Day 14 - To Las Vegas

We finish our trip today when we reach Las Vegas.  We leave the Grand Canyon following Rte 64 south and pick up I-40 west, with side trips along route 66 at Seligman.  When we reach Kingman, we will turn north on Rte 93 and cross the Colorado River on the Hoover Dam bypass bridge.  We’ll finish in Las Vegas using 515 and 215 to drop some people at the airport.  On our way, we pass a railroad museum. 

After picking up those who chose to do a scenic flight over the Grand Canyon, we made our first stop on Route 66 at Seligman.

Seligman is one of the towns along the “Mother Road”, another name for Route 66, that is trying to keep some of the old feeling.

Several tourist shops exist along the road

As well as a few cafes, look they have malts, had to get one.

Don’t tell his wife, but I caught our bus driver Ching, with Marilyn Monroe.  He does look happy though.

We leave Route 66 and get back on I-40 where we stop for lunch in Kingman.  After lunch we turn north on Rte 93 where the scene has turned more hilly and rocky.

As we near the Hoover Dam, we can see the Colorado River, which because of the dam has a bluer tint to the water than when we were following it in Colorado and Arizona.  The Canyon is not as deep here as it was yesterday.   You can see a boat as the river makes its way down to Laughlin.

We cross the new bridge next to the Hoover Dam and we can see the dam from the river side.  You can still drive your car (cars only) across the dam, but only after an intense inspection. 

As we near the city of Las Vegas, we can see many of the casino hotels in the distance, even though we are still over 5 miles away.  You can see the Chrysler Building at New York, New York on the left and the top of the Eifel Tower at Paris on the right side.

We drop several people at the airport and then continue to the Tropicana on the Las Vegas strip (no this is not the Trop, but New York, New York - its better looking).  This is where we end our trip today and for some of us make our way home.  Carmen and I are staying another three days at the MGM Casino and Hotel.  We're also going to see The Austrailian Bee Gees.

Here is a group picture of the people on the tour taken in front of the State Capital in Salt Lake City, Utah. 

Some of the people we can not place names to faces, or at least I can not– I’m horrible with names, especially after a week or so – but have put some faces to their names below.  On a side note, compared to some of the other trips Carmen and I have been on, this has been a very good group.

Bruce Hall, Tour Director – Top left corner

Ching Razon, Coach Driver – Far Right

Jean Reeves, England – First row, first person (left)

Fiona Reeves, England (Jean Reeves’ daughter) – Second row, first person (above Jean)

Mariko and Ryuji Ishi, Japan – First row, third and fourth persons

Jeanne Hagio, Hawaii – Third Row, first person (from left)

Ray Hagio, Hawaii (Jean’s husband) – right behind Jean

Carmen, my wife, Florida – Second row, third person (yellow top)

Me – Third row, right behind Carmen

Jane Mead, Florida – Second Row, fifth person

Harold Mead, Florida, Jane’s husband) – blue shirt behind Jane

Mike Bess, California – Top row, fourth (from left)

Julie Langley, Australia – First row, first from right

Phil Langley, Australia (Julie’s Husband) – Second row, far right side, behind Julie

Margaret Shi, Australia – Second row, second from right (next to Phil)

Wilson Shi, Australia (Margaret’s husband) – Third row, first from right (behind Margaret)
Elaine and David Linfoot, Sydney, Australia  – Top row, last coupple on right
Lorraine Eriksson, Sydney, Australia – Next to top row, far right (blue and white strips shirt)
Pam Meares, Sydney, Australia  – Next to top row, second from far right (behind Wilson Shi)
Marlene Merzbach, Massachusetts – First row, second from right
Suzette Franham, Massachusetts – First row, third from right (in purple)
Jack Franham, Massachusetts – Second row, behind Suzette's right shoulder
Lorraine Tully, Massachusetts – First row, fourth from right (in green)

If you read this blog and want to indicate where you (names) are located, please send me either an email or make a comment to this posting and I will update this page to reflect you and your location.

Thanks Bob and Carmen.

Day 13 - The Grand Canyon

After leaving Monument Valley, we returned on Rte 163 south and within a couple of miles we are back in Arizona.  We head south then turned west on Rte 160 (this section of 160 is also known as the Navajo Trail). 

We have some of the same terrain that surrounded Monument Valley. 

The hills expose some interesting rock formations and strata with varying angles and colors.

Following lunch (at the Cameron trading post), we turned south on Rte 89 and then west on Rte 64 into Grand Canyon National Park.  Before we get to the Grand Canyon National Park entrance, we pass the Little Colorado River Gorge.

We made our first stop in Grand Canyon at Desert View Vista and from our earlier vistas where the ground was flat and the scenery went up in rugged hills, buttes and mesas, here we see flat lands and then the Canyon going down a mile into the ground.

A stop at the Historic Watchtower at the Desert View overlook.  I got Carmen to stop taking pictures for a minute so I could get her in the frame with the watch tower.

The Desert View.  You can see the high desert at the top of the picture.  It is flat, then the drop, of a mile, into the canyon.

And again more of the Canyon.

And wouldn’t you know it, I find another lizard and you know I have to take a picture of it.  Why else am I here on this wildlife abundant trip?

We continued to the south rim Grand Canyon Village and guess what, we see more elk.

At Grand Canyon Village, we walked along the rim trail, passing Lookout Studio.

The views from the Rim Trail are pretty spectacular even though the sun is pretty high and there are few shadows to provide good depth perception.  You can see the Bright Angel trail in this picture coming from the bottom of the picture up into the center. The trail continues to the bottom of the canyon, crosses the Colorado by way of a rope bridge, then up the other side along the ravine going up the center of the picture (all 21 miles of the trail).

We traveled down the Bright Angel trail and through the trail tunnel and continued further down the trail. 

Coming back up the trail from below the tunnel you can see people just entering to pass through the tunnel or at least they are waiting to pass through.  The tunnel is in the upper right side of the picture.

Here is Carmen on her way through the Bright Angel Trail tunnel on our way back to the top.

The views here are great.

But before going very far down the trail, we had to return since we did not have very much time left before we had to return to the coach.

Before leaving, we took more pictures.  At the bottom of the picture along the trail you can see the Indian Garden campground (about 5-6 miles from the trail head), a rest area for those hiking along the Bright Angel trail to the Colorado River.

You’ll never believe this, here is our first picture of a Kaibab squirrel, only found here in the Kaibab forest around the Grand Canyon.  It was first sitting looking out over the Canyon enjoying the view like the rest of us, some eating ice cream, then turned around to look at me.  How nice that the animals pose on for us on this trip!

We head for the Lodge and after moving into our room, some of us traveled back to the canyon edge, at Yavapai Point, for a talk by a naturalist on the making of the Grand Canyon geology specifically the rock strata.

The sun is moving further west then it was when we were at the Canyon earlier, I took more pictures since the shadows provide more drama and depth in the pictures.

To tell you the truth, it is hard to not take pictures.  Here the Bright Angel Trail that runs up the Bright Angel Canyon.  Just to the left of the Bright Angel Canyon, the North Rim Visitor Center, Lodge, and Bright Angle Point are a mere 11 miles away (straight line of sight) or 21 miles if you decide to hike it.

Since we have to go to dinner, I took a couple of more pictures.

And a couple of more. 

Like I said it’s hard to not take pictures.

Trees, bushes and century plants grow out of the sides of the rock cliff.  Imagine!  And this does not show some of the fully grown trees growing where out of the rock cliff where they shouldn’t.

Leaving I decided to take a picture of some ornamental grass.

Also flowers got in the way, I was almost late for the bus.

We are so sad; this is our last day and night on the trip.  Tomorrow we finish our trip as we drive to Las Vegas.  Until tomorrow, Bob and Carmen.

Day 13 - Monument Valley, today first thing

Today, we head to the Grand Canyon, but the first thing we will do is to go to Monument Valley.  We’ll get there via Rte163 north.  Monument Valley which is in Arizona and Utah is on Navajo lands and to get to the entrance we must first drive into Utah.  As we get close, we see a preview in the distance of buttes and begin the anticipation.

First let me say I have always wanted to go to Monument Valley since watching John Ford westerns.  Also, I wanted to take my own picture of the buttes named the Mittens.  I now have that picture.

We traveled in an open sided vehicle driven by a Navajo woman.  Driving along the dirt road, bumpy as it was, we see the unbelievable vistas open before us.

Buttes with names like the Praying Hands.

And the King or Queen, however you see it, on the throne chair looking at the Castle.

While driving through the park we stopped at a view point where Navajo vendors are selling jewelry.  Here is a rare picture of Carmen and me, together in the same picture, with Monument Valley in the background.  The praying hands are coming out of the top of my head (don’t I look angelic?), the King on his throne over my left shoulder and the Castle further to the pictures right.

Just after Carmen and I got our pictures taken, Fiona’s mom Jean had the Navajo flag in hand ready to charge. 

I took this picture of the West Mitten and the little rise before it.  This is the scene from John Ford’s picture “She Wore A Yellow Ribbon” starring John Wayne and Shirley Temple.  If you ever watch the movie, be certain to pay attention to the first few minutes of the movie and you’ll see this vista.

We continued on to John Ford’s Point for a close up picture of the Three Sisters. 

Here we have the mesa known as the Submarine near John Ford’s Point (on the bottom of the photo and the Three Sisters in the background).

At John Ford’s Point Carmen is standing at an overhang.  No, she would not get closer to the edge and stayed 4-feet away then left after I took the picture.

Other vistas in Monument Valley are no less impressive, including this one of Elephant Butte.

There is even one place said to be the profile of Alfred Hitchcock.  You can see Hitchcock’s profile on the far right side of the picture.

Here are other vista pictures of Monument Valley.

And another.

From the visitor center overlook, the Mittens is in full glory for all to see.  That’s Merrick Butte on the right.

Here are a few more pictures from Monument Valley, beginning with prophet Spire.

Mitchell Mesa named after one of the two prospectors that found Gold and Silver in Monument Valley.  The other Merrick has a Butte name after him, seen a couple pictures above.

As we begin to leave the Park, I get another seemingly closer picture of the Kings Throne and the Castle.

Back on the main road, we can still see mesas rising from the high desert.  Here a corral, in the foreground, is ready for use for the horses we’ve seen on the ranches.