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Last two days in Vegas went by in flash- Suz and Tracie flew to join me on Thursday and there was lots more walking up and down the Strip day and night to see the Bellagio Fountains ( 3or 4 times), Caesar's Palace not to mention the volcano at the Mirage...and for those of you who havent seen my FB page the great news that my $10 stake ( whch Richard had sent me- saying I had to make a bet) was turned into $100 on the roulette wheel at Caesars Casino !!!! Nobody was more surprised than me - I followed Pat's advice and stuck to one colour - and RED kept coming up...I also had a hunch when to quit before I lost it all again. I can see how people get hooked on that chance to win....and of course Vegas is banking on that.
The two shows we went to see were fantastic- Jersey Boys and Million Dollar Quartet - great performance - amazing musicians and dancing in the aisles music. We were WOWED again.
I picked up the RV ( a 24 ft lumbering monster which is named Billybob 2 of course ) while the
Lucky me
With the winnings.girls did the same Vegas tour which I had done on Monday - and so on Sunday morning ( only yesterday!!!) we set off early 6.30 am and headed out of Vegas for the Hoover Dam. It was good to get there early before the crowds and we parked and walked down and across the Dam - well it's an amazing feat of engineering and I loved the detailed architecture of that 30's period ( art deco touches) - the gleaming golden restroom doors, copper patina roofs on the towers. Looking down made me feel sick it's such a long way down. And I loved the angel statues - couldnt see who the artist was who made them tho' ( they looked very Eric Gill) - anyone know??
And so we were off again and it was very windy up there cutting through high peaks and across the Hoover bridge -I held on tight to the wheel I can tell you as we were buffeted somewhat. Settling down to drive the 300 miles to Sedona - we were first of all on a 4 lane highway pretty high up mountainous and lots of scrubby desert around - but then
we stopped at Kingman and pulled off at an info centre where a very nice lady told us we could now drive on the famous Route 66. That was a bit of a suprise - I knew I had read that we might be able to get on it somewhere but I had lost track of the detail of where it was. So she gave us our Route 66 passport - stamped it and sent us on our way.
That was great as the traffic was so much lighter, the road was often so straight as far as the eye could see stretching out in front of us. And of course quite a few interesting stops to break up the journey. We loved the Hackaby store with its American memorabilia, and we even saw a group of bikers outside on their Harleys...so we bought cokes ( in proper coca cola bottles) and Herschey chocolate bars and set off again heading for Seligman to Lilos where we were told we would have a great lunch. And yes the lady in the info centre came up trumps again for us with her recommendation- Lilos with its great atmosphere - elk, deer
and a stuffed cougar alongside more memoraibilia - it felt like a genuine american roadside restaurant - and pleasant service with the waitress telling jokes and very good food - we were very happy.
I loved driving Route 66- sometimes there was not another car to be seen for miles - so it was a great alternative to the main highway - and more relaxing. The vistas were fabulous with flat massive deserty or grassy areas but in the distance mountains all around us...we kept thinking about the pioneers in their covered wagons - what it must have been like for them . Then after we joined the highway again we stopped at Williams to stretch our legs -another great little town where the raillroad runs up to the Grand Canyon , then on to Flagstaff ( at last lots of tress as we entered the Kaiabab Forest ...and the last leg of the journey turning south to Sedona.
What a route that is Hwy 89A !!!! We came down 1000 ft in a few miles through an awesome canyon on a twisting winding road - hairpin bends galore - which is not so easy in Billybob.This is
RED ROCK COUNTRY alright with capital letters. WOW and WOW again. I had seen photos of the area but never imagined the scale of the grandness of it.
Spring has come and the trees have their new leaves so its is lush with various shades of green everywhere and against the red rock, it is sooooo beeeaaautiful.
And so at last we came through the lovely town of Sedona and into our resort here Sedona Pines - whcih will be our base for this next week. We have the cutest little unit comprising the main unit with a double bedroom, living/dining area ( with sofa bed ) and kitchen and bathroom - then adjoining across the outdoor deck and sitting area is another small unit with a double bed , sitting area and bathroom ...so I got that one and the girls got the larger unit to share...the resort is beautifully landscaped with little streams running through - one in our backyard ...so we are very happy to have this as our base as we explore around Sedona and set off forour camping trip to Grand Canyon and Monument Valley - thats the next episode..
Goodness have
I written so much - almost 1000 words - I better shut up now and get the photos downloaded.
xxx
PS Suzanne has not given me permission to use her fotos - but since I was driving I couldnt take any so I am anyway - Haha.
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Hush...we won't tell Suzanne about the photos
Looks like a great time is being had by all. Glad you drove Route 66. Lilo's Cafe sounds great. We'll have to stop there some day.