Our first road trip, San Francisco-Las Vegas and further

On Day 12 we we only had a drive of 89 miles to get to Bryce Canyon for our next 2 night stay. The route up the Mount Carmel Highway is so scenic. Once again the camera worked overtime. We stopped at a few points, including the Checkerboard Mesa, before parking up at Ruby's Inn (our holiday treat) and set off on the shuttle bus to Bryce Canyon. Everywhere we had seen so far had been fantastic so we were lost for words to describe the beauty and colours of Bryce Canyon.It's a 'must see' place.Out of this world.

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We took the shuttle to the end of the route, Bryce Point and walked to Inspiration Point , not far but there was so much to see, but then decided to set off back to Ruby's Inn for a good look round as a there was a thunderstorm brewing.Good thing we did as the heavens opened just after we booked in . First, and only rain we saw while on the trip, but it certainly bucketed down.

The next day we were off once again on the shuttle (what a great idea they are) this time to Sunset Point for the Navajo and Queens Garden loop.This looks awesome at the start but isn't difficult if you go down the Navajo descent first and it puts you amongst the hoodoos, not just viewing from the top. I think the rain must have made the colours even more striking. Once at the bottom of the trail its an easy walk through the Queens garden and not such a steep climb back up to Sunrise Point, then just a stroll along the rim back to Sunset Point. Highly recommend this walk.

Later, back at Ruby's Inn we had a look at Bryce old town and made good use of the indoor pool along with only 3 more people. Brilliant. All too soon the Bryce visit had come to an end but there was far more still to be seen on our route.

Day 14
Left Ruby's Inn for Page, stopping at Glen Canyon Dam on the way.It was worth a visit. We got to Page by lunch time so had time to look round the shops and visit the Safeway supermarket before booking into the Rodeway Inn. They had booked our next trip in for us in advance ( the staff there were really helpful) and the start of it was only a couple of minutes walk away - the ride over the desert to Antelope Canyon, bouncing along in the back of a truck!!

I thought nothing would be as good as Bryce but Antelope Canyon takes your breath away. The colours are unbelievable. You can only visit with a guide and its worth booking in advance as trips only run at certain times of the day, but its a trip not to be missed.

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The next day was another trip booked in advance for us by AJ at Rodeway Inn, and meant an early start. Before we left home I expected this to be one of the highlights of our road trip and it cetainly didnt disappoint - the Lake Powell half day tour to Rainbow Bridge. Quite expensive but we were on holiday and you only get these chances once.

We had opted for the 7.30 am tour . I was a bit concerned the half day tour wouldn't give enough time to walk to Rainbow Bridge but there was plenty, and what a welcome,relaxing day it was, 2 hours each way plus the easy walk to the bridge. Beautiful scenery and plenty of commentary. Rainbow Bridge was unbelievable and such a peaceful place.

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Back at the motel it was an evening for relaxing, another pool for a dip, but this time the cold water was a shock as the day had been so hot. Our two days at Page were almost over. Time was beginning to rush by, but there was still more to see.

Day 16
Today we set off for the place that brought this road trip all about. My lifetime dream was to visit the Grand Canyon.The road from Page to the Cameron Trading Post was interesting but we couldn't work out how people could survive living in communities scattered about in the scrubland. As we turned on to Desert View Drive we stopped at the Little Colorado Canyon and had a look round the Indian market and I got into conversation with a stall holder about how her children used to get up at 5 am so they were ready to catch the school bus for their long trip to spend the day studying, sometimes arriving home quite late in the evening and it made me realise what hardships these people must have faced at times.It made me realise how easy it had been for my children.

Anyway, there were plenty of viewpoints on the rest of Desert View Drive and the first view of the Grand Canyon from the Watchtower is amazing and certainly, once again,didn't disappoint. Its worth making the effort to climb to the top of the tower. I couldn't believe the colours of the Canyon, nor how vast it was.

We had booked a cabin at Maswik Lodge, a good place to stay, easy walking distance to the rim and shuttle buses and wonderful to have deer walking about outside - a real treat. That evening it was a walk up to the rim for the sunset which was beautiful and well worth the wait

Thanks, you are helping me re-live the excitement and anticipation as I made my way to the GC for the first time, also a childhood dream.

Wonderful, wonderful captures and how I wish I had time for Antelope canyon. It is on my "Bucket list" though. ;-)

Got up early on Day 17 and set off to the canyon rim to watch the sunrise,only a couple of minutes walk from the lodge. It was quite chilly this morning and most people were in jackets - a thing I hadnt thought about as every day up to now had been so hot. I also quite envied those who had thought to take a coffee with them - good thinking!!

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Gradually the sunlight began to touch all the peaks and they became golden. A beautiful sight. It was so worth getting up for. On the way to and back from the rim there were lots of deer grazing which made the start of the day even more magical. Of all the mornings we had this was my most memorable one.

Having got back to the cabin we decided to hike the rim trail to Hermits Rest. Its an easy trail with spectacular views with a shuttle bus close at hand if you haven't got a good head for heights. There were many view points so cameras were in action again. We also saw turkey buzzards, deer and some weird plants at the edge. Any identification of the one in this photo would be useful for the album.

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After catching the shuttle bus back to the village we caught another to Mather Point for more views and walked to Yavapai Point - interesting visitor centre, then had a look round the market store area before returning to the cabin, then rounded off the day with another walk to the rim for the sunset once again. Now the holiday was really drawing to a close - but tomorrow we still had Route 66 to look forward to.

Day 18
Open the cabin door this morning to find four deer grazing right outside. This road trip couldn't get better.
Soon we had loaded the car and were setting off for Kingman, using part of Route 66.

As we turned off in Seligman the town looked quirky but we didn't stop for photos, thinking there would be plenty of other places just as interesting, but that wasn't to be. Apart from a couple of diners, and an unbelievably long train alonside us, we were a bit disappointed in this section of the road.
We got to Kingman mid afternoon and booked into the Rodeway Inn. Of all the hotels, motels and cabins we had stayed in , this classed as poor and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. Luckily there is a drive -in diner next door. It was too hot for walking and as we had no idea how far we were from the town, we spent quite a while in the shade at the diner. The only good thing about this area of Kingman was the sunset !!

Day 19 and our last Road Trip day. Leaving Kingman on US 93 we turned off for Chloride. I know Mark had put me straight on this not being a ghost town but we thought we would call in anyway as it's so close to the main highway and we wanted to see something older and different to everywhere we had been so far.

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Chloride didn't disappoint.The houses were certainly older looking, there were plenty of abandoned trucks and cars and 'Yard Art'. At home we tend to throw away old car wheels, garden spades or sieves, or sell them for scrap, but not so in Chloride - everything is turned into some sort of sculpture. I suppose if there is very little water it's a clever way of decorating the garden. It was so different to anything we had ever seen before. We spoke to really friendly residents and one lady gave me a piece of desert rose stone.What a lovely reminder of the visit.

Next we headed off for the Hoover Dam . . We parked on the Arizona side for free and walked across. It was all very impressive , including the new bridge construction.

By 2pm we had hit the traffic again and arrived in Las Vegas, this time at the Stratosphere (20th floor !!)
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The car was dropped off and suddenly our first road trip was at an end, although we still had two days left before our flight, so there was time to see the rest of the 'Strip'.

During those two days we spent time investigating the whole of the South Strip ( this time using the bus) and revisited a few of the places we had seen 10 days before. We were impressed by the beauty of the Mandalay Bay grounds and New York, New York was grand ; we saw Elvis, Michael J and Jack Sparrow walking down the Strip, and revisited The Venetian for a last baguette at Bella Panini - (well we did have a voucher left!) Then it was back to pack.

To round off the holiday on our last evening we went to the top of the Stratosphere Tower and what an amazing view.To stand in the dark and heat looking at the whole of Las Vegas was a very memorable end to a wonderful road trip. ( no we didn't try the rides!!)


Thank you to Mark, Dave , Charlie and everyone else who helped me with the planning. I appreciated it. We had a brilliant time, the views were indescribable, the people we met were all so friendly, the roads were easy to drive and the price of gas was just amazing!!
Good luck to anyone planning a Road Trip. Hope yours are as successful as ours.If this report helps anyone with their planning I will be pleased.



Where we stayed and our impressions
(All the rooms were en suite)
San Francisco - 3 nights Howard Johnson, South Airport Boulevard ( noise from roads but great for frequent free shuttle to airport, BART train,) big room, good breakfast included)
Yosemite - 2 nights atThe Yosemite Bug at Midpines. Amazing cabin, good food, friendly and helpful staff.
Bishop- 1 night Bishop Village motel, 286 West Elm St, nice room, friendly staff,pool.
Stovepipe Wells Village - 1 night, lovely room, pool.
Las Vegas - 2 nights at Circus Circus, vast hotel, interesting , excellent room.
Springdale - 2 nights at Zion Park motel, 855 Zion Park Boulevard, good room, friendly staff, pool, laundromat next door, plenty of places to eat, shuttle close to motel.
Ruby's Inn- 2 nights - a real treat, beautiful room, shop and supermarket on site, lovely pool, shuttle bus outside premises.
Page, Arizona - 2 nights at Rodeway Inn. Very helpful staff,pool,good room,breakfast included, supermarket and shops across road.
Grand Canyon-2 nights at Maswik Lodge -cabin, good room, very small bathroom, near main lodge, close to canyon rim and shuttle buses, deer outside.
Kingman AZ 1 night at Rodeway Inn - not very good.
Las Vegas - 3 nights at Stratosphere, good facilities,
lovely room,nice pool, long walk down Strip but buses frequent.

I really enjoyed your report and I am so pleased you had a great time !

They are fantastic photo's, Thank you for sharing.

[Have you by chance a photo[s] of the bridge construction, I would love to see the progress.

Dave

Dave, thanks for the reminder... I realize I never posted my last photos of the bridge project. I was out there on the 7th of October...

So, go to this article I wrote about the bridge project and scroll down for some of those photos!

Mark

Your welcome ;-)

Some great pictures of the progress, it's certainly come on a lot since I was there a couple of years ago !