Las Vegas Trip! Part Three
Ok, so a month later, I finally get around to posting the third part of this! Yeesh! I'm too lazy these days!
Sunday, February 21
Today was Grand Canyon day! Kyle and I were up super early to catch our first bus (turned out to be the first of MANY buses that day). First, we had a shuttle bus come and pick us up to take us to the touring company's office. The driver of the shuttle was hilarious, he was commenting on everything as we drove along!
When we reached the tour office, we were hit by some disappointing news. The South Rim tour that we had booked was canceled because of snow and slippery roads in the area (it seems winter does occur in the desert from time to time!). However, the company offered to take us to the West Rim (which was closer to Vegas and not as touristy) for a special deal. We were also given the option to purchase tickets for the Skywalk, which is the new glass floor structure built over the canyon. Kyle and I decided we might as well give it a try!
After a complimentary continental breakfast, we boarded our second bus of the day. We had a very nice tour guide for our trip, he gave us some history about Vegas and told us interesting facts (The Strip isn't actually an official part of the city of Las Vegas....it's in its own jurisdiction called "Paradise!"). We drove past Lake Mead (I'll be honest...I found it to be a pretty sad-looking lake, but I guess the locals just love it because there aren't too many lakes in the desert, after all). Then, after lots of pretty mountain scenery, we came to the Hoover Dam. The Dam is pretty cool. A lot bigger than I expected. And they were building this gigantic new bridge next to it. We had a brief photo stop:
Then, it was back on the bus and onwards to the canyon!
Our first stop was to switch buses yet again. You see, the entrance to the West Canyon is a winding, twisty, dirt road that is meant for four-wheel drive trucks. We had to get on a special kind of bus to go down this road. While we were stopped, we noticed lots of Joshua Trees in the area (I didn't know what Joshua trees were before!) Apparently they got the name because the trees remind people of Joshua from the Bible. Here is a picture of me with a Joshua Tree:
Heh heh.
So finally, we made our way down the winding road to the park entrance. The West Rim land is actually on a Hualapai Reservation, so the Natives run and look after it. All of the tours start at the small airport and gift shop there. We boarded our next bus to take us to the first lookout point: Eagle Point. It has this name because one of the rock formations in the canyon looks like an eagle spreading its wings. Eagle Point is where the Skywalk is located. But first, Kyle and I just stopped to take in the magnificent view:
The silence is really what I noticed the most (except for the frequent helicopter tours going through the area.). It was awesome! But you had to be really careful...no guard rails at all around the edge! One foot out of place and you were dead! So needless to say, I stayed far away from the edge. (Kyle was more of a daredevil and just about gave me a million heart attacks in the meantime).
After taking in the view, Kyle and I headed over to the Skywalk. Unfortunately, there were no cameras allowed on the Skywalk, as they didn't want anybody dropping them and scratching the glass. You also had to wear these cool cloth slipper things over your shoes. The Skywalk was really cool, I was afraid the glass floor would bother me, but it didn't. It was awesome.
After browsing through the small Native village at Eagle Point, we hopped on the next bus to take us over to the other lookout point: Guano Point ("Guano" means bat droppings, heh heh.). This view was even more beautiful. You could clearly see the Colorado River winding its way down the floor of the canyon below. There was a big rock pile at this lookout, but I decided not to climb it. (Kyle did). Instead I just sat and enjoyed the view and peaceful quiet. Here's a pic of Kyle and I at Guano Point:
Aww...
After looking around Guano Point, we headed to our final stop on the tour: The Hualapai Ranch. This is a replica of a classic Cowboy Ranch. There are old buildings to look around in, a diner, and..........goats!!
These little sweeties were waiting for us at the entrance to the ranch!
Kyle and I headed to the diner for lunch (the touring company had given us meal vouchers) and as we ate an excellent meal, we were entertained by a country and western singer, He was great, he took requests from the audience and sang a jazzed up version of Happy Birthday to somebody. Heh heh.
After lunch, Kyle and I looked around the ranch a bit (because it was still winter, there wasn't a lot going on). We saw the goats again, and a donkey, and a big bull. And lots of horses, of course! Then it was back to the gift shop, and finally back on the bus to Vegas. We watched the movie "What Happens In Vegas" on the way back. It was ok, kind of corny but cute too.
The West Rim tour is shorter than the South Rim tour, so Kyle and I were back early. We took advantage of this opportunity to make another trip to Caesar's Palace and get ourselves a Fat Tuesday drink. Then we headed to Bellagio to go to this chocolate patisserie I had read about in my guide book. Kyle had some delicious crepes and I had some yummy gelato. And saw the world's largest Chocolate Fountain! Then we went out into the cool night and watched the Bellagio Fountain show from ground level this time. Here is a video:
Finally, we ended our day by going to see the Volcano show at the Mirage. Here is a video of that:
And then we headed back to our hotel and had a relatively easy trip back to Edmonton the next day.
It was such an amazing trip, and I can't wait to go back someday!! :-)
Sunday, February 21
Today was Grand Canyon day! Kyle and I were up super early to catch our first bus (turned out to be the first of MANY buses that day). First, we had a shuttle bus come and pick us up to take us to the touring company's office. The driver of the shuttle was hilarious, he was commenting on everything as we drove along!
When we reached the tour office, we were hit by some disappointing news. The South Rim tour that we had booked was canceled because of snow and slippery roads in the area (it seems winter does occur in the desert from time to time!). However, the company offered to take us to the West Rim (which was closer to Vegas and not as touristy) for a special deal. We were also given the option to purchase tickets for the Skywalk, which is the new glass floor structure built over the canyon. Kyle and I decided we might as well give it a try!
After a complimentary continental breakfast, we boarded our second bus of the day. We had a very nice tour guide for our trip, he gave us some history about Vegas and told us interesting facts (The Strip isn't actually an official part of the city of Las Vegas....it's in its own jurisdiction called "Paradise!"). We drove past Lake Mead (I'll be honest...I found it to be a pretty sad-looking lake, but I guess the locals just love it because there aren't too many lakes in the desert, after all). Then, after lots of pretty mountain scenery, we came to the Hoover Dam. The Dam is pretty cool. A lot bigger than I expected. And they were building this gigantic new bridge next to it. We had a brief photo stop:
Then, it was back on the bus and onwards to the canyon!
Our first stop was to switch buses yet again. You see, the entrance to the West Canyon is a winding, twisty, dirt road that is meant for four-wheel drive trucks. We had to get on a special kind of bus to go down this road. While we were stopped, we noticed lots of Joshua Trees in the area (I didn't know what Joshua trees were before!) Apparently they got the name because the trees remind people of Joshua from the Bible. Here is a picture of me with a Joshua Tree:
Heh heh.
So finally, we made our way down the winding road to the park entrance. The West Rim land is actually on a Hualapai Reservation, so the Natives run and look after it. All of the tours start at the small airport and gift shop there. We boarded our next bus to take us to the first lookout point: Eagle Point. It has this name because one of the rock formations in the canyon looks like an eagle spreading its wings. Eagle Point is where the Skywalk is located. But first, Kyle and I just stopped to take in the magnificent view:
The silence is really what I noticed the most (except for the frequent helicopter tours going through the area.). It was awesome! But you had to be really careful...no guard rails at all around the edge! One foot out of place and you were dead! So needless to say, I stayed far away from the edge. (Kyle was more of a daredevil and just about gave me a million heart attacks in the meantime).
After taking in the view, Kyle and I headed over to the Skywalk. Unfortunately, there were no cameras allowed on the Skywalk, as they didn't want anybody dropping them and scratching the glass. You also had to wear these cool cloth slipper things over your shoes. The Skywalk was really cool, I was afraid the glass floor would bother me, but it didn't. It was awesome.
After browsing through the small Native village at Eagle Point, we hopped on the next bus to take us over to the other lookout point: Guano Point ("Guano" means bat droppings, heh heh.). This view was even more beautiful. You could clearly see the Colorado River winding its way down the floor of the canyon below. There was a big rock pile at this lookout, but I decided not to climb it. (Kyle did). Instead I just sat and enjoyed the view and peaceful quiet. Here's a pic of Kyle and I at Guano Point:
Aww...
After looking around Guano Point, we headed to our final stop on the tour: The Hualapai Ranch. This is a replica of a classic Cowboy Ranch. There are old buildings to look around in, a diner, and..........goats!!
These little sweeties were waiting for us at the entrance to the ranch!
Kyle and I headed to the diner for lunch (the touring company had given us meal vouchers) and as we ate an excellent meal, we were entertained by a country and western singer, He was great, he took requests from the audience and sang a jazzed up version of Happy Birthday to somebody. Heh heh.
After lunch, Kyle and I looked around the ranch a bit (because it was still winter, there wasn't a lot going on). We saw the goats again, and a donkey, and a big bull. And lots of horses, of course! Then it was back to the gift shop, and finally back on the bus to Vegas. We watched the movie "What Happens In Vegas" on the way back. It was ok, kind of corny but cute too.
The West Rim tour is shorter than the South Rim tour, so Kyle and I were back early. We took advantage of this opportunity to make another trip to Caesar's Palace and get ourselves a Fat Tuesday drink. Then we headed to Bellagio to go to this chocolate patisserie I had read about in my guide book. Kyle had some delicious crepes and I had some yummy gelato. And saw the world's largest Chocolate Fountain! Then we went out into the cool night and watched the Bellagio Fountain show from ground level this time. Here is a video:
Click to viewFinally, we ended our day by going to see the Volcano show at the Mirage. Here is a video of that:
And then we headed back to our hotel and had a relatively easy trip back to Edmonton the next day.
It was such an amazing trip, and I can't wait to go back someday!! :-)