Planning for our trip

We haven't been planning this trip for very long-- maybe 2 weeks?-- but I've been wanting to go to Vegas for a long time. I know the summer weather is unbearably hot, but it's the only time we have to travel. We'll be watching our budget carefully, and gambling will DEFINITELY be low stakes, but I can't wait to get on that plane! And speaking of the plane...

I got a couple of free one way tickets on AirTran thanks to a promotion last year from Wendy's. I had to drink a lot of medium beverages and cut the coupons off the cups, but it was worth it! We only had to pay $5 for each ticket for the 9/11 security fee. What a bargain! It's not a direct flight, but you can't beat the price. Then I scored some cheap one way tickets for the return trip on America West airline-- $100 each for a non-stop red-eye. That's way cheaper than any other one way fare that I saw.

Helpful hint #1-- checkout bookingbuddy.com. You only have to enter your flight information one time, then click the links to a bunch of other sites to search for the lowest airfare. You can also check hotel rates and rental car rates on this site.

I managed to find a great deal on a hotel room in Vegas off strip at Sam's Town Hotel and Gambling Hall-- only $24.50 a night for a room with a King bed! And it's not even rat infested! All the ratings I saw posted on sites like Travelocity were very favorable. They even have low stakes gambling.

Helpful hint #2-- Check out what other people are saying about hotels, restaurants, and attractions at tripadvisor.com. I also like the same feature at Travelocity.

I found the site that allows you to book a room at one of the lodges inside Grand Canyon National Park at www.grandcanyonlodges.com. We'll be staying at the Maswik Lodge which was just renovated earlier this year. It doesn't overlook the South Rim, but it's just a short walk away. I can't wait to see a sunrise and a sunset at the Grand Canyon!

The National Park Service's website for the Grand Canyon has a lot of great information, maps, etc. They even have info about the weather. I can't believe the night time temperature in July is still in the 50's! I plan to shoot a lot of high-def video and digital pictures there! I better buy plenty of video tape and a couple extra memory cards.

We'll also be going to Red Rock Canyon, which is only about 20 minutes away from Las Vegas. There's a 13 mile scenic drive with a lot of trails for hiking. I guarantee you we'll be there EARLY-- the park opens at 7 AM-- so that we're out of the worst of the daytime heat. Day time temperatures are easily in the 100's. (I just checked the temperature there-- at 6 PM Thursday it's 100 degrees! The high temperature was 105 at 4:48 PM)

I guess you can probably tell we're renting a car while we're there which leads me to:

Helpful hint #3-- I found Mousesavers.com while looking for a rental car discount when the boys and I went to Spring Training in Florida in March. Although some of the discount codes they provide are exclusively for Florida, there are a lot of car rental discounts that work nationwide. I saved an extra 10% on my Thrifty rental car because I'm a Sam's Club member. Now I've got more money to gamble with!

When we return to Vegas from the Grand Canyon we'll be staying at Treasure Island, right in the middle of the Strip. I found a great deal on a suite right on their website that includes express check-in, $15 food credit, and $50 in casino play money. There's SO MUCH to see and do in Sin City! I can't wait! This may be the only hotel with hi-speed Internet, so if I do any blogging and uploading of pictures, this would be the time. If not, you'll have to wait until we get back to see our photos, observations, and reflections on our trip.