Well, we're back from 11 nights traveling. We had an awesome time. Myself, husband, 15 y/o daughter and 10 y/o son. Flew out of Boston on America West on 4/13 (left late, arrived about midnight LV time) back on 4/24. Took a cab to Treasure Island. We had booked two adjoining rooms there because they charge for kids to stay in the rooms and the rooms were only $79 night. My brother and his wife were there with no kids. Wednesday started exploring the strip after eating at the buffet at TI. It was very good. We had 2-for-1 coupons for the buffet. Got back to the hotel at 2:00 and went to the pool. I was supposed to pick my rental car up at Harrah's at 3:00, forgot they closed at 3:30 and didn't make it! Called Hertz at the airport, they had a minivan, so we took a cab to the airport and got a minivan there. We actually kept it for 10 days instead of a week and really got a lot of use out of it.
Went to the Stratosphere (Top of The World) for dinner. Expensive, but very good food and the views were incredible. We had 6:30 p.m. reservations, so we saw the city light up. Husband and kids rode the rollercoaster after dinner. Thursday we ate at the buffet again and then headed to Circus Circus. What a zoo! That's a been there, done that, won't go back again kind of place. But the kids had fun.
We went to Freemont Street Thursday night. That was a lot of fun. Got back to TI about 11:00, put the kids to bed and went to the casino for a while. No luck! My husband's highlight of TI - the Miss Hawaiian Tropic contest was taking place and there were girls from around the world!
Got up Friday a.m., checked out, packed the car, and started traveling. We were heading to GC and went to Hoover Dam on the way. My husband is a civil engineer - he could have stayed there for two days. We all found the dam very interesting. It was pretty funny when my husband was doing a narrative on video of the dam and forgot to take the lens cap off! We left Hoover Dam about 3:30 and headed to GC South Rim. That's a long drive! I had hoped to go to Sedona for the Hummer Tours but decided before we left Boston that it was unrealistic to do that.
We stopped about an hour before the GC for dinner - someplace on Route 66. Real "local" kind of place. Food was very good. Continued on to the GC and checked into Yavapi Lodge about 8:00 p.m. Very basic accommodations but clean.
Saturday a.m. up early and had breakfast at the cafetaria. Not the best food, that's for sure! Took the shuttle to Yavapi Observation Station and walked the Rim Trail to the El Tovar. Took a break and then walked down into the Canyon about a mile. It was really something to see - I wish that we could have hiked all the way down, but we better get in shape to do that! Hiked and looked around most of the day. We went back to the lodge, showered, and headed out of the park to an IMAX Theater about the GC. Had dinner at a pizza/pasta place. Went to the rim at sunset, which was really beautiful. There was a ranger talk that night - the guy was obsessed with ravens (the bird). I have to read up on them and find out if what he said is true.
We got up at 5:20 a.m. Sunday morning to watch the sunrise. It had snowed during the night and we had to clean and scrape the snow and ice off the van. Sunrise was beautiful, but freezing cold. Went back to the lodge, packed, checked out, and were heading towards Page, AZ, at 6:50 a.m. Stopped along the way at different sites along the rim. Drove until Cameron and then stopped for breakfast at an Indian run restaurant, hotel, store. Very good food. Bought a few souvenirs and then back in the car. It was too cool to think about a boat/float trip, but we saw a place that did tours to Antelope Canyon in big monster trucks. We stopped there and ended up doing that. You had to go to an Indian Reservation to get to the Canyon. That was a lot of fun and definitely worth doing!
We drove around the Lake Powell area and then left Page and continued on to Zion. Zion was our whole family's favorite place. Driving down the road the views are incredible. The dropoffs were pretty incredible, too! The tunnel through the mountain was really something. As I said, my husband is an engineer and he sees things from a technical point.
Since this is so long, I'll finish the second half tomorrow.

Good trip report! We also liked Zion best. There is just something unique about Zion IMO. Judy

Great report so far...waiting for part II

Utahtea

Hockeymom - any chance of hearing how the rest of your trip went? Not trying to pressure you for a Part II I'm just curious how many nights you spent at Zion. Also wondering what time you arrived there from the South Rim, given your stops along the way. Did you find the drive okay, or would you have preferred to spend the night in Page? Thanks!

Yes, I second that hockeymom! I had two different trips planned to Zion in March (cancelled, so planned for make-up THIS WEEKEND, as in right now, but that one was cancelled also). I need a fix- do tell us about part two.

Please be sure to post the rest of the trip as a reply to your original message.

I'm waiting to...I need my SW fix

Utahtea

topping in the hopes hockeymom will see...?

Just topping in the hope we'll get part 2. We're going there late June and I was hoping for some tidbits to use.

Really enjoyed Part 1.