Kwaussie's road trip part 2
Dec 31st, 2012, 09:24 PM
#61
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 249
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thanks kalo, it's nice to know we have other people coming along for the ride with us.
It is indeed spectacularly cold Toucan but there's no wind so it's quite manageable.
Tom, there is NO flat ground beyond some of the fences and in many places there is no fence. Taine's paper NYE hat blew off tonight and went straight to the Colorado River!
Geoff and Sophie had a beautiful day for their hike along the South Kaibab trail today. Some early snow cleared to a brilliantly sunny day with no wind. The photos they took on their iPhones are awesome but reiterate all the reasons I was so anxious about them going! Their base fitness stood them in good stead and they did the estimated 6 hour round trip in 4 and were back before I'd had time to start looking for them.
Taine got to make his snowman and then we took the shuttle to the village and had lunch at the Yavapai cafeteria. I thought we'd be adventurous and walk the next leg to the Info Centre but white, snowy trees all look remarkably similar and I managed to get us lost for awhile. The air is pretty thin up here and I was puffing by the time we found our way back to the market bus stop. The views from Mathers Point were lovely and they have a very sturdy fence along the rim there
We watched the last sunset of 2012 from the lodge area. The Grand Canyon is so immense it really is hard to believe it's real. The photos we took tonight look like we are standing against a fake background. I still can't get over how close the sheer drop into the canyon is from the lodge path. A couple of tourists asked me to take their photo on the path today and to my horror they backed all the way up until their heels were resting on the lip. I wanted to reach out and grab them back, just like I did with people who got too close to the edge of the subway platforms.
Tonight we ate dinner at the Bright Angel. It was delicious but as usual, far too much food. Unfortunately there were no deer lurking around the road like there were last night. We would have liked to stay outside and gaze at the bright stars in the canyon's unpolluted sky but at -15C it was just too cold so we retired to our room to try to stay awake till midnight.
Happy New Year everyone
It is indeed spectacularly cold Toucan but there's no wind so it's quite manageable.
Tom, there is NO flat ground beyond some of the fences and in many places there is no fence. Taine's paper NYE hat blew off tonight and went straight to the Colorado River!
Geoff and Sophie had a beautiful day for their hike along the South Kaibab trail today. Some early snow cleared to a brilliantly sunny day with no wind. The photos they took on their iPhones are awesome but reiterate all the reasons I was so anxious about them going! Their base fitness stood them in good stead and they did the estimated 6 hour round trip in 4 and were back before I'd had time to start looking for them.
Taine got to make his snowman and then we took the shuttle to the village and had lunch at the Yavapai cafeteria. I thought we'd be adventurous and walk the next leg to the Info Centre but white, snowy trees all look remarkably similar and I managed to get us lost for awhile. The air is pretty thin up here and I was puffing by the time we found our way back to the market bus stop. The views from Mathers Point were lovely and they have a very sturdy fence along the rim there
We watched the last sunset of 2012 from the lodge area. The Grand Canyon is so immense it really is hard to believe it's real. The photos we took tonight look like we are standing against a fake background. I still can't get over how close the sheer drop into the canyon is from the lodge path. A couple of tourists asked me to take their photo on the path today and to my horror they backed all the way up until their heels were resting on the lip. I wanted to reach out and grab them back, just like I did with people who got too close to the edge of the subway platforms.
Tonight we ate dinner at the Bright Angel. It was delicious but as usual, far too much food. Unfortunately there were no deer lurking around the road like there were last night. We would have liked to stay outside and gaze at the bright stars in the canyon's unpolluted sky but at -15C it was just too cold so we retired to our room to try to stay awake till midnight.
Happy New Year everyone
Jan 1st, 2013, 04:22 AM
#62
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 11,375
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Hope you have a good New Year's for the rest of the night - and restful sleep.
When we were last at the GC a couple of years ago - in the summer though - we saw two big Bull elk - each with 6x6 rack - just casually munching on the grass outside the Bright Angel Lodge. Hope you stopped by the entrance hall - at the El Tovar restaurant/lodge - where they have a number of impressive mounts.
And I'm just guessing you are not a candidate to seek out this glass floor - while en route to Las Vegas?
http://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/skywalk.htm
When we were last at the GC a couple of years ago - in the summer though - we saw two big Bull elk - each with 6x6 rack - just casually munching on the grass outside the Bright Angel Lodge.
Hope you stopped by the entrance hall - at the El Tovar restaurant/lodge - where they have a number of impressive mounts. And I'm just guessing you are not a candidate to seek out this glass floor - while en route to Las Vegas?
http://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/skywalk.htm
Jan 1st, 2013, 04:25 AM
#63
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 11,375
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Here some pics: http://tinyurl.com/b4bsmz5
Jan 2nd, 2013, 08:23 AM
#66
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 249
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Sadly we didn't see any elk Tom but we did spot a few deer on our way back to our lodge I've been in El Tovar a couple of times but the hunting lodge decor isn't really my thing. It's so dark in there! If we'd had time we would have gone to the CG glass floor look out. Funnily enough I can cope with glass floors and flying and high hotel windows. It's the open air spaces that get me.
Don't worry LG, I'm afraid I get teased pretty mercilessly from my own family so I take it with a grain of salt. In fact I have to laugh at my own fear of heights (when I'm not crying!) because even I can see how ridiculous I must look when I'm herding other people away from the edges of things!
Yesterday was yet another example of the wonderful paradox that is America. We started the day in the vast tranquility of the Grand Canyon and finished it in the 24/7 bright lights and turmoil of Las Vegas.
The Canyon was magnificent yesterday, even tempting me to the edge to drink in a few more views before we packed up for our trip West. The isolation of the GC village means there is little choice in eateries so once again we had breakfast at the Bright Angel. The food there is adequate but the table service is soooo slow. Despite the restaurant being half empty we waited 20 minutes for anyone to take our order and another 20 before our coffee and breakfast arrived. By then it was really close to check out time so we had to bolt our food down and run. Not quite the leisurely pack up time we'd hoped for!
From the GC we drove to Williams and then we got off the Interstate and picked up the historic Route 66 to Kingman. Route 66 is a long, straight, mindless road of nothingness. The speed limit is 65 but you can understand how Lightning McQueen got caught speeding because there's no corners and virtually no other cars. The side of the road is littered with remnants of the Mother Road's heyday; abandoned gas stations and motels that gave us great insight into the inspiration for Radiator Springs. You also get another sense of the magnitude of the Grand Canyon. We'd been driving for 3 hours but we were still skirting the western rim.
From Kingman to Las Vegas the scenery changes again. With mountains in the near distance on either side, the desert prairie of the roadside is highlighted. Desert scrub and cacti cover the paddocks (I know they aren't called paddocks here but I don't know how else to describe them!). There are lots of signs advertising land for sale and clearly these offers are being taken up. There aren't many houses but lots of trailers and huts dotted among scrub.
We reached the Hoover Dam just on sunset and luckily with enough light left to appreciate this engineering wonder. The immensity of the structure is impossible to describe. It's a couple of miles just to drive down to the dam level. We were too late to take advantage of the information areas or guided tours but just in time to take a couple of photos and confuse ourselves with yet another time change as the dam sits on the state border. On the Hoover bridge pylons there are two clocks, one with Arizona time and one with Nevada time. We weren't quite sure which time zone we were in as we sat in the middle!
Driving into Vegas in the dark is just as you imagine it, a sea of twinkling lights in the desert. We booked a suite at the MGM Signature for $59 plus tax. The bathroom is bigger than most of the rooms we've stayed in till now and it includes valet parking and all the other perks of an expensive hotel but without the bill. If you want a cheap holiday (and don't intend to spend the change in the casino) then Vegas is clearly the place to be.
After dinner we put Sophie in a cab so she could go back to slumming it in the hostels while she spends her last couple of weeks touring California with a friend. We won't see her again till she gets back to Aus. Tonight we saw the 7 day weather forecast and realised we'll be home before the last day of it. Where has that time gone?
I've been in El Tovar a couple of times but the hunting lodge decor isn't really my thing. It's so dark in there! If we'd had time we would have gone to the CG glass floor look out. Funnily enough I can cope with glass floors and flying and high hotel windows. It's the open air spaces that get me.Don't worry LG, I'm afraid I get teased pretty mercilessly from my own family so I take it with a grain of salt. In fact I have to laugh at my own fear of heights (when I'm not crying!) because even I can see how ridiculous I must look when I'm herding other people away from the edges of things!
Yesterday was yet another example of the wonderful paradox that is America. We started the day in the vast tranquility of the Grand Canyon and finished it in the 24/7 bright lights and turmoil of Las Vegas.
The Canyon was magnificent yesterday, even tempting me to the edge to drink in a few more views before we packed up for our trip West. The isolation of the GC village means there is little choice in eateries so once again we had breakfast at the Bright Angel. The food there is adequate but the table service is soooo slow. Despite the restaurant being half empty we waited 20 minutes for anyone to take our order and another 20 before our coffee and breakfast arrived. By then it was really close to check out time so we had to bolt our food down and run. Not quite the leisurely pack up time we'd hoped for!
From the GC we drove to Williams and then we got off the Interstate and picked up the historic Route 66 to Kingman. Route 66 is a long, straight, mindless road of nothingness. The speed limit is 65 but you can understand how Lightning McQueen got caught speeding because there's no corners and virtually no other cars. The side of the road is littered with remnants of the Mother Road's heyday; abandoned gas stations and motels that gave us great insight into the inspiration for Radiator Springs. You also get another sense of the magnitude of the Grand Canyon. We'd been driving for 3 hours but we were still skirting the western rim.
From Kingman to Las Vegas the scenery changes again. With mountains in the near distance on either side, the desert prairie of the roadside is highlighted. Desert scrub and cacti cover the paddocks (I know they aren't called paddocks here but I don't know how else to describe them!). There are lots of signs advertising land for sale and clearly these offers are being taken up. There aren't many houses but lots of trailers and huts dotted among scrub.
We reached the Hoover Dam just on sunset and luckily with enough light left to appreciate this engineering wonder. The immensity of the structure is impossible to describe. It's a couple of miles just to drive down to the dam level. We were too late to take advantage of the information areas or guided tours but just in time to take a couple of photos and confuse ourselves with yet another time change as the dam sits on the state border. On the Hoover bridge pylons there are two clocks, one with Arizona time and one with Nevada time. We weren't quite sure which time zone we were in as we sat in the middle!
Driving into Vegas in the dark is just as you imagine it, a sea of twinkling lights in the desert. We booked a suite at the MGM Signature for $59 plus tax. The bathroom is bigger than most of the rooms we've stayed in till now and it includes valet parking and all the other perks of an expensive hotel but without the bill. If you want a cheap holiday (and don't intend to spend the change in the casino) then Vegas is clearly the place to be.
After dinner we put Sophie in a cab so she could go back to slumming it in the hostels while she spends her last couple of weeks touring California with a friend. We won't see her again till she gets back to Aus. Tonight we saw the 7 day weather forecast and realised we'll be home before the last day of it. Where has that time gone?
Jan 2nd, 2013, 10:50 AM
#67
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 11,375
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
LOL - a true trooper - who takes things - properly in stride.
Keep up your great report - pleeeez. If you get back to the Dam - try to take the tour down into it. Remember - in places - it's four pitches long of concrete. They actually had to pour the concrete in cells, it's so massive.
And trust you have plenty of things on your list to see/do in Vegas but definitely get to the Bellagio fountains, and their Arboretum - the adjacent - largest chocolate fountain in the world, Jean Phillipe's wonder - http://www.bellagio.com/restaurants/jean-philippe.aspx - and - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-j4V5cX7lw - and if you want a treat - sit outdoors across the sreet at Paris' Cafe - Mon Ami Gambi - and watch the fountains.
Haven't been there for a year - but there is a free tram from Monte Carlo - which is across the Strip/Las Vegas Blvd - from MGM - stopping at Aria and ending at Bellagio - which is fun to ride.
There is also the pay tram on the MGM side which goes up to/by the Venetian? - which you might consider, but remember - all the big Casinos have free parking - and if you can learn to use the "back streets" - you can get around pretty easily- or drive earlier in the day when there is usually less traffic. Check the maps in the tourist mags.
Red Rock Canyon - about 20 minutes outside of Vegsas - is also a real treat. http://www.blm.gov/nv/st/en/fo/lvfo/..._rock_nca.html
Keep up your great report - pleeeez. If you get back to the Dam - try to take the tour down into it. Remember - in places - it's four pitches long of concrete. They actually had to pour the concrete in cells, it's so massive.
And trust you have plenty of things on your list to see/do in Vegas but definitely get to the Bellagio fountains, and their Arboretum - the adjacent - largest chocolate fountain in the world, Jean Phillipe's wonder - http://www.bellagio.com/restaurants/jean-philippe.aspx - and - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-j4V5cX7lw - and if you want a treat - sit outdoors across the sreet at Paris' Cafe - Mon Ami Gambi - and watch the fountains.
Haven't been there for a year - but there is a free tram from Monte Carlo - which is across the Strip/Las Vegas Blvd - from MGM - stopping at Aria and ending at Bellagio - which is fun to ride.
There is also the pay tram on the MGM side which goes up to/by the Venetian? - which you might consider, but remember - all the big Casinos have free parking - and if you can learn to use the "back streets" - you can get around pretty easily- or drive earlier in the day when there is usually less traffic. Check the maps in the tourist mags.
Red Rock Canyon - about 20 minutes outside of Vegsas - is also a real treat. http://www.blm.gov/nv/st/en/fo/lvfo/..._rock_nca.html
Jan 3rd, 2013, 07:56 PM
#68
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 249
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Las Vegas is a world of it's own. The casino complexes are so big that you can easily get lost in them. There are no clocks and the lighting is set to twilight all the time. In the shopping strip within Caesar's Palace, the roof is painted to look like the sky and the floor is imitation roadway. After a while you start to believe you are in a real street, until you decide to leave and then you can't figure out how on earth to get out of make believe world into the real world.
Each of the complexes is a replication of somewhere else, like Caesar's interpretation of Ancient Rome and New York, New York's faux Manhattan skyline. We made the mistake of buying day tickets on the monorail thinking that would be an easy way to see 'The Strip'. Unfortunately the monorail stations are set right at the back of the different complexes and to get to and fro the stations to the street you have to walk all the way through the casinos. This means maneuvering through the myriad of slot machines and gaming tables, then the hotel shops, up the stairs to the station and back down again at the next stop.
Remarkably,while children aren't actually allowed to play the slots, they can walk right up to and around them. The casinos have pushers and prams in the walkways right alongside the high rollers. Smoking at the tables is permitted and all the rooms are filled with the smell of whatever it is they use to try and disguise the smoke smell.
Anyway, we had fro yo for breakfast (as you do in Vegas
and then set off to walk/monorail 'the strip'. We wandered through endless shopping malls and checked out all the fake stuff. The highlight of the day was the water show at the Bellagio. I put a few bucks through a slot machine just because I could, we bought some naff souvenirs because it seemed like we should and we ate something greasy on the way back to our lovely suite at the MGM where I tried to make peace with my aching feet in a lengthy spa bath.
I found the whole 'fake facade' of Vegas a bit offensive. Nothing is real there and the gross consumerism just made me feel a bit icky. I'm glad we saw the city but I'm pleased we were only there for 48 hours.
Today we drove to Anaheim. It's a long, boring drive through the Mojave Desert. Breakfast was at a stray casino not far out of Vegas at an all you could eat buffet for $6.99. It looked like one of those places where scary movies start. Crazy. No lunch required. There were people eating breakfast in their pyjamas and then moving straight to the tables.
The traffic coming into LA was the worst we've seen and after one car literally shaved our front bumper and then nearly tipped themselves over cutting lanes, we were white knuckled by the time we arrived at the Anabella, a hotel across from Disneyworld. The room was cheap enough but by the time we were slugged $14 a night for parking and $10 for wifi I was starting to wish I'd forked out for the friendliness of a Disney resort. This was exacerbated at dinner when I was told it was not possible for the chef to prepare a meal without garlic in it. Excuse me? I'm thinking we'll eat off premises for the rest of our stay!
We met a family from South Australia in the laundry. They're doing pretty much the same trip as us but in reverse order and this is their first stop. Jealousy overwhelmed me. It's 41C at home and windy. I'm not ready to go back to that yet
To satisfy Taine's obsession with 'Cars', Geoff's desire to see the 'real' Disneyworld and my insistence that there's lots of other things to see in L.A, tomorrow we're going to try and do both Disney parks in one day. Wish us luck!
Each of the complexes is a replication of somewhere else, like Caesar's interpretation of Ancient Rome and New York, New York's faux Manhattan skyline. We made the mistake of buying day tickets on the monorail thinking that would be an easy way to see 'The Strip'. Unfortunately the monorail stations are set right at the back of the different complexes and to get to and fro the stations to the street you have to walk all the way through the casinos. This means maneuvering through the myriad of slot machines and gaming tables, then the hotel shops, up the stairs to the station and back down again at the next stop.
Remarkably,while children aren't actually allowed to play the slots, they can walk right up to and around them. The casinos have pushers and prams in the walkways right alongside the high rollers. Smoking at the tables is permitted and all the rooms are filled with the smell of whatever it is they use to try and disguise the smoke smell.
Anyway, we had fro yo for breakfast (as you do in Vegas
and then set off to walk/monorail 'the strip'. We wandered through endless shopping malls and checked out all the fake stuff. The highlight of the day was the water show at the Bellagio. I put a few bucks through a slot machine just because I could, we bought some naff souvenirs because it seemed like we should and we ate something greasy on the way back to our lovely suite at the MGM where I tried to make peace with my aching feet in a lengthy spa bath.I found the whole 'fake facade' of Vegas a bit offensive. Nothing is real there and the gross consumerism just made me feel a bit icky. I'm glad we saw the city but I'm pleased we were only there for 48 hours.
Today we drove to Anaheim. It's a long, boring drive through the Mojave Desert. Breakfast was at a stray casino not far out of Vegas at an all you could eat buffet for $6.99. It looked like one of those places where scary movies start. Crazy. No lunch required. There were people eating breakfast in their pyjamas and then moving straight to the tables.
The traffic coming into LA was the worst we've seen and after one car literally shaved our front bumper and then nearly tipped themselves over cutting lanes, we were white knuckled by the time we arrived at the Anabella, a hotel across from Disneyworld. The room was cheap enough but by the time we were slugged $14 a night for parking and $10 for wifi I was starting to wish I'd forked out for the friendliness of a Disney resort. This was exacerbated at dinner when I was told it was not possible for the chef to prepare a meal without garlic in it. Excuse me? I'm thinking we'll eat off premises for the rest of our stay!
We met a family from South Australia in the laundry. They're doing pretty much the same trip as us but in reverse order and this is their first stop. Jealousy overwhelmed me. It's 41C at home and windy. I'm not ready to go back to that yet
To satisfy Taine's obsession with 'Cars', Geoff's desire to see the 'real' Disneyworld and my insistence that there's lots of other things to see in L.A, tomorrow we're going to try and do both Disney parks in one day. Wish us luck!
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
LakesideChick
United States
8
Jun 25th, 2015 03:41 AM
