keith&carol
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2002
- Messages
- 208
Well we've had 3 nights in Vegas and have barely scratched the surface of things to do and see but we have 2 more days at the end of our trip and there are places to go today!
Today's drive to the Grand Canyon is around 300 miles so we hit the road fairly early. We've done this leg before from the other way and know it is pretty boring so have planned some stops.
Our first stop is at the hoover Dam. We park in the Visitor's multi-storey and grab a coffee before walking along the Dam wall. You can do a hard-hat guided tour if you are into the technical stuff but we are happy to just take in the scene. This is also the border between Nevada & Arizona and in Winter you have to move watches forward an hour but not in Summer. It seems some places observe Daylight Saving Time but others don't. Maybe they like confusing people!
To the rear of the dam is Lake Mead formed by the backed-up waters of the mighty Colorado River and now covering a huge area providing many square miles of recreational space for boat lovers. We peer over the other side down the vast wall spanning the narrow canyon and see a Tour Bus gingerly easing it's way down a zig-zag dirt track to the riverside where 2 big rafts are waiting. The Passengers slowly embark, probably wondering what they have let themselves in for, and one raft pulls away but has to return to help the other which has a problem. Hm glad I'm not on that one then! They eventually set off for their adventure and we return to the car to continue ours.
The road is pretty good but speed limit is 65 max so we find an easy listening radio station and amuse ourselves by counting how many States we can count on the licence plates of the huge rigs we keep passing. The scenery is mostly Desert scrub , not flat but fairly featureless. There are a few animals and the occasional sign of Human habitation, mostly in isolated scruffy trailer homes, but that's about it. Part of the route runs along the Santa Fe Railroad and the old Route66.
At Kingman we pick up the Interstate which speeds us up a lot and by the time we stop for lunch we have most of the miles covered. We've spotted a Cracker Barrel which is one of our favourite Restaurants when driving round Florida, so that makes a welcome break. We also pop into an Albertson's to buy some picnic supplies which we know we will need tomorrow.
The weather is really weird today, hot enough in the car to need the air con on full but windy and cold when we get out. By the time we stop for gas just before Tusayan we have climbed several thousand feet and the wind is now an icy blast! Fun!
Entrance to the Grand Canyon Park area is $20 but we pay $50 for an annual pass which will save us some money on the trip and be a nice keepsake. Last time we stayed just outside the Park where there is a handful of Hotels, services and the Imax, but this time we are staying in a Park Lodge. They give us a newly re-furbished room on the ground floor and after a quick meal in the Cafeteria we are happy to collapse into bed ready for another early start tomorrow.
The approach to the rim of the Canyon is so gradual that the first peek over the rim takes your breath away. The West Rim has most of the viewpoints and is over 20 miles long. Because we have a wheelchair we are given a special pass to use the car but ablebodied have to use the gas-powered shuttle buses. They run every few minutes and are free. You can get on and off where you like and environmentally they are a huge improvement. It also makes it a lot quieter which enhances the atmosphere of the Canyon. A mile below you can just see a tiny ribbon of water that is actually the huge Colorado River and you can just see the sets of rapids. We drive to the end where a welcome station still offers shelter for hardy tourists! and buy a coffee to have with our picnic lunch. The view is wonderfully clear today thanks to the wind. It can be almost blotted out by pollution but today we're lucky. We take masses of photos and slowly work our way back to the Lodge. A quick trip to the supermarket and gift shop and we decide to eat in the Canteen again and have another early night .
Our trip today takes us along the wooded East Rim. There are only a few viewpoints here so our first real stop is at the end of the Park, Desert View. There is an old Tower here which is decorated inside with Native American Murals. There is an old Navajo Lady weaving rugs at a loom on sale for over $1000 each!
The gift shop is full of craft items and art. We've already bought a sand-painting and nothing else catches my eye until Keith finds a really nice t-shirt which he buys for me. We leave the Canyon and continue east into Navajo Country. There are a few viewpoints mostly accompanied by stalls selling local silver trinkets and pottery and after a couple of stops we decide the wind is so strong it would be better to plough on. We now know it is an official windstorm and after seeing on tv news the devastation caused by the Tornadoes further east we are keeping our fingers crossed. We turn North and drive through the Painted Desert which is as pretty as it sounds then climb rapidly again to reach our next stop, Lake Powell. Keith does a stirling job keeping the car on the road and thankfully we find Lake Powell in a basin which is sheltered and calm.
There is another Dam on the approach road which we'll look at later but we're tired and a bit achey so find our room at Waheap Marina and have our first "fine dining" experience overlooking the Lake. Dinner is lovely and we look forward to more exploring tomorrow.
Today's drive to the Grand Canyon is around 300 miles so we hit the road fairly early. We've done this leg before from the other way and know it is pretty boring so have planned some stops.
Our first stop is at the hoover Dam. We park in the Visitor's multi-storey and grab a coffee before walking along the Dam wall. You can do a hard-hat guided tour if you are into the technical stuff but we are happy to just take in the scene. This is also the border between Nevada & Arizona and in Winter you have to move watches forward an hour but not in Summer. It seems some places observe Daylight Saving Time but others don't. Maybe they like confusing people!
To the rear of the dam is Lake Mead formed by the backed-up waters of the mighty Colorado River and now covering a huge area providing many square miles of recreational space for boat lovers. We peer over the other side down the vast wall spanning the narrow canyon and see a Tour Bus gingerly easing it's way down a zig-zag dirt track to the riverside where 2 big rafts are waiting. The Passengers slowly embark, probably wondering what they have let themselves in for, and one raft pulls away but has to return to help the other which has a problem. Hm glad I'm not on that one then! They eventually set off for their adventure and we return to the car to continue ours.
The road is pretty good but speed limit is 65 max so we find an easy listening radio station and amuse ourselves by counting how many States we can count on the licence plates of the huge rigs we keep passing. The scenery is mostly Desert scrub , not flat but fairly featureless. There are a few animals and the occasional sign of Human habitation, mostly in isolated scruffy trailer homes, but that's about it. Part of the route runs along the Santa Fe Railroad and the old Route66.
At Kingman we pick up the Interstate which speeds us up a lot and by the time we stop for lunch we have most of the miles covered. We've spotted a Cracker Barrel which is one of our favourite Restaurants when driving round Florida, so that makes a welcome break. We also pop into an Albertson's to buy some picnic supplies which we know we will need tomorrow.
The weather is really weird today, hot enough in the car to need the air con on full but windy and cold when we get out. By the time we stop for gas just before Tusayan we have climbed several thousand feet and the wind is now an icy blast! Fun!
Entrance to the Grand Canyon Park area is $20 but we pay $50 for an annual pass which will save us some money on the trip and be a nice keepsake. Last time we stayed just outside the Park where there is a handful of Hotels, services and the Imax, but this time we are staying in a Park Lodge. They give us a newly re-furbished room on the ground floor and after a quick meal in the Cafeteria we are happy to collapse into bed ready for another early start tomorrow.
The approach to the rim of the Canyon is so gradual that the first peek over the rim takes your breath away. The West Rim has most of the viewpoints and is over 20 miles long. Because we have a wheelchair we are given a special pass to use the car but ablebodied have to use the gas-powered shuttle buses. They run every few minutes and are free. You can get on and off where you like and environmentally they are a huge improvement. It also makes it a lot quieter which enhances the atmosphere of the Canyon. A mile below you can just see a tiny ribbon of water that is actually the huge Colorado River and you can just see the sets of rapids. We drive to the end where a welcome station still offers shelter for hardy tourists! and buy a coffee to have with our picnic lunch. The view is wonderfully clear today thanks to the wind. It can be almost blotted out by pollution but today we're lucky. We take masses of photos and slowly work our way back to the Lodge. A quick trip to the supermarket and gift shop and we decide to eat in the Canteen again and have another early night .
Our trip today takes us along the wooded East Rim. There are only a few viewpoints here so our first real stop is at the end of the Park, Desert View. There is an old Tower here which is decorated inside with Native American Murals. There is an old Navajo Lady weaving rugs at a loom on sale for over $1000 each!
The gift shop is full of craft items and art. We've already bought a sand-painting and nothing else catches my eye until Keith finds a really nice t-shirt which he buys for me. We leave the Canyon and continue east into Navajo Country. There are a few viewpoints mostly accompanied by stalls selling local silver trinkets and pottery and after a couple of stops we decide the wind is so strong it would be better to plough on. We now know it is an official windstorm and after seeing on tv news the devastation caused by the Tornadoes further east we are keeping our fingers crossed. We turn North and drive through the Painted Desert which is as pretty as it sounds then climb rapidly again to reach our next stop, Lake Powell. Keith does a stirling job keeping the car on the road and thankfully we find Lake Powell in a basin which is sheltered and calm.
There is another Dam on the approach road which we'll look at later but we're tired and a bit achey so find our room at Waheap Marina and have our first "fine dining" experience overlooking the Lake. Dinner is lovely and we look forward to more exploring tomorrow.
