Las Vegas 2nd visit - Grand Canyon bus tour - Tues 6 Nov

Woke up about 6am but lay in bed until my alarm went off at 6.30am, then I got up, showered, dressed, had a munch on last nights steak, changed clothes, then headed downstairs to wait for the tour bus to pick me up.  It was supposed to pick me up at 7.45am and by 7.55am it hadn't arrived so I rang to check & they said it was running a bit late.  I was relieved to hear this as the front of the hotel was a crazy mess with people coming & going, apparently they were filming a movie that involved Ceasars Palace.  The tour bus finally arrived, it was only a small one, like the shuttle buses the airports & hotels have, and since the other passengers were 3 sets of couples the driver suggested I sit in the front, so I did, and it was a good move.  We set off & our first stop was McDonald's for breakfast, it is a long (5 hour) drive to the Grand Canyon South Rim so they like to make sure we have al had a hearty breakfast.  About 9am we started on our journey to the Grand Canyon.  It was going to be an interesting day as I had already done the helicopter tour on which I had flown over the countryside we were driving through, Lake Mead & the Hoover Dam. Our tour guide was Alfonso (he was Mexican) and had been doing these tours for 2-3 years so he was very informative & talked to us about the history of Las Vegas & pointed out spots of interest.  Our 1st stop was the Hoover Dam and it was more impressive from the ground than from the air.  Alfonso told us some history of the dam and then we got out, walked around a bit & took photos.  Alfonso was very helpful & offered to take photos of everyone and gave suggestions for good photo positions.  We then got back in the van and headed over the Black Canyon Bridge, a newly built bridge which bypasses the Hoover Dam road.  Oh yeah, when we were approaching the Hoover Dam we had to stop at a security check point & the van was searched (glancingly) by government security guys (the TSA I think) to make sure we weren't terrorists planning on bombing the Hoover Dam.  I was REALLY surprised that they didn't search cars, I suppose a bomb big enough to blow up the Hoover Dam wouldn't fit in the boot of a car.  LOL   Anyway, when we left there were no checkpoints so we made our way across the Black Canyon Bridge and onto Kingman, Arizona where we stopped a bit outside the city at a place called Loves for petrol & were able to buy some snacks, and where of all things I found a lovely glass unicorn, which of course I bought.  As we drove Alfonso talked to us about the area, the landscape & other points of interest.  We then got off the interstate (I40) and onto the historic & legendary Route 66 and stopped in the town of Seligman for a quick break for photos & to buy souvenirs.  Seligman is apparently the town that the movie 'Cars' is based on.  I didn't see Lightning McQueen or Mater or Doc Hudson or anyone tho.  We then got back on the bus and continued our journey to the Grand Canyon.  As there isn't much to see the talk in the van soon turned to topics like Hurricane Sandy (one couple was from New York City), the weather (another couple was from Florida), how cheap it was to live in Central America (the other couple (mother/daughter) were from Guatemala) and lots of discussion about the differences between NZ & USA.  It was during this time that some people took a nap, but not me, I couldn't close my eyes in case I missed something.  LOL  We finally arrived at the entrance to the south rim of the Grand Canyon at about 2.30pm, Alfonso stopped so we could take photos of the sign and of the fire safety sign with Smokey the Bear.  As we were driving to the south rim a wee critter ran across the road & everyone said "Squirrel!" - yes, I had told them about my interest in squirrels - and Alfonso said it wasn't a squirrel it was a chipmunk.  Yay!!  I had seen my very first chipmunk, even if it was just a blur.  We then arrived at the parking lot, got out & a few of us rushed to the restrooms, then we made our way to the south rim and sat and had lunch (sandwich & fruit) while looking out over the Grand Canyon.  I can tell you that even tho I had seen it before (a different part & from a different perspective) it was still AMAZING!! We then took photos and walked down the path a bit to another lookout, took more photos and then went into the Geology Museum to learn a bit about the formation of the Grand Canyon, and to do some souvenir shopping.  After that it was back outside & we walked to another lookout to watch the sun set.  There are many & no words to describe the sight and my feelings.  At any given time watching the sun set while standing/sitting at the edge of the Grand Canyon is an absolutely amazing thing, this was increased by the fact that it was Mum's birthday.  I had taken a wee bottle of Chivas Regal with me and had a toast to Mum as the sun went down.  Many photos were taken, Alfonso was quite the photo director telling people where to stand, what pose to take, etc.  Once it was dark we headed back to the van for the journey home.  We got back into Las Vegas about 10.15pm and I was back at my hotel by 10.30pm.  It was an ABSOLUTELY AMAZING day and I HIGHLY recommend this tour to everyone who wants to visit the Grand Canyon.  When I got into the hotel I walked to the registration area, as I knew the way to my room from there, and saw that it was roped off, as I got closer a security guard approached me to ask if he could help me and I said "No, I just need to start from here to get to my room so I don't get lost."  Which sadly was true.  LOL  I got up to my room and then decided to go back downstairs and do a bit of gambling as a last hurrah.  I went down to the casino, played a few slot machines, won a little bit of money, lost a bit of money, then headed back up to my room about 12.30pm and went to bed.

The Hoover Dam.

The other side of the Hoover Dam.

The newish Black Canyon Bridge which bypasses the Hoover Dam roads so you don't have to go through the security checkpoint.

Driving on the Black Canyon Bridge.

The landscape of this country always entrances me.

In the town of Seligman on Route 66.

It's a loooong road to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.

Woohoo!!  The entrance to the Grand Canyon South Rim.

I haven't seen him lately, but I remember Smokey the Bear from when I was young.

And here we are - the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.  It was well worth the long drive.  There are many words and no words to describe the view and the feeling of being there.

What's this?  A Grand Canyon squirrrel!!  LOL

Me at the Grand Canyon.

The Grand Canyon.

Me living on the edge at the Grand Canyon.

Ulrich enjoyed being at the Grand Canyon too.

Part of the hiking trail.  Yes, people actually start at the top of the Grand Canyon & hike down to the bottom.  Not something on my bucket list.

What can one say?  Amazing.

This was at the lookout where we stayed to watch the sun set.  There were 3 other bus loads of people there, but it wasn't crowded.

An Alfonso directed photo.  He did this for nearly everyone in our group.

Pictures just don't do it justice.

Another Alfonso directed photo.

I am so glad I was able to revisit the Grand Canyon on Mum's birthday.

It's a bit dark, but I had a toast to Mum with a wee bottle of Chivas Regal while watching the sunset at the Grand Canyon.

Our group.  Really lovely people which made the long drive & the whole day enjoyable.