Vegas to Los Angeles

Today was spent cleaning out the RV and delivering it back to Road Bear in the morning. They took us to the airport and we waited there for our flight which was delayed an hour. We had an interesting time at Airport Security as were randomly selected for a thorough search. The security ladies were really good about it and chatted and joked with the kids the whole time - it was pretty painless and Adam and Reid thought it was a bit special. When we got to LA we saw that our check-in luggage had been searched too.
On arriving in LA we grabbed a shuttle to Anaheim and were dropped off at our hotel. After dinner we all had a spa. At 9.30 we could hear the Disney fireworks booming across the sky. On top of that they set off three car alarms outside our room so we had quite the musical chorus going for a while.

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