Day 14 - Las Vegas to Beaumont

So today was supposed to be a trip through Joshua Tree National Park, but the Park is closed with no route through. As an alternative we decided to go shopping at the Las Vegas Premium Outlet Mall. Before shopping we stopped at the famous "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign as we said goodbye to Vegas.

I'm not usually a fan of shopping but this place was pretty damn good. There were so many stores, most of the items were decent value, and most of the items were discounted further than the tag prices. I ended up buying quite a bit (for my standards) and Jess picked up a few bits whilst carrying my bags for me :)

We were at the shops for quite a while and set off for our final hotel at about 14.30. We drove through the Mojave Desert back towards LA. The weather had shifted and today was the first bad day we had on the entire trip. A little taste of what's to come back home.

It's a strange feeling to be at the end of our trip and thinking about home and the dreaded "W" word. We're both looking forward to picking up Nay Nay from the cat jail though. Tomorrow we leave the hotel and head for the airport for our flight home and the end of our adventure. This was a pretty big undertaking for a 2 week trip planned from scratch and completed by just the two of us. Before finalising our itinerary we had researched similar trips and advice given by others, most people seemed to suggest that we would be taking too much on within our time frame. I think we proved them wrong. There was a lot of driving, we will finish at about the 2,500 mark, but as I'm conditioned to lots of driving everything was quite comfortably achievable and we got to see so many awesome places. Short of events outside of our control restricting our access to the National Parks, everything else has gone as well as it could have. We've had a great time out here and we'll leave with memories that will last a lifetime and the hope of returning someday. Hopefully soon :)

I don't want to give the car back!!!!!!!!!

 

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Day 13 - Las Vegas

We had decided not to rush around today and start to wind our trip down as we come to the end of our adventure. Our first day in Vegas hadn't got us buzzing with excitement for today so we just went exploring. Today's blog update might not be very detailed as it felt like we didn't really get up to all that much.

We got on the Duece bus up to the the Venetian where we took a stroll through the The Grand Canal shops. These are indoor shops with a pseudo outdoor environment. There is a daytime sky overhead and the canal runs through the mall with people taking gondola rides. We stopped for some very tasty gelato, a late breakfast of sorts. We moved on to the Forum Shops at Caesers very briefly before stopping for lunch at a place called Mon Ami Gabi underneath the mini Eiffel Tower.

We were basically wondering down the strip looking at the hotels and stopping to look in the shops. We were nearly back at the hotel and it wasn't even 15.00 yet. We decided to go to the pool complex but I was suffering from a case of phantom swim shorts. They'd gone missing so I had to buy some more at the pool for $35 that coupled with a $10 locker fee and boosted the price of this swim considerably from free entry as a guest of the hotel. It was about 30 degrees today and the pool was actually pretty good. I think we'd have been happier hitting the pool a bit earlier.

Afer the pool and after dinner at the MGM Grand Buffet, we then took the longest bus ride in history up to to Fremont Street, old Vegas. We just had a bit of a wonder round to take it in and tick it off the Vegas list of things to do before heading back down the strip to our hotel.

After a couple of days in Vegas I don't think we'll be rushing back anytime soon. It's busy, loud and full of people from back home. Vegas Schmegas.

 

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Day 12 - Page to Las Vegas

Today we left Arizona, popped into Utah before finishing the day in Nevada. As the route through Joshua Tree National Park appears closed this was going to be the last National Park we could unofficially view. A highway runs through Zion National Park and this has remained open for through traffic.

Within about 2 hours we had crossed into Utah and and reached Zion. We got caught out by the time change a little because Utah is in a different time zone to Arizona. We were greeted by a Park Ranger who politely reminded us that although the highway was open for through traffic, stopping along the route and recreation was prohibited. Whatever!

The scenic drive through the Park was amazing. The landscape is so unique and although only less than 10 miles in distance, the trip up this way to see the Park was definitely worth it. We stopped plenty of times to take photos, as did the other people who were travelling through. We did get yelled at by one hero who reminded us that stopping wasn't allowed :)

We probably averaged no more than 10 miles an hour through the Park and as we turned each corner there was more to see. Such a nice place.

We left the Park and joined the Freeway direct to Vegas. Back in Arizona and then Nevada we got our missing hour from Utah back. The Freeway seemed to cut right through a mountain at one point. Back home it would be an incredible sight but out here it seems pretty standard. We were approaching Vegas within another 2 hours or so. The roads got very crazy, very quickly. Thank goodness for the Sat Nav, with the help of lane assist we arrived at the Signiture at MGM Grand without any wrong turns.

We checked into the room in Tower 3 and the room is amazing. It has a huge bathroom with a hot tub/jacuzzi, a walk in shower, twin sinks and a separate room for the toilet. The rest of the room is nice and big too, it even has a mini kitchen with sink! The only bad thing is we are facing the airport which isn't the nicest of views from the 27th floor.

We went for something to eat at the Bellagio Buffet. There was a huge choice of foods to eat from. We had a couple of things each, but others in there were taking things much more seriously, they were making their dollars stretch. A few people looked like they were struggling to finish their plates and were in physical discomfort. After dinner we went to Paris Las Vegas where we went up the mini Eiffel Tower which is exactly half the size of the real thing. The night time views of Vegas were great. One the way out we caught the Belaggio fountain show which was amazing and probably worth the trip to Vegas alone.

Las Vegas is a strange place. We've spent the last week or so in quiet places surrounding by natural beauty. Coming to such an artificial place like this is a bit of a culture shock. We both don't really feel too enamoured with the place as of yet. Maybe it will grow on us. Maybe not :)

 

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Day 11 - Cameron to Page (via Monument Valley)

Today we visited a place we've always wanted to see, Monument Valley. It's been my desktop wallpaper for many years :) We were able to wake and leave at a relatively leisurely pace. It was 125 miles to Monument Valley, then another 125 miles to get to Page where we are stopping tonight.

This first part of the journey today seemed very ordinary. Maybe we've become accustomed to fabulous scenery everywhere and just see it as normal now. As we got nearer to Monument Valley the landscape began to shift and the red rock landscape became more and more prevelant.

The views at Monument Valley did not disappoint. The weather was great and it felt a little a warmer when we arrived. We took the roof down and started the off road scenic route around the Monuments. Off road is an apt description. We were on a sandy, rocky, slopey surface and there were at least 2 large scrapes/bashes underneath the car. The 4x4's where able to zoom around no problem but the Mustang is relatively low profile so we ended up only doing the first section of the route before doubling back on ourselves and taking it very slowly back to the paved surface. We also lost Jess's camera to the sandy surface as it slipped out of the car.

We got some decent pictures of the Butte's before leaving and heading toward Page.

Before getting to Page we stopped at the Horseshoe Bend for another glimpse at a landscape we both like so much. It's about a mile or so walk from the parking spot, but the walk is worth it. It was great to see the horseshoe bend in person. One of the best views I've ever seen. The camera geeks were right about the standard DSLR lens not being wide enough for the full shot but we did our best. You get so close to the edge of the cliff to see the full beauty of the surroundings and there is no safety net. My legs went a bit jelly like a couple of times. It looks so dangerous that I'm sure many people have gone over the edge.

We had dinner at a Pizzeria just down the road which is in an old converted boat. It was a nice place and the food was good. The crazy owner/doorman was very friendly too stopping to chat to just about anyone who was willing to listen :)

We're hoping to drive through another National Park tomorrow (Zion). All the Parks are still shut but we're hoping the highway through remains open for us to drive along at least. People have been disregarding the barriers and coned off areas so there have been rumblings the whole road will be shut. Haven't been able to confirm this as in place though.

By the way this song has become the anthem to the holiday as it seems to be played about every 7 minutes on all the radio stations (in between One Direction songs).

 

 

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Day 10 - Kingman to Cameron (Grand Canyon)

Today was Grand Canyon Day. With the Grand Canyon National Park closed and the high winds yesterday, we didn't really know what the day would bring. We set off on the 3 hour trip to Tusuyan which is a small cluster of businesses just short of the entrance to the Park. This is where the mini airport is located. We arrived and checked in for our flight and everything was confirmed as a go. Relief!!!!

Our flight time was 12.00 and as we boarded the helicopter we were very excited. I even forgot to get scared about flying in a helicopter for the first time. After a few minutes of flying over some woodland the Grand Canyon began to emerge from the distance.

Words cannot describe what it's like to hit the Canyon. It's enormous and even though we've seen some great scenery on the trip, it was still truly amazing. We took pictures in between admiring the views but they don't really convey the awesomeness of the experience. This is definitely one of the best things I've ever done in my life.

The ride was actually pretty smooth despite it feeling quite windy outside. That being said, at the halfway point we both began to struggle a little bit with nausea. I had broken out into a sweat and was having flashbacks to the whale watching trip where I nearly lost the contents of my stomach. I was determined to enjoy every last second of the chopper ride and take in as much of the Canyon as possible. We both made it back without having to reach for a sick bag :)

After we had landed I had a huge smile on my face :) We missed out on seeing the best bits of Yosemite, but the Government Shutdown hadn't stopped us from seeing the Grand Canyon. At one point the whole trip looked like it could descend into a bit of a nightmare, but having seen the Grand Canyon today it feels like everything has been rescued.

The journey onto Cameron was a little more prolonged than it should have been. The road through the Park had been closed completely as people had been disregarding barriers and stopping at all the viewpoints (who can blame them, I'd have been crashing barriers down myself). We had to travel back on ourselves and then head for Flagstaff before turning north and onto Cameron. This added just short of 100 miles onto the trip but the drive past the San Francisco Peaks was actually quite nice. We'd temporarily left the arid, desert, rocky conditions behind and were driving through a really nice forested area. After turning north at Flagstaff the arid, dessert, rocky conditions quickly returned.

We arrived at the Cameron Trading Post at about 4.15 and filled up before checking in. Petrol is cheap out here, we only had 1/4 of a tank left after today and it only cost $30 to fill it back up. In the Mustang I reckon I can get 400 miles on a tank which would cost about $45 (£28) to fill where we are. We're in the hotel room now where I am blog update man and where Jess takes a well earned nap after another near 300 mile drive today :) We got to see the Grand Canyon today :) Hoooooray!!!!!!

 

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Day 9 - Lone Pine to Kingman (through Death Valley)

When we woke up this morning the dust storm of yesterday had cleared to show the mountains either side of Lone Pine. We were on the road after breakfast at about 8.00. Despite the Government Shutdown the main highway though Death Valley remains open so we headed that way. The scenery was great from the off despite not reaching the Death Valley region for about an hour. The wind was still blowing a little creating cool little swirls of dust all over the road. I can't believe how vast this country is. We've been driving for about 1,2000 miles and seen coast, mountains and desert and we'd not even left California!!!

We were about 1 mile above sea level before we started our descent into the Valley. We were pretty much restricted to the main highway, but we pulled over for pictures and a few stops when the opportunity presented. One stop was the sand dunes. This was the softest sand to walk on and a nice place to stop for a little break from the road.

We left Death Valley and crossed into Nevada. We stopped for lunch in a place called Tharump which is about an hour or so outside Vegas. Our next stop was the Hoover Dam which is about 45 minutes past Vegas. We saw Vegas approaching and passed it by for the time being. Lake Mead then came into view and we were soon turning off for the Hoover Dam. The Dam was open and we had tickets pre booked for the Visitors Centre and Observation Deck. After the Dam we stopped off on the newly built bridge which bypasses the Dam. My fear of heights returned as I imagined stumbling over something and falling over the side :)

Our base for the night was Kingman which was another 80 or so miles down a super straight highway. I can't remember turning the wheel at all down this road. Before reaching Kingman we were reminded the Grand Canyon is closed. We have a helicopter tour booked which I called to confirm is still on yesterday. The helicopter tours are privately run and take off from outside the Park, so wind permitting we should be able to see the Canyon from the air tomorrow.

 

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