Day 24: Flagstaff to Albuquerque

I slept like a baby at the Grand Canyon Hostel in Flagstaff. I got a private room, which was anti-social of me, but I'm glad I did. I really only spent about 20 minutes in Flagstaff outside my time in the hostel which was too bad. It looked like a quirky place worth exploring.


The view down the street from the hostel. It snowed as I arrived into town as you can still see in the hills.


Before leaving I yelped a place in Winslow, AZ called The Turquoise Room which was fancy culinary oasis in the middle of nowhere. I had the carnitas with red and green chile sauce. I enjoyed it a lot. The internet is so useful!

It is located inside the La Posada Inn which was/is? owned by Fred Harvey and designed by the same woman that did most of the Grand Canyon lodges. Her deal was incorporating traditional native american architecture into the buildings for white people. Harvey is a big deal in the SW, he was the first person (back in the early 1900s) to offer swanky dining and lodging options for tourists traveling by train. The train still runs right up to inn, the back of which looks like it was originally the grand entrance from when people still traveled by train.


Once you cross the border from Arizona into New Mexico on I-40 you are immediately greeted by some fascinating looking pieces of geology. This one was a little further in but indicative of the landscape.


I detoured south from the main highway to go to El Morro National Monument. I got this photo from the road. Unfortunately by the time I got there the park entrance had closed. But from the signs I was informed that the rocks have thousands of years worth of graffiti from natives, spanish, and modern americans. There are also some stone house ruins located on top of the monument but I couldn't spot them. My original plan for the day included several other parks and tourist attractions but it keeps becoming clearer that I need 2-3X more time than I anticipated to do it all. So today turned out to be a mostly driving day. Arrived into Albuquerque (which I totally know how to spell) right on time except that I forgot about the time change. So really I was an hour late. Whoops.

Tomorrow: Taking a breather, maybe exploring old downtown Albuquerque.

Day 23: The Grand Canyon

I had a rough morning. My air mattress decided to spring a leak last night. And I awoke to this:


Yeah, that's snow. At 7:00 in the morning. It's pretty awful trying to pack up a tent in it. I'm still not sure when I'll get a chance to clean/dry it out. Once I was all packed up and just a little soggy, I drove to the GC Village to see the main event. This was the extent of the view:


It was at this point (tired, wet, hungry, and disappointed) that I proceeded to have a little meltdown. I decided the best thing for me to do was to go into a lodge and have a scone and tea and think about things. I also got a banana, which is really strange because I don't like bananas, but some part of me decided I needed one. Anyway, I decided I would wait out the fog and see the inside of the lodges in the meantime. The lodges were nice but a bit underwhelming compared to Timberline. It's cool they were designed by a woman in the the late 1800s though.

The fog finally seemed to be lifting around 11:30 so I took the scenic shuttle to the west of the main village. There were some good views but it was very cold, windy, and often hailing/snowing so you had to really want to see it.

I took this photo during one of the sunniest moments of the day. Once the clouds lifted enough that you could see the top of the canyon it definitely became a lot grander. I intended on taking a short hike into the canyon but by the time the shuttle got back it was getting late and had started really snowing again, so I just took off for the East Rim Drive down to Flagstaff.


The snow made part of drive prettier, other parts just plain treacherous.


The weather let up briefly while I stopped at Pipe Creek Vista (?) further on down Highway 64, which was my favorite view. My timing was perfect again, I got into Flagstaff right as it was getting dark. I'm especially glad it worked out that way because it was 33 degrees and snowing as I got into town. According to the staff at the Hostel this is not normal weather for this time of year. I think my lesson for the last couple of days is to work on making the best of disappointing situations. I'm glad I managed to see that canyon at all today. I was considering rearranging my schedule to go back tomorrow but it sounds like the weather will be more of the same so I think I'll just move on as planned. Hopefully New Mexico will be warmer!

Tomorrow: a number of monuments and parks (depending on time and weather) on the way to Albuquerque.

Day 22: Las Vegas to The Grand Canyon

This is a day late because I had no internet while camping.

Today was mostly just a driving day. I considered checking out the new Hoover Dam bypass highway on foot but am glad I didn't, I wouldn't have had enough daylight to set up camp in the evening.

I snapped a couple photos of the drive across Arizona on Highway 40, it was more varied than one would expect.
I took this photo without looking, just pressed the camera against the side window. It is from the drive up Highway 64 to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.


I managed to arrive with just enough time to set up my tent and heat up my dinner with the mini gas burner (the little blue canister). It was pretty windy so I had to use a bunch of junk to make a wind shield. But it worked out ok. Apparently you can drive to the campground without even catching a glimpse of the canyon, so I didn't actually see anything today.

Up Next: The Grand Canyon!

Day 21: More Las Vegas Strip

Started off the day having a nice chat with Lindsey the headed back to the strip for some gambling and more kitsch.


First was Excalibur because I was in the mood for some genuine cheesiness. I then proceeded to walk a large loop to the Tropicana, then MGM, and finally NY NY playing the slots all along the way.
The keepers were hanging out in the lion habitat, I thought this sleeping lioness had a funny look on its face. I didn't plan on doing much gambling at the MGM because I've never done well there before but I'm glad I did, I won $300!


I was planning on seeing the Beatles LOVE show and was excited to get a better seat with my new found wealth, but as has happened to me every single time I'm in Vegas, that show was unexpectedly dark that night. So I took Dave and Lindsey out to Canaletto, a fancy Italian place at the Venetian. It was a lovely meal, although they only had room at the bar.

After dinner I dragged them over the Wynn because they hadn't seen it yet and it has my favorite interiors of all the strip casinos. I especially love the giant lanterns. This photo is looking straight up at them from below.

The conservatory/indoor gardens were quite nice as well. I ended up staying on the strip and gambling into the wee hours (which is why I didn't post this that night). I managed to leave up money, but not by as much as I should have considering how much I won at the MGM. Anyway, I've definitely got that out of my system for a while.

Up Next: Las Vegas to Mather Campground at Grand Canyon

Day 20: City Center & The Cosmopolitan aka The New Kids on The Strip

Went to see a matinee of Bridesmaids with Dave and Lindsey in the morning. It was very funny and a bit more gross-out than I was expecting. Then we went to The Cosmopolitan Casino which is new since the last time I was in Vegas.

Apparently there is a secret pizza place hidden among the fancier dining options so we stopped for a slice. It's down a dark corridor that you would assume leads to a bathroom or staff only area. It was pretty good, although not terribly inviting.


I rather liked the look of this place, called The Chandelier Bar.


On the walk around City Center, which is a jumble of couture shopping, casinos, condos, and hotels, we stumbled upon a Chihuly glass gallery where everything you see is for sale. Although not all pieces were labeled with a price... The selection was limited but I felt like there was more to see there than at the Tacoma Museum of Glass.


I don't know what the story is on this sculpture made out of canoes, but it is between the Aria and Vdara hotels.
After a bit of unsuccessful gambling we headed over to Murphy's Law (a locals bar) for Sunday night Trivia with a couple of Dave and Lindsey's friends. We won first place! It was a lot of fun, and seemed much easier than the Portland trivia I've done. It made me feel smarter. There were also a trio of very drunk guys there that when they weren't being disruptive would says some entertainingly random stuff (e.g. "Why don't you hit on the blonde? You've been warming her up all night like a chicken pot pie."). Good times. Oh, and I also got some laundry done today- that was important.

Tomorrow: More sightseeing on the strip and a Cirque du Soleil show!

Day 19: San Diego to Las Vegas

Had a lovely brunch with Eveline this morning at a nearby place called the Mission. I managed to get on the road by about 1:00pm which was actually on time. Yay.


I did very little stopping today, so most of the photos are driving photos. I saw this cool looking bridge as I was leaving town. The scenery on I-15 from San Diego to Temecula was very pretty but sadly I was not able to get any photos. I stopped in Barstow for a truck stop dinner at Subway so no photo ops there either.


The cacti in Mojave National Preserve are neat looking but hard to photograph at 70 mph.


Most of the guidebooks make it sound like the drive from LA to Las Vegas is desolate and boring but I thought the geology was pretty neato.


Stopped at Buffalo Bills in Primm (Cal-Neva border town) to donate some money to the owners. At least I was up $15.00 for a little while, I just forgot to leave at that particular moment...

Tomorrow: Trying to track down some tickets to Beatles LOVE, seeing what's new on The Strip, laundry, and trivia.

Day 18: San Diego Zoo

I spent 6.5 hours at the Zoo today and still did not see it all. That place is massive. One of the first photos I got was probably my favorite so far- a baby orangutang dive bombing his dad:


It was just dumb luck that I got it while he was still mid-air. All of the 'tangs were very active and entertaining.

The pandas were actually visible, a first for me. Every other time I've had a chance to see them they were hiding in their dens.


R.O.U.S.s!! aka capybaras.


This was also the first time I've seen an active Koala.


Apparently someone dropped their phone into the meerkat exhibit so this keeper retrieved it for them, then the meerkats decided they wanted to be petted.

It was pretty amazing to me just how many different species the zoo has. They even have Kiwis, which they keep in a darkly lit house during the day to simulate nighttime because they are nocturnal (so zoo patrons might have a chance to see them while they are active). Unfortunately I couldn't find any of them in the exhibit. I also couldn't spot any of the Bonobos. That was dissapointing. But overall it is definitely worth the $40.00 admission. I just wish they had longer business hours, I still haven't seen the whole place after two visits.

After the zoo I met up with Eveline and some of her classmates for drinks, then on to a Japanese place for some ramen for dinner. It was very yummy!

Tomorrow: Brunch, then on to Las Vegas!