On Wednesday of two weeks ago, my friend Larry called me. He asked if we could go to the Grand Canyon next week and then visit Las Vegas for a few days. Larry had called Phantom Ranch, the lodge at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, and he was able to get spots for us overnight. A large group had canceled right before he called, so they had space for us.
Larry, Peter, and me left at 8 PM Sunday night and drove all night. I drove through Needles and then I let Peter drive through Arizona to the Canyon. If you are ever near Needles, CA and need to buy gas, go over into Arizona where it is much cheaper. I tired to sleep in the backseat, but I was unsuccessful. We arrived at the park a little after 3 AM. Our online research said it cost $25 per vehicle to enter the park. However, the gate was open and the collection window was closed. Apparently if you arrive early enough parking is free.
After driving around to find the correct place to park, we walked around and discovered nothing would open for two more hours. We took the 5 AM shuttle to the start of the South Kaibab Trail. It started at an elevation of 7260 ft and went 7 miles to reach the river at 2480 ft. We walked down the trail and even jogged part of the way. Going down I took this picture which can be clicked on for a larger view.
We reached the bottom at 9:30, making good time. After checking into the Phantom Ranch, we enjoyed the bottom of the Canyon and played in the stream. Larry and I were in the water, but Peter stood away from the water. For dinner they had meals available at the Phantom Ranch. However, a stake dinner cost $40. At this point I should say all supplies at the bottom of the canyon were brought in by mule. We planned ahead and brought our own dinner. Peter bought some MREs (meals ready to eat) which are designed for soldiers in combat situations. None of us had ever eaten them before, so it was an experience. This is Larry and Peter after our hike down to the Colorado River.
We went to bed in the dormitory and I got very little sleep that night. I was on a top bunk that had a very shaky frame. I checked the time four or five times during the night. Even though I had less than 4 hours of sleep in the past 36 hours, I could not sleep well. Normally when there are bunk beds, the top one has a rail of some kind. If it does not have that, the bed is usually against the wall so the hapless person will only have one side to avoid falling over. This was not the case. There was no rail and almost two feet between the bed and the wall. If I rolled too far to either side, I would experience the Grand Canyon in miniature as I fell six feet to the floor.
When we were at Phantom Ranch, one of the people in our cabin told us it looked like the first time one of the other people in the cabin was hiking. This implied the three of us looked like we were experienced hikers. While neither Peter nor me had done anything like this before, it was good to know we presented the image that we knew what we were doing.
My alarm went off at 4 AM and we started before the signs of sunrise were upon the Canyon. The other people were still asleep and would not even be served their overpriced breakfast for over an hour. We did not plan on waiting around until the heat became oppressive.
We took a different route back up the Canyon. Bright Angel Trail ran for 9.6 miles and started at 2480 ft. While longer, this trail had the advantage of potable water a few different places. The hike up was difficult for me. While I had worn my boots several times since I got them, it had not been for long distances or over difficult terrain. Hiking uphill hurt my feet a lot more then it should have. By the time we reached the 6860 ft top of the trail, it was noon. I snapped this picture near the top (which can also be enlarged). The Bright Angel trail can be seen in the middle of the picture.
Las Vegas
I drove from the Grand Canyon to Las Vegas. Arizona had this great thing called a 75 MPH speed limit. On the way route 93 took us over the Hover Dam. There was a big slowdown because of construction and vehicle inspection at the dam. After we got to Las Vegas, Larry and Peter found a local Asian market and Peter made Spam masubi for dinner.
In Las Vegas we did a lot of walking around. We ate at the Hash House, which is now a tradition with us. If you try their chicken and waffles, there is bacon baked into the middle of the waffles.
We saw two shows. One was a comedy show at Planet Hollywood. We picked that show because we were able to get discounted tickets at a Tix4Tonight stand. The two comics were not very funny and the show's attempts to be sexy with a girl dancing in between the acts was a failure. Stay away from the Sin City Comedy Club. If you want to see a good comedy show I have been to the Improv at Harrah's a couple of times and it was great.
At the MGM Grand we went to KA by Cirque Du Soleil. If you are not familiar with that entertainment company, they do circus like acrobatics with abstract themes running through their performances. On an earlier trip to Las Vegas, I saw O, another Cirque Du Soleil production. As I said at the time I saw it, I am not smart enough nor am I cultured enough to provide a meaningful interpretation of the performance. It was very abstract and I could not see connections between the different performance pieces. However, I liked KA, especially since it used an innovative feature called a storyline.
While I am on the topic of Las Vegas, you should go there with me sometime. My parents have a connection and can often get rooms there. Give me a call and I will see if we can work something out.
Now for how I drove everywhere. From Larry's house I took the 55 north to the 91 east, to the 15 north, to the 40 where I drove to Needles. Peter took over the drive and continued east on the 40 then north on the 64 to the Grand Canyon. This driving took almost 500 miles. I drove from the Canyon down the 64, to the 40 west, to the 93 north across the Hover Dam, which became the 515. Leaving Las Vegas, I took the 15 south to the 60 west, to the 57 south, to the 5 south, to the 55 south to drop Larry and then Peter off. The entire trip was 1067.5 miles.
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