Rain - check.
Tonnes of Rain's facial/hair/skin products - check.
Tickets - check.
Camera - check.
Squeezed everything into a huge backpack, duffel, daypack and camera bag and we're all set for our longest and most packed vacation so far!
The overview of our itinerary for 18/19 days (depending on where you assume the vacation ends):
1. 1st stop - sin city, Las Vegas in Nevada
2. Drive to our first of the 7 wonders - Grand Canyon in Arizona
3. Rain's request to visit the original Disneyland - Los Angeles, California
4. Road trip along Highway 1 a.k.a. Pacific Coast Highway - from Los Angeles to San Fransisco, California
5. See elephant seals and harbour seals in their natural habitat - Big Sur & Monterrey, California
6. See tall & ancient coastal redwoods - Muir Woods National Monument, Cali.
7. Yosemite National Park, California.
8. The biggest tree in the world! - Mariposa Grove, California
9. The most visited place in US - San Fransisco, California
10. The Big Apple - New York, New York
11. The big and beautiful falls - Niagara Falls, New York
Vegas is just as portrayed in the movies, a sin city. Wedding chapels everywhere for those who wanted quick fix. Contact cards are passed to you all along the strip in case you need the company of an escort. Blinding neons, casinos, adult shows, extravagance etc. However the 2 worst sins of all... buffet and premium outlets!!!! One increases my waistline and the other thinned my wallet.
There are healthier/cleaner source of fun around Vegas. Renting a gas guzzling PT Cruiser (product of the soon to demise Chrysler), model included, we went to the Hoover Dam. Used to be the largest concrete structure and hydroelectric plant in its time.
PT Cruiser (retarded gas guzzler) and Rain.
The Hoover Dam ... was the world's biggest concrete structure when it was built
The winged guardians at Hoover Dam. Commemorating...something...:P
WTH, they even commemorated the dam(n) dog.
The dammed side of the dam. Notice the greatly reduced water level? That's the cost of urban development
Precariously angled leaning cable towers.
After returning to Vegas from Hoover Dam, we spent the better part of the afternoon in bed. Me, watching TV and forbidden to exit the room while Rain gets her jet lag fix (a.k.a sleep). Can't fall asleep and fidgety, I started reading up travel books to find places to go. That's how we found our next destination - Red Rock Canyon. It's a good 40 minutes drive to the scenic drive along the Red Rock Canyon. A good place to see thrust faults (a geological feature where one rock plate is thrust horizontally over another). In other words, two different freaking huge rocks pushed together so that they overlapped.
Me...drying up under the desert sun in Red Rock Canyon.
Notice the two toned rock? Thats an example of a thrust fault.
We ended the day with a trip to the top of the Stratosphere Tower. This is actually the place where you can have crazy rides that dangles you in mid-air >1000ft above ground. The night view from the observation deck on top of the tower is pretty amazing.
Night view of the Strip.
This is what I call a wind-blown and freezing Rain. :P
The next day was spent mostly indulging in the many sins the city has to offer. Shopping, buffet, slot machines and shows. The only photo I have of the day is the really unforgettable water fountain performance in front of the Bellagio. Whatever you do in Vegas, do not miss this!
Now you know where all the water from Hoover Dam is supplied to.
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