Completeing the loop back to Las Vegas

FRIDAY 30th
Much to our surprise we heard rain on the roof of the RV last night. Unfortunately it was still going in the morning so we took a quick look over the side of the Canyon to see what it looked like in the rain but really only saw cloud! So, we needed to make a decision about whether or not to visit the Hualapai Sky Walk later in the day on our way back to Vegas – and the weather kind of made the decision for us. Plus the fact that it was going to cost us $NZ400 and it was about a 2 hour drive off the main road to get there. So we decided to flag it and head for Hoover Dam. Our vehicle was stopped just short of the dam for a security check and then we headed down to Hoover for a look. The place is a mad house! It was mid-week, off-season and raining and it was teaming with people – it’s just a dam for goodness sake! They’ve built a huge visitor centre there and really made the place a major tourist attraction.
We decided to head straight for Vegas after the Dam and got there about 3. It was still raining so we checked into Sam’s RV Park which is right across the road from where we have to drop the RV back to tomorrow.
I have to say that the RV experience in the USA was the best we’ve done – the great roads, infrastructure and wide open spaces make it a very fun experience. And the kids loved it.
Mark

Grand Canyon hike

THURSDAY 29th
We had the heater going all night so it was a pretty warm night and a lot easier to get out of bed. We had a morning of chores – I emptied the grey and black water from the RV (oh joy) and we did a heap of washing. We decided to take the Bright Angel Trail down into the Canyon mid-morning. It was a three mile hike (and we dropped about 2000ft) from the top to the second rest station which had a great lookout point. We had a snack at the bottom and then headed back up. The kids just trundled along without complaint and we overtook heaps of people on the way up. Reid started to flag a wee bit near the top – but he’d run most of the way down so it wasn’t surprising.
Back at the summit we saw a family of deer grazing in the bush near our RV. We took the shuttle bus to the east after a recharge snack and stopped at a few overlooks to check the view. We took a one mile hike along the canyon rim from the “Abyss” to Hopi Point as our final deed for the day. We’d walked a total of seven miles during the day and it was fair to saw were all a bit knackered but we’d had a great day and really felt like we’d seen plenty of the Grand Canyon. We decided to stay another night at the Canyon and head off early tomorrow to find the Hualapai Skywalk.
Mark

Thanks Walmart

WEDNESDAY 28th
After a good night’s sleep in the Walmart carpark we drove back to the Glen Canyon Dam for a brief look then headed off to Antelope Canyon. The whole Page area is on a Navajo reservation so there are lots of native American Indians around the place – the Navajo have run tours into Antelope Canyon, you can’t hike it independently. So we took the tour – with Mary, out Indian tour guide – and she took us on the back of her pickup up a dry river wash to the slot canyon called Antelope Canyon. This is one of the most spectacular and photogenic canyons in the region when the light is right. Unfortunately mid summer is the best time, not mid Autumn but it was still awesome and we managed to get some OK photographs. We were the only group there which was wonderful, in the summer there are hundreds of people in the canyon at any one time – it must be hideous!
After Antelope we drove off south to Vermilion Cliffs for lunch and Sharon bought some authentic Navajo jewellery at a roadside stall at Cliff Dwellings.
We arrived at Grand Canyon at about 4pm and stopped at a couple of vista points but it was very hazy although Adam and Reid were overawed by the immensity of the canyon. We checked into a trailer park and discovered that the temperature was predicted to drop to -7 Deg C overnight…
Mark

Bryce - 8000ft up!

TUESDAY 27th
Brrrrr – the outside temperature plunged to a chilly –13 deg. C last night. It caught us by surprise because the day had been quite mild, but we’d climbed 4000 ft from Zion to be nearly 8000 ft above sea level at River View RV Park in Hatch, Utah where we stayed the night. It was hard to prise everyone out of bed but once the sun came up it was quite nice again. We headed on up towards Bryce Canyon after breakfast and out first stop was Red Canyon which lived up to its name especially in the early morning light.
Bryce was a further 15km east and we arrived about 10am at the visitor centre to work out our plan for the day. We drove south into the park and stopped at some stunning view points. We saw a chipmunk and a Stellar’s Jay at our second stop which was quite a treat. It was fantastic to be at a special place like Bryce Canyon at this time of year when there are hardly any people and you can walk the trails in peace, especially if you get off to an early start like we try and do.
We ventured into Bryce Canyon proper from Sunset Point and walked the Navajo and Queen’s Garden Trails tp pop back out of the Canyon two hours later at Sunrise Point.
The walk was just stunning – one of the best we’ve ever been on and would rank up there with Milford Track (although the scenery is a complete contrast) with the backlit hoodoos and cypress trees providing a spectacular scene. The kids thought it looked like a Star Wars movie set – in certainly was surreal.
We trucked off back south to find a place to stay later in the afternoon, passing through Kanab and crossing the Colorado River near Page (Lake Powell) and found that US wide you can stay at Walmart carparks for free (Walmart is “The Warehouse” of the USA – but with a bit more class). They have no services but you can pull up and stay the night – no problem. So that worked out well for us as we were able to stock up on essentials for the rest of the trip.
Mark

Zion National Park - Peace...

MONDAY 26th
A fresh start to the day with the temperature around zero and the sky clear and blue. We drove north up to the head of the Zion Canyon to take the riverside walk. It was a beautiful half hour stroll up the banks of the Virgin River, which has cut a deep, sheer chasm in the colourful sandstone. There were still autumn leaves on the trees in the valley floor and the low sun angle gave some spectacular shows of colour. After the riverside walk we headed back south and walked the more strenuous Hidden Canyon Trail. The trail climbed in a zig-zag, about 1000ft up the main canyon wall, then branched off to the hidden Canyon. At times we were holding a chain as we traversed the cliff track cut into the canyon wall – there was no safety rail. The boys did really well and the views from the top were outstanding and well worth the walk. The light in the canyon was just amazing – the low sun strikes one wall while the other is in complete shadow except for the red coloured reflected light bouncing off the light side of the canyon. Great for photography if you can time your visit right.
After the walk we had to head to the Zion Lodge to arrange an escort through a tunnel. The initial section of road that took us east toward Bryce Canyon is an incredible drive but the one mile tunnel was built in the 30s for far smaller cars than those that use it today. The park service close the tunnel to allow large vehicles like our RV to drive through right on the centreline avoiding hitting the roof or walls.
Once out of Zion Park we drove off toward Bryce Canyon stopping for gas and then finally at an RV park in a town called Patch. The towns all look very dodgy out here – I’m sure you can hear the banjos as you pass through – but Patch looked reasonably OK and the camp was very basic but had electrical hookup which was a bonus.
Mark

Gettin' away from it all

SUNDAY 25th
After checking out of Excalibur we had to venture out on the freeway in the RV this morning! It’s a bit of a beast with a V8 engine that’s very scary on fuel. The speed limit is 75 mph on a lot of the roads in Utah and Nevada but 75 (that’s 124 km/h) in a camper is a bit frightening so we’ve been cruising at 65 and getting overtaken by everyone. We saw two car crashes today too which were quite sobering and made me decide to stay at 65. So we headed north from Vegas on the I15 toward Salt Lake City but turned off the freeway, east to Zion National Park. Shari and I missed Zion on our 1994 trip so we’re quite keen to check it out this time. We arrived at about 3.30 and checked into the National Park campground and got our permits organised for some hiking tomorrow. The drive in was quite spectacular – it’s great to be away from the crowded city!
Mark

Gettin' to the bottom of the Canyon

SATURDAY 24th
Another early start (at the hotel buffet) to get ready to be picked up for our flight in to the Grand Canyon. The bus took us 25 minutes out to Boulder City where Papillon Tours are based. After a short briefing we took off toward the Hoover Dam, Lake Mead and the Canyon. It was a spectacularly scenic 25 minute flight that also took us past the Hualapai Skywalk – we actually flew below it. We stopped for about 30 minutes for a picnic at the bottom of the Canyon before heading back to Boulder. It was a great trip – Shari and the boys had front seats so they got a wonderful view and it was a gorgeous day.
When we got back to Vegas I had to dash away and pick up the RV. This took a wee while but was pretty easy. Shari and the boys visited the Shark Bay aquarium at Mandalay Bay Hotel and reckoned it was pretty good. We had dinner at the Luxor Hotel buffet which is right next door to Excalibur – Reid fell asleep at the dinner table.
It’s interesting that every hotel seems to be staffed by Mexicans. I guess it’s a similar situation to the eastern Europeans staffing the hotels in England? There were also heaps of Mexican tourists.
Mark

Viva Las Vegas

Our flight from Chicago was at 7.10am, meaning a very early start from Milwaukee. The alarm went at 3am and we drove the rental car back to Chicago. The flight to Las Vegas gave interesting views of the continent and it was easy to see the extent of the recent snow.
We gained 2 hours by switching to Pacific Time in Las Vegas. It was easy to get a shuttle to Excalibur Hotel where we were staying. After checking in we took a walk along the Strip to investigate the other themed hotels. New York New York, Venice and Caesar’s Palace stood out. It was interesting that all of the Casinos were very easy to get in to but it was really tricky to find your way out – no coincidence I’m sure!
There have been many changes since we were here in 1994 and the place is still growing at a rapid rate. It felt really busy to us, but a taxi driver commented to me that “Thanksgiving weekend was really slow for Las Vegas” – I’d hate to be there when it was crowded then!
Mark

Back to Las Vegas.

Today we woke up really warm and toasty for once. We soon discovered that it was RAINING IN THE GRAND CANYON!!!!!!!! Apparently it only rains 5 times a year in Arizona and we were there for one of those days!!! Once we were done we drove for 2 hours and a stop for lunch until we stopped at the Hoover dam. we then drove across and parked the R.V on the Navada side, thats right, the dam separate Arizona and Navada!!!!!! Then we walked across and back in the rain. halfway across I jumped from Navada to Arizona and back again yelling the name of each state as I landed in that area. Then we drove all the way back to Las Vegas and stayed in 1 of many R.V parks.

Adam

Hiking Bright Angel Trail.

Today we walked halfway down the Grand Canyon, 3 miles zigzagging down the slope!!! The walk was very easy going down but not so easy going up as the track was very bumpy and in some spots steep. It was very exhausting but we managed it easier than we would have 5 years ago. After the walk I felt like a nice cold chocolate milkshake but got a sprite instead. Once we were ready to leave for some lookouts, we saw some Deer! There was 1 female, 1 male and 1 Fawn, a baby Deer. We got to the lookouts easily enough and were stunned by the wonderful views.

Adam

Grand canyon! (again.)

First off today we went into Navajo (Nav-a-ho) land where we saw a place called antelope canyon. (A slot canyon.) Our tour guide pointed out all of the interesting rocks one looked like Sid from Ice Age, one looked like King Kong, there was also a nose, a foot and a bear. Once we had done there we left for the most significant and enormous crack ever seen by mankind, the Grand Canyon!!! (Again.) Once there we looked at the view from a tower and settled in for the night in one of the R.V parks scattered around the Grand Canyon.

27/11/07
last night it reached negative 13 deg C, so cold that the water in R.V’s tanks froze solid, it hurt to stand on the lino and when I woke up I counted my toes and fingers to make sure that they hadn’t fallen off. Once it had warmed up a few degrees we left for a place called Bryce Canyon. Once we reached there we discovered that it was around 8000 feet above sea level, hard to believe when we found out it used it to be an ocean in prehistoric times. The rock formations (Hoodoos.) were Amazing!!! In fact they were too awesome to explain so look at the photos at left for an idea of how awed I was. That night we stayed in a Wal-mart car park for free!!!!!

Canyon Country.

Howdy everybody,
24/11/07
Today I did something that I have always wanted to do, go to the Grand Canyon!!!!!!! Wait let me start at the beginning. We woke up at 5:30am and got up around 6. once we were ready we went to the round table buffet for a brilliant breakfast. Afterwards we took a bus to the Boulder city airport were we where weighed for our helicopter. After half an hour we where taken to our helicopter and took of. On the way to the Grand Canyon we passed over an extinct volcano, Colorado river, Lake Mead and the Hoover Dam. Once we reached the Grand Canyon our pilot told us that the Hualapai Indians owned the area that we were landing in and had given us permission to set down on their land. Once we got out of the chopper we all went to a picnic table and had a picnic. Once we had eaten we wandered around and took photos for 15 minutes. When it was time to leave we flew straight back to Boulder city. Once we returned to Excalibur Dad left to get the campervan or as it is called here, the R.V. Meanwhile Mum, Reid and I Went to The Aquarium at the Mandalay Bay Casino via Luxor, the Egyptian Casino. When we returned to our Casino and found Dad in our room, Dad let us go to a 4-D movie. Reid and I got tickets for both Spongebob and the Polar Express. 4-D is a 3-D movie with special effects like Bubble blower, Snow machine, Water gun and a wire for whacking your legs.
25/11/07
This morning we woke in the Excalibur, Ate in the Excalibur and then drove for the rest of the
Day. We found a R.V park where we froze our butts off during the night.
26/11/07
This morning we took a walk inside a canyon, a walk up to a rock with water pouring out the sides. We also took a walk up to a really small but long canyon called The Hidden Canyon. We drove for the rest of the day.

Adam.

Turkey time.

Hello everyone.
Our last day in Milwaukee was a Thursday, which just so happened to be Thanksgiving. Kev and Kathy took us to a city called Madison, where Kathy’s Uncle was hosting a Thanksgiving lunch. And as a bonus there was snow three inches deep! For lunch there was a large buffet containing fruit salad, mash potato, squash soup, pumpkin pie, sweet potato, artichoke dip, and the all important Turkey (sliced). While I ate I watched some American football. After the feast I had a snow ball fight with Kev, Dad and a boy called Elliot, once I hit dad in the back of the head with a snowball and it went down the back of his shirt. The next day we woke up at 3:00am and drove for 1 and a half hours south, towards Chicago and flew down to Las Vegas we spent the remainder of the day looking at all the casinos such as Excalibur where we were staying, New York New York, Caeser’s Palace and Treasure Island. At night the lights where AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!

From Adam