Month: April 2015

Welcome to the fabulous Las Vegas! We camped at Sam’s Town Casino in the RV area. The first day we caught a cab to the strip and walked from MGM Grand to the Venetian. We saw dancing waters, beautiful botanical gardens, a show about the fall of Atlantis and so much more. We wandered through casinos with Mom and Dad. I was amazed with how large the hotels were and how packed everything seemed. Being nearly solitary for the last several weeks made it all a bit overwhelming… not to mention the HEAT! Grand Canyon was around 65F the entire day but at 3pm in Las Vegas it was near 100F! UGH!

We walked around and saw all the flashy lights and chaos. Mom zip lined with B down Fremont street. I was too light to go. Maybe another time!

We called it a night as the streets were becoming more and more crowded with drunk people and ladies dancing on bars, again, HUH?

We were up early and off to Hoover Dam for a tour. I loved seeing where they generate power from the moving water. We got to go into some dark hallways and see some neat things. I liked the seismograph in the hallway and all the holes I could look into.

We walked out a giant spill way and were able to take photos out of a grate at the end.

We went back and cleaned the camper and did laundry and caught up on all the tasks we have to do to make sure we have a neat organized place.

We tried to catch a cab to go back to the strip but there were NO cabs available for over an hour. Dad ended up driving us into town. We went to Excalibur to see the Tournament of Kings show. We sat in the dragon section, the bad guy! I got a special meal of ravioli with no sauce. I was a happy kiddo, it was YUMMY! The food was great and the entertainment was fun. We saw jousting, fire, horses, jester and so much more! What a fun evening!

Goodbye Las Vegas.

Welcome to the Grand Canyon. After a fun curvy road drive into the Grand Canyon area we set up camp at Trailer Village and drove down to the Visitors Center to get Junior Ranger books and some maps. We haven’t seen this many people in a while. Even Glen Canyon seemed like a ghost town compared to this national park that has over 4.7 MILLION visitors a year.

I wanted to check out all the holes and see the sights again. The beautiful canyon behind me and I am looking into holes!

We hiked several trails including the Trail of Time. It was a neat trail because they have markers showing current day all the way to Earths beginnings. Along the trail are rocks from different time periods. It was a great way to learn about the geology of the canyon and how long it took to make! The Colorado River looks so TINY at the bottom of the canyon.

 

We also hiked part of Bright Angel Trail below the rim of the canyon. I got to see where they have the burrow rides along the trail down to the bottom. Most of the burrow rides are now rim trails with few going down into Phantom Ranch. All I know is there was a lot of burrow scat not he trail.

I spotted my first Stellar’s Jay!

We attended a Ranger Program about fossils and hiked a short trail to learn about how this all was ocean floor at one point as evident by the fossils we were able to find in the rocks.

Daddy took an afternoon break on the last day so Mom hiked the rest of the Trail of Time with us and then on out to some of the view points beyond the trail. We had a great time looking over the edge, walking so close to the edge that Mom was SCARED. We finally run out of water and opted to grab a shuttle bus back to the campground.

I learned how to take selfies! UGH!

The wildlife in the park was amazing we saw lots of birds, lizards, squirrels and ELK! The elk were EVERYWHERE, including our campsite.

The highlight of the wildlife for me was seeing a real living California Condor!

 

We were finally able to get a campfire going to roast s’mores tonight. It has been so windy at every campsite so far. We each were able to get a few s’mores made and then the rain started. We finished them up inside but at least we were able to have them.

We took a boat tour of Lake Powell. It was interesting to see how low the water level is during this time of drought. The white lines on the canyons show where the water level was at it’s highest since the Glen Canyon Dam construction.

    

Some man from Taiwan kept taking my picture. I felt a bit violated but I eventually just smiled and let him get it over with. Mom took pictures of him right back! I am sure I am on someones blog or vacation page in Taiwan now!

I listed to the narration through the headphones and shared with my stuffed dinosaur I brought along for the ride.

So we toured above the dam on the Colorado River and below the Glen Canyon Dam on Lake Powell. It was fun to see both sides of the dam from the water.

The storm clouds rolled in as we were wrapping up the boat tour and thankfully only slightly misted us.

Off we go to the Grand Canyon!

 

Today we hiked the Hanging Gardens trail near Page, Arizona. It was very peaceful. We were the only ones on the trail.

There was nothing for a long distance.

I started a bit chilly but warmed up as we hiked.

We saw coyote and lizard tracks in the desert sands.

We hiked out to the Hanging Gardens which was a rock alcove with a seep spring. The animals in the area come here to get water.

It was really pretty.

As you can see, there is nothing in the high desert… well just beauty.

We hiked back down and I told Dad my ankle was hurting again. It seems to hurt a little when I am on soft terrain. I was fine walking on the rocks.

I kept stopping to look at all the pretty flowers. We have to look this one up. I loved it! 

This one too!

next we drove across town, a while 6 miles, to the trailhead for Horseshoe Bend. This is more popular as the view is amazing from the edges of the overhangs.

Dad loaned me his walking stick and I stopped saying my ankle hurt. I walked with Mom and made her stop often to try to get photos of more lizards.

We finally got up to the cliff edge and tip toed out to the overhang. There are no railings and quite a steep drop-off.

We rafted this area yesterday. There is a little blue dot in the river, that would have been us yesterday!

Some brave souls slid out on their bellies to the edges.

We had our GoPros and took photos over everything. We climbed all over the rocks that were away from edge.

Mom went close to the edge to take some photos.

Dad climbed the rocks away from the ledge to get some shots from up high.

This place was crowded. Apparently there are people who set up slack lines between the edges. No way I would do that. I am a crazy daredevil but not that insane!

We spent the afternoon relaxing with a campfire and s’mores. We tidied up a bit and after a morning tour will head off to the Grand Canyon.

 

 

We opted for a Raft the Canyon trip to start our day. It was chilly in the shade but warm in the sun. I had to wear a silly life jacket but it kept me warm.

To get onto the boat we had to go through a 2 mile access tunnel through the mountain. The tunnel is controlled by Homeland Security so we had to go through check points and keep our belongings in clear plastic bags.

It was worth it when we could see the dam from the river.

As we zoomed out into the canyon the cliff faces looked red and black and bursting with color.

We learned more about the river and the history of Page and the purpose of the dams.

I was freezing cold so stuck close to Mom. Once we got into the sun I wanted to go sit on the outer pontoon.

B and I hung over the side and looked for fish and other animals. It was weird to see heron on the banks of the river. I didn’t think they came this far out! I am still interested in my birding and have been referring to a new book for most of the trip. I have seen a lot of new birds and am making a list on my iPad of them.

We got to see a chuckwalla! It was a huge lizard.

We hiked down and saw some petroglyphs and used the $10,000 fancy toilets that smells HORRIBLE! Mom had to hold my nose when I went to the bathroom. We played on the bank of the river during our stop and got shoes filled with sand.

We boarded the boat, drove to Horseshoe Bend and turned around.

On the way back Mom rode on the edge of the raft with us. Our shoes got soaked from water coming in from the joints.

After we got back B and I played outside a bit and I managed to get sand in my eye. After 15 minutes of screaming Mom got all the dirt out. Dad died my eye yellow to look for scratches. He seems to have an emergency EVERYTHING! After the drama died down I took off my shoes to change into my shower shoes and I got a splinter. Mom doctored that up quickly and off we went to the showers.

We walked down to the pay showers and B, Mom and myself all managed to get through on $2 for a 15 minute shower. Dad went down after we got back.

The campground is so pretty. There are big spaces, firepits and amazing views.

We stopped on the way back from the showers to smell more plants!