June 2015 – Todd and Cindy's Travel Blog

Las Vegas and Beyond Final Blog 4

Las Vegas

Before returning the rental, we stopped by the Shelby American Inc museum and build shop in Las Vegas. Carroll Shelby was an American race driver and entrepreneur who designed cars, specifically Cobra and Mustang performance cars.

Todd picked out his dream car, a 2012 50th Anniversary GT500 Super Snake (asking price 200K USD) . I said maybe on our 50th anniversary if they still have it in another 15 years !

After dropping off the rental, we took a cab to our “home” for the next week – The Mandarin Oriental located in the centre area of the strip. We were greeted with chocolate-dipped strawberries in our room.

After a week in the quiet areas of Death Valley and Grand Canyon, Las Vegas is sensory overload! Noise, smells, bright lights, multitudes of “different/interesting” people…..

Our hotel is kind of an oasis amid the chaos – no casino. The pool area has a resort feel and is a very relaxing place to hang out.

We celebrated our 35th Wedding Anniversary at Mastro’s Ocean Club Restaurant. The food was delicious, and they served us a complimentary dessert to go with our Martinis to celebrate our special day.

Our friends, whom we met in Kona this past year, Aline and Dave, came to Vegas for a few days to hook up with us. It was great to see them again and share laughs.

We joined them on the Big Apple Roller Coaster at NYNY – a climb of 203 ft, a drop of 144 ft, and speeds of up to 67 mph…. Crazy!! (P.S. I had my eyes closed during the upside-down / corkscrew loops…).

Fremont Street Experience was so much fun! Dave put some money in the slot machine to show me how to play and I won…

Amazingly good cover bands played on the strip while “crazy” people who have ‘too much money’ zipped by on the zip-line….(missing the “atmosphere” of zip-lining in a jungle; although Vegas could be said to be a kind of jungle…)

Zip Line Video

We spent our last night with Dave and Aline, before they headed home, at Ellis Island Casino and Brewery – had dinner and watched Chicago beat Tampa (Stanley Cup Finals). Great craft beers for only $2.25 a pint!

The last day – relaxing by the pool, l little bit of gambling, a great dinner, then back to relax… Las Vegas is definitely a place to visit (not for all, but definitely an experience)

…on to the next Adventure – stay tuned…

Las Vegas and Beyond Blog 3

Grand Canyon

At the beginning of Our Adventure, we were a couple of hundred feet below sea level, now we are over 6000 feet above sea level. (Things expand at this altitude…). The other thing of notice – temperature! It is only 26°C – the coolest yet….

We are staying just outside of the Grand Canyon entrance in a small town ( hotels, gift shops, restaurants) called Tusayan. We are staying at the Best Western, and after the long day we stayed here for dinner. Food was actually quite good… Todd had his salmon and I had my beef (everyone happy and satiated…).

A great benefit about staying in Tusayan is that you don’t have to drive – there is a shuttle that takes you into the Park. The Grand Canyon! Wow!

We are at the South Rim area. We took the orange shuttle in the park to the available stops east of the area. No need for a selfie stick when Todd has his trusty fisheye lens !

We took pics, we walked, we were in awe….

The Park has a lot of wildlife throughout. Wandering just off the road from a bus stop was one of the many Elk we saw throughout the park.

Next day, we started out just after 9AM – back to the park on the purple shuttle to take the red shuttle to the west side of the South Rim.

The views were as breathtaking today as yesterday.

We walked the majority of the red trail. (It didn’t take long to reach 10,000 steps on the Fitbit…) Each vantage point offered a different perspective.

Some facts – The Grand Canyon is 446 km in length; at its widest point it is 29 km across; it is 1800 m deep; The Colorado River runs through the Grand Canyon (averaging 10,000 to 20,000 cubic feet of water per second flow since 1990).

While walking the trail and taking in the view, flora along the way also caught our eye….interesting shaped trees…

….Banana yucca…

Walking the trails was so peaceful. Most of the time, we didn’t see anyone.

Todd did a few yoga poses with the Canyon in the background.

We travelled to the end of the red route (Hermit’s Rest) and by then our feet were crying to lose the hikers and return to Birks, so after one last look…back to the hotel.

Next Stop Las Vegas !

Las Vegas and Beyond Post 2

Boulder City

We arrived in Boulder City mid afternoon. The first thing we noticed when we got out of the car was the lack of that whoosh of hot air. It was a comfortable 38°C. Our accommodation was a room in the Boulder Dam Hotel in the Historic Downtown. Also on the premises is a restaurant, art shop, gift shop, and a museum detailing the history of Boulder City and the Dam.

The hotel was built in 1933 for dignitaries, politicians, and Hollywood stars that were coming to see the Hoover Dam being built. The historic hotel has 21 rooms and the building and rooms stay true to its traditional décor.

We arrived on a Sunday for two nights. Unfortunately, not much is open on those days in the Historic Downtown. Dinner was a bit of a challenge – looking for quality food at a restaurant that was open. Both nights we settled on Little City Grille – a fun small town diner. Each table is adorned with pictures from locals back in the 30s during the time Boulder City was formed and the Hoover Dam was being built.

We stayed in Boulder City as a stop on the way to the Grand Canyon and to see the famous Hoover Dam. The Dam is massive and impressive.

The Hoover Dam began construction in 1931 and the last concrete was poured in 1935. The project was completed ahead of schedule and under budget.

The Dam was built to protect the low lying lands along the Colorado River from flooding.

The power plant wings were completed in 1936 with the first generator operating. The 17th and final generator went into commercial operation in 1961.

The hydroelectric power is used in Nevada, Arizona, and California. The Hoover Dam is one of the America’s largest hydropower facilities.

The building of the Dam created Lake Mead – America’s largest man-made reservoir.

The Lake can store 9.2 trillion gallons of water.

Boulder City was a great stop – beautiful historic hotel and an impressive part of American engineering history.

Our next stop was The Grand Canyon. On the way we took a bit of an alternate route along a section of the famous Route 66.

Route 66 was the original highway of America spanning from Chicago to Santa Monica.

Next stop – the Grand Canyon!