Grand Canyon/Las Vegas

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We started heading west again towards Grand Canyon and stopped for a brief look at Meteor Crater and the museum there. Meteor Crater was the first crater ever identified as such on earth and is still the best preserved. Also saw some pueblo ruins out on the plains here, just scattered around the place but not open to the public.

Made a short stop in Winslow for the obligatory “standing on the corner in Winslow, Arizona” and was actually quite neat because there were heaps of shops for Eagles stuff and also the famous Route 66, which makes its way through the towns next to the current I-40. Was a little sad really because all these towns would have been bustling and crowded when the Route went through them but are now relatively quiet and struggling somewhat and have to find new ways of attracting visitors. In that respect, Winslow is doing pretty well thanks to the Eagles!

Next stop was Sunset Crater and Wupatki National Monuments that are linked by the scenic drive loop off the main route into the Grand Canyon. Sunset Crater NM is really tiny and protects a few very pretty cinder cones and lava flows in shades of red and black. Wupatki NM to the north is somewhat larger and protects a series of pueblos rising out from the desert plains and canyons. The largest one is Wupatki Pueblo and consists of a complex of over 100 rooms, a large Kiva (circular meeting room) and a ball court. Most of the ruins have actually been restored as had crumbled into piles of rubble over time.

Since we had skipped a night at Canyon de Chelly due to the snow, we had decided to then spend 2 nights at Grand Canyon to allow us to explore it a bit more. Was great weather after the snow as we didn’t get a cloud in the sky for 7 days straight but this also meant that it was a bit hazy at Grand Canyon. Was pretty quiet and the road to Hermit’s Rest was open so we explored down that end, went to the gallery and the Bright Angel Lodge. There were still quite a lot of people doing walks down into the canyon itself so we got a shuttle out to the South Kaibab Trail and walked down that for a while. Was great to get a different perspective of the canyon from below the rim rather than always looking out over it and we would love to go right to the bottom one day. Saw the IMAX film on the exploration of the canyon and also managed to see our first elk for the trip!

Heading up to Las Vegas we stopped off at Hoover Dam and Lake Mead. The dam has changed somewhat in recent times and it was hugely crowded with being so close to Las Vegas. There is now a gift shop, restaurant, café, new glass visitor centre, parking building and soon a massive bridge to bypass the whole dam (currently the main highway goes over the top of the dam itself). We did a tour into the dam and had a look around the complex then headed off into Las Vegas to find our hotel for the night. We stayed at the Orleans, a casino/hotel just away from the Strip that was themed with masks and Mardi Gras from the city of New Orleans. Everything in Las Vegas is fancy, themed, over-the-top and relatively cheap if you aren’t gambling. Was heaps of fun actually and after having a buffet meal at the casino we had a great walk around the Strip at night with all the lights, shows and things to see. Highlights were the fountains infront of the Bellagio, the Grand Canal shopping centre at the Venetian (where you could actually do a gondola ride complete with singing punter!) and the pyramid and sphinx of the Luxor. We also checked out Downtown La Vegas that used to be the main street. It has now been covered over and turned into a pedestrian mall called the Fremont Experience. Was strange seeing the famous cowboy under a roof!

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