best of all there are no stinking mules leaving mountains of green mule dung and pools of stringent mule urine polluting the trails!!

group not a serious backpacking one. And the information is easily available via trail guides and such). While I`d possibly go again on a different, maybe non-maintained trail; I`d not recommend a trail like that to someone I didn`t KNOW was an experienced hiker. The non-maintained trails are also not heavily monitored; if something went wrong, then the person, is in serious trouble. aJulie

Denmark, and only have access to the information on the Internet. Sometimes it is nice to hear from people with experince instead of browsing through various commercial websites.
But anyway... thank you all very much for your replies. It`s nice to join a