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So another month, another visitor... Dave Gee - (aka Curly - a youthful hair-related nickname which has no modern day relevance and used here to avoid any confusion with me) joined us on another 'Rowe Tours' package to the desert of Arizona. After a difficult few months at home, Curly had 4 aims from his time here... a bit of sun by the pool, walk the new Skywalk at the Grand Canyon and spend a couple of days in Vegas (which is 3 aims, but those of you who know him will guess the 4th).
We spent a leisurely first week with Curly enjoying some sun and showing him a few local sights and sounds such as South Mountain and Scorpion Gulch; the Apache Trail - a road (almost) that follows a trail first created by Apache war parties cutting through the mountains. We also went to Tonto National Monument, the ancient cliff dwellings of the native peoples 500 years ago.
We enjoyed a couple of evenings out. We combined a visit to downtown Phoenix on the afternoon of a big NBA (basketball) playoff game that was happening in town that evening. We didn't want to spend $200
each on tickets so we took in the game at a bar next to the stadium to enjoy the atmosphere - a good night was had, but full marks to Ginnie for driving us home! Apparently Curly was a little worse for wear that night, I, obviously, was fine...:-) Another night we went to Rawhide, a recreated western town (for tourists) with a great steakhouse. Curly ordered Rattlesnake as a starter, which although the picture doesn't show it, he quite enjoyed. Deep fried, it tastes like Calamari, which is fine if you like Calamari! I don't, but at least I now know what to do if I come across a rattler in our back yard! Break out the Ranch dressing and a big knife!
The second part of Curly's visit would involve a road trip - so as not to leave Ginnie car-less at home for 4 days, we hired a convertible - turned out to be a Ford Mustang - pretty cool! We picked it up on the Monday morning, immediately put down the roof and hit the road north-west through Phoenix towards Kingman and then on to Grand Canyon West.
After a 4 hr
drive, we got to Kingman - a town about 70 miles south of the Skywalk at Grand Canyon West - and decided to push on to the Skywalk that afternoon. For those who don't know, the Skywalk is a new 'attraction' that has been built on the native Hualapai Indian Reservation. About 1 hr out of Kingman and the paved road ends - you then have to take an unpaved road about 15 miles (40 mins) to get to the Reservation -- easy if you are in a 4 wheel drive with high suspension - less comfortable in a Mustang! Thankfully, we had the foresight to put up the roof as we followed a truck for the last 5 miles in a dust cloud!!
The Skywalk is essentially a glass bridge that extends about 75 feet out over the canyon rim. The problem is, every foot costs you a dollar.... $50 to get into the Reservation plus another $25 to walk out. I have to say that the Canyon is always impressive and this part of the Canyon is about 100 miles west (as the crow flies) of the main GC National Park, so it has different majestic views
of the canyon. You seem much closer to the mighty Colarado river as this is towards the western edge of the canyon. But I do think that the Skywalk is significantly overpriced. The marketing suggests a 4,000 ft drop; I'm sure that the Skywalk is 4,000 ft above the floor of the canyon - it's just not 4,000 ft directly below you.
Now don't get me wrong; it is still a significant drop and many people were holding tightly to the handrail as they shuffled around the edge in the little shoe covers you have to wear, but all in all I was disappointed in the value. Considering what else $75 will buy a tourist in the US (A day in many theme parks is less than this) I think there are better ways to spend your money. You aren't allowed to take a camera on to the bridge (or even camera phone) in case you drop it and scratch the glass or it falls over the edge; but surprise surprise, there is someone there with a camera to capture the moment for another $20 odd bucks! Don't get me wrong, as it is a magnificent feat of engineering
and walking out looking down through glass to an abyss below is pretty cool, but $50 would make it more acceptable to me and make me more likely to take future visitors there... that and a paved road to get there!!
After the dusty journey back out, we spent an entertaining night in Laughlin, Nevada. Laughlin runs along the Colorado river and across the river is Bullhead City, Arizona. But Nevada has gaming laws and Arizona doesn't, so all along the NV side of the river is a strip of lights and casinos, whilst the AZ side is dark and desolate. Hotels rooms are cheap - not just affordable, but CHEAP! A room in the Colorado Belle cost us $20 - so we got two! Now, it's not the Ritz, but it was clean and comfortable and great value for money. A similar standard room in London would cost you 100 Pounds. Those of you who know Curly can ask him about the events of the evening, and how he lost his sunglasses....
The next day (one of us feeling a little worse for wear - I was driving so guess who!?) we headed up to Vegas where
we checked into the Plaza in the downtown district by the Fremont Street experience. We stayed downtown that night as there was a conference of some sort taking place that pushed the prices of the Strip hotels up by 400%! For example, the following night (Weds) we stayed in New York New York (NYNY) at a cost of $89; the same hotel room would have cost $350 the Tuesday night! We had a good night enjoying the sights and sounds of Glitter Gulch as it is nicknamed (the old Las Vegas really). We can recommend a small casino called Mermaids, where the free drinks really flow! The following day was a fairly low-key affair with a bit of sightseeing and a ride on the NYNY rollercoaster before our low key final night out - I had my mind on the 6 hr drive back to Phoenix and Curly on his 10 hr flight back to London so we took it easy and enjoyed the Times Square Bar in NY NY with their duelling pianos - a couple of guys playing requests and basically trying to out-do each other - very entertaining!
The next morning, after a quick lunch in
Cruisin'
always put the roof up when visiting the Skywalk - 15 miles down a unpaved road in a cloud of dustHooters hotel, I dropped Dave at the airport and hit the road back home. After a detour (the road I needed was closed!) that made the trip 70 miles and about an hr longer (380 miles/6.5 hrs) than it was supposed to be I got home - happy to see Ginnie and get back to normality.
It was great to see Curly and spend some time with him and we're glad he enjoyed his stay; but we are also now quite pleased that 'Rowe Tours' has no imminent bookings and we can get back to normal - and try to earn some money instead of spending it!!
Until the next time...!
D
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Lord Woodman
non-member comment
Wot no lobster?
Looks like a good time had by all. PS: I don't suppose you've seen my mate Adrian (a rattlesnake) - not heard from him for a couple of weeks. Said he was going out to a bar for the evening and that's the last I heard of him...