Visiting the US isn’t complete without a nice road trip

Grand Canyon

At about 4pm, we finally left Las Vegas on I-15 North towards Grand Canyon. After about a two hour drive was our first stop in St. George to buy some food and water supplies at Walmart and then we had dinner at a Thai restaurant across the street. This time, my Pad Thai was delicious.

We drove on and finally found a camp site in Jacob’s Lake for 20$ (without showers). JB’s tent was more for 1 person than for two and so to really fit we had to sleep with each other’s feet in the face J But I really like this way of being able to just put the tent anywhere (well in the US on campsites because we didn’t really see rest area stops like in Australia) in a beautiful nature spot and sleep among trees and grass, being woken up by birds and sunrays.

The next day, we started the entrance road to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon NP. At the entrance, we bought the annual pass for 80$ and then proceeded towards the visitor center. It is located next to a beautiful lodge at the picturesque Bright Angel Point.

I hadn’t remembered which part of the Grand Canyon I had been to in 2009 but obviously, it was the South Rim, because everything here seemed new to me. And very impressive. After having seen so many canyons and gorges in Australia, the wideness of Grand Canyon still didn’t cease to amaze me.

We drove to Cape Royal from where we walked to Angel’s Window and then had lunch in the shade of the trees close to an outdoor chapel on the brim of the canyon.

On the third attempt, we finally spotted the starting point of the Cliff Springs walk. That was really cool with orange overhanging cliffs and the path was often shaded by trees.

In the end, we drove to Cape Imperial. From there, Grand Canyon looks never-ending, spreading along the whole horizon.

Although, we had achieved a lot in the first half of the day, we still had enough time to drive to Page. And that with about a 100mile detour do to a landslide over the normal road. We had dinner in a delicious pizza place and then found a campsite on the Wahweap Campground at Lake Powell.

Unfortunately, the shower building was so far away from our campsite, that we drove back down by car. In a machine, I exchanged 2$ to get 8 quarters, with which we paid for a 17min shower (if you don’t have to pay for a shower on campsites in the US, the campsite is a lot more expensive).

The night was a bit restless because there was a group of drunk adolescents close by. They were French, like 80% of the visitors in the US seem to be at the moment. In Australia, almost every person I met was German and now here, everywhere you turn to, people speak French.

We enjoyed our daily breakfast donut with a beautiful view on Lake Powell. Then we drove to Horseshoe Bend, which luckily, was accessible, although it was along the road with the landslide. It was still early morning when we got there but the heat was already picking up. We walked across the sandy path to get to the edge of the cliff and have a nice view on the beautiful bend the Colorado River had carved into the rocks here. The different colors look so intense next to each other, you shouldn’t miss this stop if you go to Page, Arizona.

Horseshoe Bend

Then, we drove back to Lake Powell, to take a cooling bath before heading on to Monument Valley. We stopped at the Welcome Center to enquire about horseback riding. Someone then told us to go to the Visitor Center to get a better deal. Normally, you’d have to pay an extra 20$ just to get to the visitor center, from where you then drive down to the monuments (you need a 4×4, which we didn’t have). Since, we weren’t sure whether we’d really do the horseback riding, we asked whether we just could quickly drive up there to ask about the price. To our surprise, they let us in for free.

The best horseback ride option would have been a sunset trip but for that we’d have had to wait around for at least two hours and there wasn’t really anything else to do there. However, from the visitor center, we had an amazing view on the monuments, which you don’t have from the road. We saw everything! I didn’t really feel the need to go down there and see them from up close. Plus, we thought we could go horseback riding in Arches or Bryce Canyon. So, we hit the road again to drive towards Moab, the closest town to Arches. And wow, what a beautiful drive! That road was amazing. We weren’t the only ones who felt this way, because there were cars stopping everywhere along the road to take pictures of the straight long roads and monuments.

We camped at the cute Up the Creek Campground for 32$ and walked to the Mexican restaurant for dinner. I miss Pokéz in San Diego.

Monument Valley

The next morning, we drove into Arches NP. It turned out that all the horseback riding here was outside the park and therefore we postponed that idea to Bryce. It was very hot in the park and therefore hiking wasn’t so agreeable. We still made it to the big Landscape Arch and saw the famous Delicate Arch from further away. I liked the Windows section the best.

In the afternoon, we drove on towards Bryce. Black storm clouds started to appear on the horizon and unfortunately, we were heading directly towards them. It started raining and it got colder by the mile. A night in such a tiny tent would have been very unpleasant and therefore we opted for a motel.

The next morning was still raining cats and dogs and so we profited from the wifi at the motel and tried to find an accommodation in San Francisco, which wasn’t so easy either. There is a big music festival coming up and I think all the people from the festival decided to come to San Francisco before that.

Arches

Before noon, we finally made it into the park. It was still raining and the clouds were hanging deeply in the rock towers of the canyon but to just do the drive to the viewpoint and take a picture-tourist thing it was ok. Luckily, the sun then came out and the clouds disappeared. I have been in Bryce in 2009 and I loved it. It’s like a wonderland built out of orange and white sand that somebody had let dribble to the ground and build castle towers with.

We had saved Bryce Point for our last stop and in my opinion that actually was the nicest spot of all. We then even tempted a 5 mile hike. It could have started raining again but luckily it was dry all the way. The paths were a bit muddy but it was awesome to walk in between these rock formations. It was a bit like a labyrinth with one way. We weren’t the only people who decided to go down there despite the weather and guess what, they were all speaking French! Sometimes, I forgot that I was in the US.

We made it back to our car before sunset and then took Highway 12 towards Boulder. The guy at the motel had told us that that was the second most scenic route in the US. I forgot to ask about the first one but it’s probably Highway 1 along the West Coast.

Bryce Canyon

We stopped in Escalante because it looked like a cute place to spend the night and it was very cheap compared to the other places too. We had a very delicious burger and then decided to take a cabin for 50$ instead of camping (for 16$, the cheapest we have seen), since it was still freezing compared to the other nights.

In the morning, we continued on to Boulder. From here, the route really started to be beautiful, with a wide landscape and canyons. When we then continued on to Zion, it started raining again. We were hoping that it would be better weather once we arrived in Zion.

We finally reached it at 4pm. The canyon was dry and it was a nice drive through the mountains. In the visitor center, we looked at what hikes we could do. I would have liked to do Angel’s Landing but on the website they had written that it was closed a few days every week to recover the park and we were one day early for it to be reopened. However, in the visitor center, it then was written that the East Rim and not the West Rim trail was closed. So, I asked whether the hike was possible and the guy confirmed that it was. Great, now we only had 4,5 hours until the last shuttle bus and the hike should take about 4 hours. Either, we’d make it or we’d have to walk an extra 2 miles back to the car park. We would have hurried a bit more to get to Zion if we had known that this trail was open.

Bryce Canyon

Anyways, we then took the free shuttle to The Grotto station (no public vehicles are allowed in the park, which probably is a good idea ecological wise.

The hike had an easy beginning on a concrete path. We saw a male deer drinking from the river. Then there was a steep zick-zack path but we were very surprised when we already arrived at the top. We had planned for a very strenuous hike, like the description said but there was no way we’d need four hours for this. Well, we weren’t at the top yet. Now the fun part with climbing along the mountain crest began. There was a metal chain to hold on to. You wouldn’t want to be up here during a storm. It went 400m straight down to both sides of us. But the views down into the valley were absolutely stunning. It looked like a place where dinosaurs could still be alive and poke their heads up in between the trees.

Once at the top, there were still other people up there having a picnic and enjoying the view. And there was even a pair of cute chipmunks playing around. I want one as a pet.

View from Angel’s Landing

On the way back down, luckily safely back on the big path, a tarantula (!!!) crossed our way. One of these big hairy things. Ugh, couldn’t it have crawled across the path a few minutes later? I had to leave Australia and come to the US to see one of them. A few more meters down, we then saw a foe and her baby, that made me like nature better again.

In the end, we had only needed 3 hours (with breaks) for the hike and therefore made the shuttles without any problem.

We drove out of the park to have dinner in the charming Springdale and then already covered some miles towards Las Vegas. We found another expensive campsite for 31$ a little outside Hurricane.

Our last day with the rental car we spent driving back to Las Vegas. We dropped the bags off at JB’s couchsurfer’s house. They were so nice to just let me spend a night there too. Since we still had a lot of time before returning the car, we drove to Primm to have a look at the fashion outlets there. But they weren’t the same as they used to be anymore either. Plus, it rained again and the roads were flooded with rivers of water. Still, we made it back to Las Vegas before our assigned time and dropped the car off quickly. Leaving “Paige” behind was a bit sad, since we had such a good time with her this week.

Two deers in Zion

Since JB hadn’t really seen anything of the strip yet, we went to have dinner there and spent 3 more hours in the casino jungle before taking the bus back to the couchsurfer’s house.

It was good to have a relaxing night since the next day and night, we had a 16h bus trip from Las Vegas to San Francisco ahead of us. We still didn’t have any accommodation because all the couchsurfers were full and no cheap hostels left. If worse comes to worse, we’d just have to take a motel. Like with this road trip, something would work out in the end. And this rather spontaneous week in these canyons and national parks had been amazing.

It has been an amazing trip!

Las Vegas – Roll the dice just one more time

Most of the Greyhound bus ride from San Diego to Las Vegas I spent with shifting a cold towel around my neck. Although there was air-conditioning, the temperatures were rising. In San Bernardino I was lucky that I had a correspondence with only a 30 min delay. Apparently, they were overbooking buses and people had been waiting for a long time already. Somewhere before Las Vegas, the driver suddenly stopped and asked a guy she knew on the bus for help, because there was a big insect in the driver’s cabin. When that unwelcome passenger was removed we reached Las Vegas without further delay.

I started walking towards my hostel but after about 5min I had to admit that it was just too hot to walk and carry a suitcase and therefore I took a bus at the Bonneville Transit Center. I only had to ride about 3 stops and would have had to pay 6$ for a two hour ticket because it’s the tourist strip bus. But it took me so long to find 6 single bucks and the bus driver pitied me (I was melting) that he let me ride for just two dollar.

The Hostel Cat was really cute. Painted in bright colors and with country flags everywhere. They had put me into the Australia dorm J All the people were really nice and for two nights I had a great sleep although people were coming back in the middle of the night. Everybody was very considerate.

I went to have dinner in a nearby Thai place with a German guy who works at the German school in NY. It seems to be easier for pre-school teachers to find places all over the world. We tried to work out a plan for a road trip but since he really wanted to leave the next morning, we weren’t able to travel together. Plus, it was the most disgusting papaya salad I ever had. Probably shouldn’t eat that outside of Thailand.

The next day, I went on a casino field trip. I started at the Bellagio, which had a really pretty artificial garden inside. Then I went to NYNY, where I almost got lost but I loved how they rebuilt certain parts of the city and from there short stops at Excalibur and Mandalay Bay. I had to stay inside the casinos, it was torture to walk outside in the heat. When I had to go a bigger distance, I took the Deuce strip bus. It costs 8$ for 24h but with that you can ride all the buses in Las Vegas. Vegas surely is just a huge fun park.

Once I got hungry, I went to the Palm Casino for the buffet. At the register, there was an Asian lady in front of me and since she was alone too, we sat at a table together. After all, eating is more fun in company and that woman was really funny.

With a full stomach, I was ready to conquer the Premium Fashion Outlet South. Unfortunately, the prices there weren’t that much reduced. It was more like a normal sale in a normal store.

In the early evening, I thought I’d ride to Walmart to go buy some things. I met a really nice Indian tourist couple on the bus who was also trying to get to Walmart. It took a long time and the way back was even worse because they were still in the shop and now there were only weird people on the bus. I hadn’t felt entirely safe while waiting for the bus. That made me realize again that the US is still above all a country where you need a car and that I couldn’t live in Las Vegas because I didn’t feel safe to walk anywhere after dark that was not along the strip.

By the time I got back to the hostel, I thought it was about 8.30pm but since my phone had died, I didn’t have a watch and hadn’t realized it was already 9.50pm and I had only 10min to get ready to go out with a group of people from the hostel.

They drove us to the Whynn Casino in a Hummer. There we signed up for the player’s card to get 10$ free slot money. I walked out with 17$ J Plus, you could order free drinks while you were playing, you just had to tip the waitress at least one dollar or she wouldn’t serve you anymore.

After that, we went to Casino Royale. They had a roulette table for just 4$. I watched for a while and then went to the outdoor dance club next door. But this day of walking miles and miles through casinos and malls had left me quite tired and so I returned to the hostel with the Deuce bus pretty soon, after a short stop at McDonalds. This should have been my last evening here. I hadn’t intended to spend so many days in Las Vegas. However, it turned out harder than imagined to find road trip buddies that were traveling in the same timeframe and direction as I was. After all the travelling I have done, I still don’t like this status of not knowing where I could end up the next day. I like to plan and look forward to things. But I probably have a little more relaxed attitude about that now, since it always worked out somehow, even when it was in the last minute.

Therefore, I had extended previously extended the hostel for another night to give me more time.

So, I went to the Premium Outlet Mall North the next day. This time, I found new sneakers. I needed some good quality ones, since I was still counting on my road trip and some hiking and I had to leave my old ones in Australia because they were so worn out.

In the afternoon heat, I followed some advice from other people and went to the Stratosphere tower. They have a pool on a terrace on the 8 floor and don’t really check whether you are from the hostel or not. Just don’t bring your own towel because you receive hotel towels at the pool. Since it was a concrete floor and there was hardly any shade, I just quickly jumped into the water and then fled to the air-conditioned casinos again.

For dinner, I went to Fremont St in Downtown Las Vegas. That reminded me of the food mile outside Disneyland in Paris. It really is a fun park with rides, artists, casinos and even a zip line along the whole street.

Then, I went back to Casino Royale, where I won 4$ at roulette, with which I then played 1$ Blackjack at the Riviera for an hour. In the end, I had lost my 4$ and so I stopped. I don’t think I have casino luck but you can’t go to Vegas without playing a little.

The whole evening I was also trying to meet up with people from couchsurfing for a possible road trip. However, with international cell-phones and everybody getting lost in the Vegas jungle, we never managed to meet. So, I was still without an exact plan of what to do after my last night at the hostel but there still were some options and so I wasn’t feeling desperate.

The next morning, one of the guys I had been in contact with about a road trip contacted me again and came to my hostel. This time it actually worked out to meet and after a short talk and quick plan we realized that Jean-Baptiste and I wanted to do about the same thing. Is it reasonable to just jump into a car with a traveler you have never met before? I’d say for at least 98% of the time it is, because most people are good at their heart. If I had landed within the rest 2% and not noticed it, that would just have been really bad luck. But JB and I got along great and had the same ideas about things on the trip, therefore travelling with him was very agreeable. Plus, since he is French, I really could brush up this language and we spoke French the whole week.

Renting a car from Las Vegas is horrendous and therefore it’s probably more recommendable to rent it at the coast and bring it back after Vegas. But we didn’t have a choice and so just planned a round trip back to Las Vegas instead of driving up to San Francisco afterwards, since the relocation would have cost about 300$ on its own.

Finally, at about noon, we had a car booked with Alamo and then jovially made our way to the airport by 2$ bus and then shuttle to pick up the car at 2pm. I didn’t like that we were leaving so late because we wouldn’t be able to really profit from this day but at least we could make it close to Grand Canyon and be there early the next morning.

I was surprised how easy it was to get the car at Alamo. Booking over the internet just a little over an hour ago had worked out perfectly. The guy then convinced us to take a motor size bigger for 474$/ week (at the coast you can get it for half price) because of the heat and heights we’d be travelling through. I still don’t know whether he just wanted to make more money or whether we really needed it but in the end, I loved our new VW beetle. I actually always wanted to have a car like that. And it was so nice to not have a single problem with the car (once we had figured out how to open the trunk and the gas lid) and it was cool to have a car with power that felt like taking off with an airplane whenever we sped up.

First, we went to get JB’s luggage from his couchsurfers house, which was another 20min drive out of town in the wrong direction. But after that, we were so eager for our road trip and finally, we were on the road towards Grand Canyon.

Kisses from Vegas