Hopefully this gets through, my posts have been bouncing since I started the thread :-(
2oldman Thanks for noting the spelling, that search has some good links like the brochure. Funny in that my wrong spelling still returned 3 pages of results!
Vermilye I'll check out the blog.
I see in the tread a lot about 'why', and I can only speak for myself. I've been to The Grand Canyon and Las Vegas a couple of times, in planes, rental car and hotels, and that's about it for that whole large area. I live a long ways away, to me that area is very different and attractive. I can easily see spending a fair bit of time just absorbing something other people may take for granted. The number of people it attracts I figure indicates it must have something more than surrounding spots. I would be traveling around some too, and it is quasi central to several places I'm interested in.