Day 7 - Casino time (oh - and the Grand Canyon)

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I'm going to keep this short since we've arrived at the Stagecoach Hotel in Beatty, NV and I'm anxious to get to the casino after dinner and putting Ethan down in his sleeping back. I already typed this once, not realizing the hotel gives a 8 min. connection per session. My lengthy entry was lost. Here is the short version - in less than 8 min.

We got up early and made it to the Grand Canyon before most visitors. The number of things to do and wait time for shuttles prevented us from getting to the main stretch of viewpoints until all the tourists arrived. I actually prefer the experience we've had at other National Parks, but the beauty and vastness of the Grand Canyon is beyond words. I used my camcorder to capture what I could. Mom was brave and overcame her fear of heights to stand pretty close to the fences and take some photos of her own. Ethan wasn't too impressed the canyon but really enjoyed the shuttle buses the most.

Then we just drove -- we didn't even stop at Hoover Dam. I could tell it was getting hotter outside because I was having to use the A/C much more than before. We hit Vegas at the tail end of rush hour, so I was glad to get through and finish the last 100 miles to Beatty. It was just open desert and striking mountains on the horizon. And lots of litter. I noticed the Cold Creek prison off the road (only because of the "Don't pick up hitchhikers due to the nearby prison" sign) and wondered why they don't get those guys out there to do some community service. It's not like there's much else to do in that remote region.

Tomorrow will be mostly driving. I want to get all the way to Redding so that Thursday we have enough time to visit the Redwoods and get back home. If I see something fascinating on the road side tomorrow I may stop, but otherwise we will push ahead.

Wish us luck!

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