Wednesday, June 12th & Thursday June 13 2002
Grand Canyon National Park, AZ and then to Las Vegas, NV
Weather:
Wednesday: (Grand Canyon) Completely Clear, daytime highs at the rim is about 100.....
Overnight low's are in the low 40's
Thursday: (Las Vegas) Completely Clear, daytime highs around 115
Overnight low's are in the mid 70's
Total Miles To Date 4,072 miles
(Not Updated)
Money spent Wednesday:
$10 on Water and power bars at Market Plaza
$2 on ice cream
$10 on lunch at Hermits Point
$3 on Internet Kiosk
$10 on dinner at Market Plaza Cafeteria
Total Spent Wednesday
$35
Money spent Thursday:
$18.50 on gas
$5 on Hoover Dam Parking
$10 on Hoover Dam Tour
$25 on Star Trek Experience at the Hilton
$20 on combined cab fares
$30 on random things
Total Spent Thursday:
$108.50
Total Spent To Date
$1481.97
Well, it's Friday Morning and I'm in Vegas. This is the first chance I've had to update my site in the past couple days. So, to save a little time I'm going to throw two days together. If you think this is going to be a long read, how do you think I felt writing it. The last thing I want to do when I'm Vegas is sit in my room and write.. Anyway....
Wednesday, June 12th, 2002
9:30 After being up for a couple hours, I get motivated, get up and drive to Market Plaza..
10:00 I took the shuttle bus from Market Plaza to Mather Point and I start my hike around the rim. (yeah, yeah...get the rim jokes out now)
11:00 and I finally pass the last touristy spot and the rim has gone from somewhat paved to just dirt trail. The path has also started turning uphill. I can't believe the amount of people that take the bus. I think I've seen 5 to 10 people walk this whole thing so far.
12pm and I can start feeling my neck, ears and shoulders burning.
1pm This a has become more about the hike and less about watching the Grand Canyon (except when hiking on the edge of the rim and trying not to fall in)
2pm and i've been hiking for 4 hours straight and I'm almost out of water. What the hell is the matter with me?
2:30 and i manage to lose the trail for 1/2 hour. Good job....getting lost in the grand canyon...
3pm I found my way back to the trail
3:30 and I'm at the end of the trail. Hermit's Point. so, I've gone about 12 miles up hill. For someone is as out of shape as I am, I have impressed myself. Fortunately the have a little sandwich stop and a bathroom at the end of the trail (the first of each since I left more than 5 hours ago). I have a little lunch and relax for a little while. I also realized that I've really really burnt!!!
4:30 and I'm back to Market Plaza after taking the shuttle bus back
5pm and I went to Tusayan, the town next to the Grand Canyon about 10 miles out. I thought maybe I would check out an IMAX movie, just because I knew this would be the most air conditioned place I can find. But right in the lobby I found an internet Kiosk. For the first time in days I was able to read e-mail. It was nice to be part of civilization again.
5:45 and I cleaned out my car completely. It was getting unruly. I think I now have more space than before. Ahhh.... A clean jeep.
6:30 and my neck hurts more than you can imagine. Even with all the aloe i put on it. ouch!!
8pm and i went to the Cafeteria had a quick dinner and headed back to camp
9pm and I'm out cold
Thursday, June 13th, 2002
I'm up at 6:30 in the morning. Not because I want to, but because I have no idea what time it is. My cell phone's battery ran out while I was sleeping...so, I woke up with the sun and I just stayed up.
6:55 and camp has been taken down, car packed and I'm ready to go. I can also add this is the first place that I really regret leaving. I can spend some more time here.
7am and as I'm leaving on route 64 south I see a huge elk
7:10 I just found out that the Lakers won the Championship
by the way, there is only one radio station in the Grand Canyon. Literally. only one. Now here's the funny part. They're doing giveaways. Why? There's no reason for this. Everyone here are tourists. They're giving away $1000 a day...once again, why? Their playlist included 5 artist, Jimmy Eats World, Jewel, Alanis, Dave Matthews and John Mayer. Those are all the artist I heard the entire time. For all my ex-radio and current radio colleagues, this was the loosest board I've ever heard. Dead Air constantly. Plus, you thought Jim Kerr was bad, you should've heard their morning show.....wow, it's bad.
8am and this is gross but so cool!!!! There was Elk road kill on the road and there were ravens and a wolf just chewing on it and they all scurried as I drove closer...very cool
8:05 and I'm on route 40 West
9:10 and I'm on 93 North
10 miles outside of Hoover Dam and the real world slams back into my face. There's a security check point checking every vehicle before it crosses over the dam.
10:10 and I'm at the Hoover Dam
$5 Dollars for Dam Parking
$10 bucks for the Dam Tour
I didn't have any Dam questions.
It's a Dam shame.
11:30 and I left the Dam and time for Sin City
11:45 and I enter Nevada and I also enter the Pacific Time Zone, so...
11:45 Pacific Time and I enter Nevada....why no change? because Arizona ruins it all by not going with daylight savings time
12:15 and I called a couple of hotels and I got a really good rate on a suite at the MGM Grand Hotel in Vegas for $65.
1pm and I'm in Vegas!!!! Sin City!!
My room wasn't ready till 2pm, so I went to the buffet and chowed down!!! Taco's, Pizza, Steak, Mash Potatoes and gravy, Mac and Cheese, Pasta Salad, Ice Cream with all the toppings and that was about it.
4pm I've now checked e-mail and showered...Ohhh...the shower was awesome.. I haven't showered in days. This was heaven. I am so CLEAN.
So, I've thought about it, Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon is the equivalent of the best ski lodge in the world after skiing the hardest mountain in the world all day.
Vegas has everything. Ask me and I'll tell you about it...there's just not enough time to write about everything....
It's so hot!!!
I start walking down the boulevard and visit Hotel to Hotel to Hotel. I check out the Bellagio, the Mirage, Treasure Island, The Hilton, Bally's and tons more....I was out all night... I didn't gamble but I just enjoyed Vegas...
I'm tired of writing....I'm going to check out and go swimming!!
C YA
notes:
It's amazing the dangerous place parents put their child just to take a picture
Hey to the people who e-mailed:
Denis Murphy, Guynn, Stoggz, Bret, Tricia, Alvan
Kokopelli
Ron, sorry to hear about the blown tranny in Hilton Head...
Total Miles Traveled Today
None on Wednesday
Forgot to write down the miles from Grand Canyon to Vegas on Thursday, but it was around 300