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A 15-day adventure by S Read more
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  • TravelerWestern USA - Summer 2017
    Day 1

    Into Vegas...

    July 15, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 44 °C

    10hrs after leaving Manchester, we landed in Vegas...in 44° heat! We dumped our kit in our hotel, next door to the Bellagio, before going wandering (in the shade/air con) to all the big-named casinos. We eventually got checked in and have a fab view of Planet Hollywood and the Eiffel Tower in our huge suite - living room, dining room, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom and walk-in closer (that is bigger than some London bedrooms!). After such a long flight though, a nap is in order before seeing Vegas by night.Read more

  • TravelerWestern USA - Summer 2017
    Day 2

    Sunrise in Vegas

    July 16, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    An alarmingly early start at 4am meant a sleepless night worried I'd miss the alarm. Nonetheless, after breakfast in the suite, we headed out to meet out transfer to our booked flight over the Hoover Dam and Grand Canyon. The sunrise was fabulous over the desert as we drove. A pleasant surprise in that only two other people were on our flight, so everyone had a window seat. We belted in and took off towards the desert mountains...Read more

  • TravelerWestern USA - Summer 2017
    Day 2

    Mojave Desert by air

    July 16, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C

    ...and initially we flew west from Vegas, taking in the Hoover Dam. Despite the narration informing us of its size, it looked miniscule compared to it's surroundings, which gives just some idea of the scale of the desert landscape. We then flew over the Mojave Desert, which had amazing formations and striations across vast plains of desert. Despite the guide's explanation of the life the desert supported, it is so vast and so barren, and the weather so hot, it seems unthinkable that much can survive in it.Read more

  • TravelerWestern USA - Summer 2017
    Day 2

    Grand Canyon

    July 16, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    We advanced further into the flight and came upon the Grand Canyon. We had prevaricated on whether to book a plane or helicopter flight before we left the UK, and read reviews of both...I think the reviews were accurate in their view - that it doesn't matter - but wrong in their argument - that either way, the canyon is amazing. What is more true is that no matter which we would have picked, neither does justice to the scale of the canyon...it is simply incomprehensible. The top of the canyon is almost entirely flat and then, seemingly out of nowhere, the land just falls away. The small, winding Colorado river in the canyon base looks so benign from the air and is dwarfed by the canyon it has created. The rock formations and colours were fabulously picked out in beiges, reds, greens and greys and well-lit in the early morning sunshine...albeit causing horrible shadows that made photographing the canyon annoyingly difficult. We followed the path of the Colorado river for much of our flight and get barely made any inroads at all into the vastness of the GCNP. The odd car or helicopter in the landscape helped to add a sense of scale but only fleetingly. We headed back to base with our pilot, Steve, before getting a transfer back to Vegas, achieving all of this before 10am! Time for a nap.Read more

  • TravelerWestern USA - Summer 2017
    Day 2

    Atomic Testing Museum

    July 16, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 41 °C

    A couple of hours after arriving back from the Grand Canyon, we decided we would visit the National Atomic Testing Museum. This was a 40 minute walk from the hotel, and in 40° heat with little shade, this was a mission. The museum was absolutely excellent (probably to be expected as a Smithsonian affiliate) and covered the development of nuclear weapons, the role of Vegas and the impact today. A little bit of tenuous, but American-led, history throughout, but the exhibits and interactivity raised some provoking questions.

    We headed back in the scorching heat looking for a beer. Walking through the Paris Casino to get there, we saw the first casino that we had come across which could really be described as oppulent. We went and found a happy hour before returning to the casino for a spot of gambling on the slots. We actually came out having broken even, although not surprising with a self-imposed $5 spend limit each, and playing the 1 cent machines! Nonetheless, Ben, Mum and I all won at least once; sadly Kev did not.

    We had dinner at Virgil's BBQ off the strip. I ordered a 'starter' for my main, of nachos with everything. I was given a plate of food that, quite frankly, beat me. It was a full, stacked plate of nachos with loads of cheese, bbq sauce, chillis and so much meat...I think I got about 2/3rds through before admitting defeat and getting the men to help me out! On our way back to the hotel, we stopped to watch a full show of the Fountains of the Bellagio, before sending mum and Kev out to Cirque do Soleil's Ka...Ben and I simply crashed in the hotel, exhausted!    Read more

  • TravelerWestern USA - Summer 2017
    Day 3

    Zion

    July 17, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    Another bloody early start today - up at 5.45am so as to pack, check out and collect our rental car at 7am. We passed 'the' Las Vegas sign as we left the city, heading for Zion National Park, with an obligatory stop at Walmart en route.

    The scenery out of Vegas was amazing; the desert surrounded by dunes and plateaus under a blistering sun, but just so desolate. As we neared Zion this turned into the more iconic sandstone mountains and as we carved roads through these mountains the view was indescribable in scale.

    We arrived and parked up in Springdale, to get the free shuttle to Zion, where we picked up another free shuttle to view the park. The ridiculous heat put pay to any ideas of hiking so the shuttle was most welcome, and allowed us to get up close to the canyon carved by the Virgin River without dying of heat exhaustion!

    Jumping off the shuttle at Big Bend, we dropped down into the river at the foot of Angels Landing. Despite every effort, the photos just don't do it justice...the people insane enough to hike to the top of this were so tiny they didn't lend any helpful scale!

    Leaving Zion, we drove through the park itself, going through a series of tight switchbacks up the mointains before a mile-long, pitch-black tunnel, all the while surrounded by stunning scenery, as we made tracks towards Bryce Canyon.    Read more

  • TravelerWestern USA - Summer 2017
    Day 3

    Bryce

    July 17, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Passing by our hotel in Hatch, we travelled another half hour to reach Bryce Canyon. The scenery shift between Zion and Bryce, despite their proximity, was fascinating. We left behind the sandstone and far more greenery became evident, in wide open plains with multi-coloured cliffs on the horizon (we would later learn each layer within the cliffs was named after the predominant colour, my favourite being 'vermillion'!).

    Entering Bryce NP, the surroundings were not dissimilar to Kejimkujik in Canada - a well-travelled road cut through towering trees and wildlife. The visitors centre have us some sense of what lay ahead but nothing could really prepare you for the view as you crested the plateau at Sunrise Point to see the land fall away into a vast amphitheatre of hoodoos. These sandstone towers, created by the erosion of the softer layers within the rock, made for an unbelievable view to which, again, photos do not justice. They appear almost ordered and sculptured in places, and with the sun reflecting the reds and whites within each tower, the whole moment was awe-inspiring.

    We drove further around the amphitheatre, to Bryce Point, for a different view. From here we could see the 'wall of windows' - holes formed in the rock by erosions that would later become hoodoos as the process continued. The view here was even more extensive. Bryce was the uppermost point of the 'Grand Staircase' which covers a vast area including Zion and Grand Canyon, all of which are noted for the step-like increase of cliffs, each layer changing colour. Now well last 7pm, we headed for our hotel in Hatch.    Read more

  • TravelerWestern USA - Summer 2017
    Day 3

    Hatch

    July 17, 2017 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 15 °C

    After a brief stop at Subway for dinner, we arrived in Hatch...not so much a town as a thoroughfare between Bryce and Zion with a few motels and cafes thrown either side of a single road. As we drove, we watched huge rain and lightning storms in the distance, which thankfully never reached us, but provided great entertainment.

    Stopping for the first time in a motel felt like a true Amercan experience! The sunset from was beautiful, vivid pinks and purples before descending into black, and the view in the morning was just as lovely with the sun coming up over the cliffs to our east (and our first opporunity for a lie-in!). A hearty breakfast in a traditional American diner before heading out, once again, into the desert.    Read more

  • TravelerWestern USA - Summer 2017
    Day 4

    Horseshoe Band and Glen Canyon Dam

    July 18, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C

    Expecting a four hour drive from Hatch to Monument Valley today, we were hoping for something to break up the journey. I drove the first two hours, spending the whole of the second hoping for somewhere obvious to pull over and change drivers...an hour later, having passed no signs of life, we reached Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell.

    These became our first unintended, but excellent, stop of the day. The views over Glen Canyon were spectacular, and the dam itself immense, having taken over 4 million tonnes of concrete to create (a million more than the Hoover Dam). To boot, as a National Park site, I got another stamp in my NPS passport!

    We headed on a short drive through Page aiming for Horseshoe Bend, a scenic view of the Colorado river. We had been warned to be adequately prepared despite the short hike to it - this was no joke. Whilst I did the walk in flip flops, the sand underfoot was roasting and under the mid-afternoon sunshine, a mile-and-a-half is a long walk...but absolutely worth it. The view over the horseshoe bend and the turquoise colours in the Colorado were stunning. The heat meant it had to be a brief stop however, and we headed back to continue onwards.    Read more

  • TravelerWestern USA - Summer 2017
    Day 4

    Navajo National Monument

    July 18, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    Our second major stop of the day was the Navajo National Monument, a National Park preserving some of the Navajo heritage. The canyon views (yes, yes, more of them) were beautiful and the exhibits in the visitors centre well worth a stop. This was only a short stop, before the final push to Monument Valley.Read more

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