Photo of the Grand Canyon Skywalk

http://media.marketwire.com/attachments/200607/274412_steelincanyon.JPG

MGM Lion Cubs

Bellagio Fountains

Tuesday, July 18

Our last day in Vegas :(

We checked out about 10 AM. There was a problem with our bill-- they didn't apply our $15 food credit. But it worked out beautifully! When I returned about 2 PM, they had deducted our ENTIRE food bill! Including the god-awful brazilian steakhouse!! WOO-HOO!!!

We walked around the very upscale Fashion Square Mall. Neiman Marcus had a purse marked down from $1200 to only $491!!!! What a deal! I had to drag Susan away. NOT!

Had lunch at the Bally's buffet. We liked it better than the Flamingo and it was about the same price. After lunch we returned to TI to pick up our luggage and the rental car and drove to New York, New York casino. It's really cool inside, but they didn't have any full pay video poker machines. We crossed the street to the MGM Grand where I videotaped a couple of really cute and playful lion cubs (I'll post the video ASAP). We lost about $30 playing their video poker machines (which weren't full pay, but we were tired of walking). Then we went to Excalibur and got lost trying to get out of there! I didn't like it there at all! We checked out the Tropicana and got some free decks of cards for joining their players club, but didn't spend a quarter there.

We also went to the M&M store and the Coca Cola store for some souvenirs, then retrieved the rental car and went back to our favorite casino, Caesar's Palace. Within 10 minutes we had won about $40 playing video poker, so we cashed out and had a huge slice of pizza and a diet coke with our winnings. Then we proceeded to win a few more dollars playing video poker before we called it a vacation and returned to the airport, WHERE WE CONTINUE TO SIT AND WAIT FOR OUR FLIGHT TO LEAVE!

I hope we can return to Vegas some day. There is SO MUCH to see! We didn't get to all of the casinos, and a couple of the other attractions in the area. We didn't get downtown either. We have a zillion (or so it seems) players' club cards from the casinos we visited, so I'm sure we'll be getting offers in the mail or via email to lure us (and our money) back again. I had a blast despite the heat. By the way, while we at Grand Canyon the relative humidity was 9% and the dew point was 25!!!

I'm sure I'll be posting more pictures and videos so please check back. I hope you enjoyed reading our blog as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Monday, July 17

Well, we're stuck in Las Vegas airport, our flight being delayed to the lack of a pilot and co-pilot who are still in Los Angeles due to "air traffic control" problems. So, to the best of my recollection, here's what we did on Monday. (The only good thing is we have free wi-fi at the airport, as long as the battery holds out)

We had lunch at the Flamingo buffet. It was pretty good for only $10 each. We also went to a couple of other casinos. We had $50 in free slot play at Casino Royale. What a joke! They only had a few "promotional" machines, and within a couple of minutes our free play was over.

We had $55 in free play at Treasure Island, so we hit the best video poker machine we could find. I cashed out with $50 in my pocket, so not a bad evening.

We had dinner at Samba Brazilian Steakhouse. When we were in Cancun last year we went to a similar restaurant and LOVED it. Unfortunately, this one was AWFUL! The meat was overcooked and dry and tough. The side dishes were creamed spinach (supply your own sound effect here), carrots, rice & black beans, and fried plantains (like bananas). We never did get a single refill on our $3 diet cokes. $90 down the drain! What a disappointment!

Our favorite casino is still Caesar's Palace. They have several 25 cent "full pay" video poker machines to choose from, and we have had pretty good success with them.

After dinner we ventured down to the Bellagio to see the fountains. While one show was finishing a kid about 8 years old ran smack dab into Susan with his bright green mint chocolate chip ice cream cone. I forgot to tell you she was wearing a WHITE long-sleeved blouse. Can you imagine what that looked like? The kid's mom's idea of helping was to get a dry napkin. Susan rushed off to the ladies' room to rinse out what she could.

The fountains are SPECTACULAR! I made a short video that I'll upload when we get home (whenever that might be).

Then we watched the Mirage volcano again. I'll upload a video of it too.

Las Vegas had a pretty strong thunderstorm last night. Lots of lightning and high winds and about 2 tenths of an inch of rain. Considering they've only had about 6 tenths all year, that was pretty significant. We were already in the casino by then, so we missed it. By the time we got to our room it was all over with. What a shame, they had to cancel the pirate ship show outside our window. The pyrotechnics didn't wake me up.

One of Siegfried & Roy's white tigers. He's got the right idea. Man is it hot!

That's all until Wednesday

Our Internet service runs out in about 45 minutes, so this is the last of the photos and stories until Wednesday. I had uploaded a third photo before this post, but Blogger, per usual, didn't work right.

See you soon!

More photos

This is a Utah Agave. It grows up to 14 feet tall, but blooms only once after 15-25 years, and then it dies! The stalk was a few inches thick.

Can you find the raft in the rapids? Thank goodness for our 10X zoom lens!

Female Western Bluebird (I think)

Western Tanager

These rock squrrels are everywhere in the Grand Canyon. They have no fear of humans, probably because so many people feed them, despite the signs that warn against that.

You have to share the trail with the mules

One of the tunnels on the Bright Angel Trail

Monday, July 17

I still couldn't insert photos into a blog post, but I discovered that I could use Picasa and Hello software from Google to directly upload the photos with a caption.

You can click on any of the small photos to enlarge them.

I think I will put together an online photo album and put a link to it on the blog. I probably won't do that until we get back though.

Last night we walked down to the Bellagio to see the fountains, but because of high winds they cancelled. I hope we can see them tonight, our last night in Vegas. We did get to see the Mirage volcano though, and I'll attempt to post a photo.

There were severe thunderstorms that moved in right behind us along I-40 yesterday. Luckily we stayed ahead of them, and they passed to the south of Las Vegas. We had really high winds though.

The ti pirate ship show only woke me up twice last night. They set off some really loud fireworks during the show.

Our suite is HUGE! We even have his and her bathrooms.

Our suite at ti

A hummingbird

A tree lizard at the Grand Canyon

Sunrise over Mather Point

Sunset on Thursday

The sun begins to set over the Grand Canyon

Grand Canyon photo

 

Caesar's Palace

This is a picture of the spiral escalator in the Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace. This is such a HUGE space that this picture doesn't convey its size. 

Sunday, July 16

We arrived at ti (Treasure Island) about 2:30 PM after a five hour drive from the Grand Canyon. I had reserved a Petit Suite online. Imagine our surprise that we had been UPGRADED to a Tower Suite! When the photo uploading works again I'll post a picture of our FABULOUS suite that overlooks the ti ship on the Strip. What a view!

We had a late lunch in one of the restaurants onsite, then took the tram to the Mirage to see one of Siegfried & Roy's tigers. Poor thing. He looked so hot. He was standing on his hind legs and scratching on the door with his front paws. And although it wasn't one of the white tigers he (she?) was still very beautiful.

This evening we're going to see some of the free shows on the Strip-- the Bellagio Fountains, the Mirage Volcano, and the Sirens of ti show. Tomorrow it's off to the south strip casinos.

Wish me luck with the photo uploading. I'm ready to toss this computer out the window on the 26th floor!

California condor in flight

Susan shot this video near the Lookout Studio at the south rim of the Grand Canyon. About 60 condors have been released in Arizona so far. We saw about 5 or 6 that day. Their wingspan can be as large as 9 feet!

Sunset Stampede-- Sam's Town

This is the laser and water show in the Mystic Falls atrium at Sam's Town.

We are experiencing technical difficulties

We're here at Treasure Island, I'm uploading like crazy to Blogger, and for some reason MY PICTURES WILL NOT UPLOAD! I've tried at least a dozen times. It pauses like it's uploading the pictures, but THEY DON'T SHOW UP!

ARRRRGHH!!

Wednesday, July 12

We had an excellent breakfast buffet right here at Sam’s Town for five bucks each plus tax and tip. GREAT made to order omelets! Then we hit the road for the Strip. We parked at Harrah’s and joined their players club and I got a free T-shirt (woo hoo!) Next we got a Craps lesson at the Imperial Palace. Right after the lesson I went to the adjacent craps table and won about $25 bucks before giving it all back and then some. I rolled a 7 on my first roll, but then 7’d out on my next point. Again, why didn’t I just cash out! I guess it’s just too much fun.

We went over to Caesar’s Palace and had a Las Vegas WOW moment. That place is just INCREDIBLE! Beautiful statues, paintings on the ceilings, fountains, a spiral escalator… and the stores go on for days! Susan joined their players club and got a free visor (woo hoo!). They were also having a special promotion where you have your card scanned in any of the six MGM casinos on the strip for a chance to win prizes up to $10,000 each day. And if you get 3 stamps from different casinos on a promotional card you get a casino prize. I got a nifty beach towel from the Flamingo, and Susan got a crappy key ring from Harrah’s.

We wandered around the Flamingo for awhile and visited their outdoor aviary. They had flamingos (well duh!), a variety of geese, swans and ducks, but, alas, the penguins have been sent to the Dallas Zoo. Lots of pretty landscaping and fake waterfalls, but man was it ever HOT outside!

Then we went back to Harrah’s for the Mac King Comedy Magic Show. We had a coupon that gave us general admission seats for the price of two drinks. Susan tipped the maitre d’ a fiver for a better table, so the grand total was about $25 to see an AWESOME show! I laughed really hard several times. The family right behind us had a very noisy child and Mac really embarrassed them! He asked them how old their child was (3), and then related how he remembered taking his own daughter to some shows and sometimes she would start to cry. But then he went on to say something to the effect of “but we always took her out of the room whenever that happened.” I think they got the hint.

The highlight of the show for me can’t be easily put into words, so if you’re interested I’ll do my best to tell it in person. It was absolutely hysterical!

After the show we went back to Caesar’s Palace Forum Shops where they have (drumroll please)… a Cheesecake Factory! And best of all, their prices weren’t artificially inflated just cause it’s Vegas. We had the pineapple upside down cheesecake for dessert and it was yummy!

Next we went to the Mirage, but unfortunately it was too late to see the white tigers and the secret garden, so I guess we’ll catch those next Monday. After that we headed back to Sam’s Town to rest up for tomorrow. We’re going to Red Rock Canyon right after breakfast, then back to the hotel to “freshen up”, and then off to who knows where!

Smoke from the wildfires in Southern California can be seen in the skies to the south and east of the city, but over the Strip I saw only clear blue sky. The mountains are beautiful! They rise up quickly out of the flat land, but they look very desolate! They look so close, like you could just reach out and touch them. This is such a harsh climate. Thank goodness for air conditioning.

Saturday, July 15

We set the alarm for 4 AM. That’s NOT a misprint! We wanted to see the sunrise at Mather Point. After that it was time for breakfast and then another highlight of the trip… hiking the Bright Angel Trail. We were on the trail by 6:50 AM. We made it as far as the second tunnel. SPECTACULAR! On the way back we had to make way for the mule trains headed down the trail. What a cool experience! If I weighed less than 200 pounds, I’d ride a mule to the bottom, spend the night, then ride back up.

Then we hopped a shuttle to check out about 3 other vantage points, took a zillion more pictures, and returned to our hotel room by noon for a nice nap. I’m reminded of the Army commercials that brag about doing more by noon than most people do all day. We were beat!

We ventured outside the park for lunch at McDonald’s in Tusayan, Arizona. We both wanted to go to the really unique looking Wendy’s they have there, but it was crowded with people from tour buses. Then it was back to the park to do laundry and souvenir shopping, and more sightseeing. Susan spotted a park ranger, and a guy with one of those antenna, tracking-type things. Based on their proximity to where we saw the condors the day before, we correctly assumed they were tracking the condors. We spoke with a very dedicated, passionate man from the Peregrine Fund (www.peregrinefund.org). He answered all of our questions, and spoke about his life’s mission to restore these magnificent raptors to their rightful place in nature. I wish I had recorded our conversation. It was fascinating! I ventured out to Hopi Point to take a few photos towards sunset, but then a cloud bank moved in and I returned to our room before sunset. It’s about 9:23 PM MST as I type these words and I am TIRED after a long, rewarding day.

Tomorrow we will take even more photos at a few more Grand Canyon vantage points, and then it’s time for the long drive back to Vegas. I’m sure we’ll stop for some more photos at Hoover Dam too. I hope you aren’t too bored by my storytelling, but I’m sure having fun telling them.

Friday, July 14

We were on the road by 8:40 AM for the five hour drive to the Grand Canyon. The drive around Hoover Dam is very scenic! They are building a very high bridge that will act as a bypass to the switchbacks and hilly terrain surrounding the dam. I think it will be done in 2008. After 9/11 trucks and buses are prohibited from crossing the dam for security reasons, and I imagine there is quite the lengthy detour.

After getting past the dam, the scenery is like something out of an old western movie. The road is very straight, and to my recollection, the land is pretty flat. One thing we didn’t realize is THERE ARE NO BATHROOMS FOR ABOUT 60 MILES. We took a short detour, about four miles to Chloride, Arizona. Chloride is famous for having the oldest continually operated mine in Arizona, and also for some murals that we couldn’t drive to in our rental car. Maybe I’ll Google it and see what I can come up with. Well, anyway, we found a quaint little mom and pop store that advertised it’s “clean bathrooms”, bought several souvenirs, candy, earrings and sunglasses (for Susan) before finding our way back to the main road.

Once we hit the interstate it was time to put the pedal to the metal. The interstate speed limit is 75 mph, but as the friendly guy in Chloride told us, “there’s no speed limit in Arizona so go like hell.” Again, it was about 50 or 60 miles to the next service station, and when we stopped we noticed that regular gas was $3.499 a gallon! YIKES! I guess that’s why it’s a good thing to have a monopoly.

We arrived at the Grand Canyon about 2 PM, and wouldn’t you know it, our room wasn’t ready yet. No problem. We walked to the rim and were just blown away by the awesome, majestic, spectacular, beautiful… you get the idea… view of the canyon. I think the first word out of both of our mouths was WOW! Based on the recommendation of Frommer’s Grand Canyon book, we had lunch at the Arizona Room, which has large windows that overlook the canyon. The food was pretty bad, but while dining I noticed a GIGANTIC bird soaring past the window. It was a California Condor! After lunch we noticed the numbered tags on their wings. It turns out about 60 condors have been released in Arizona, and we just happened to see about 5 or 6 of these soaring above the South Rim. What a blessing! For me, that was the highlight of our Grand Canyon experience.

We finally got checked into our room in the White Fir building of the Maswik North Lodge. Very nice! I recommend you stay here. It’s about a 5 minute walk to the rim, and very close to all of the historic buildings in the Grand Canyon Village. Also very peaceful at night. We drove all the way out to the eastern end of the park, then watched the sunset at Lipan Point. The canyon was very hazy though, so the colors weren’t as nice as we had hoped.

Thursday, July 13

We were up early so we could get to Red Rock Canyon before it got too unbearably hot. The drive out was really nice. We got to see a lot of Vegas, besides the Strip, and we drove right into the mountain on the horizon. Words can’t describe the beauty of Red Rock Canyon. We hiked a lot and took lots of pictures and video. We stayed a lot longer than we thought and the heat was brutal! When we got to the highest point in the canyon we received a pleasant surprise—a refreshing, cool wind. It was really strong! There was a lot more traffic on our way back to Sam’s Town, so the ride was not as much fun. We took a nice nap in the air conditioning, and then enjoyed dinner at Bahama Breeze. This is a restaurant chain that the boys and I discovered on our Spring break trip to Orlando. I highly recommend the Margarita Chicken, and Susan enjoyed a pizza cooked in a wood stove. After that we took advantage of the Arizona Charlies rebate offer for new members in their rewards club. We played video poker for over three hours, had a few drinks, and inhaled the equivalent of a pack of smokes, then had every penny of our gambling losses rebated at the end of the night. It’s a lot more fun to lose when you know you’re getting your money back!

Tuesday, July 11

We were a little worried about getting from Detroit to Atlanta in time to make our connecting flight, but everything worked out beautifully. The rain held off so our flight wasn’t delayed, although we did push off about 10 minutes late. Got to our gate in Atlanta with time to spare. Both flights were relatively smooth, but overall it was a LONG day spent on airplanes! My back hurt, my teeth hurt (from my visit to the orthodontist), and it was tough to find a comfortable sitting position because my seat didn’t recline! AirTran has free XM satellite radio with free cheapie ear buds. I listened to a variety of music, then listened to the MLB All Star Game from Pittsburgh. How cool was that?

When we got to Vegas and set foot outside the airport air conditioning for the first time, it literally felt like we were in a furnace! It was HOT, even at 8:30 PM. We made a quick shuttle trip to Thrifty car rental and got THE LAST mid-size car on the lot! We were supposed to get a Dodge Neon and got a Dodge Stratus instead. A little bit later and we would have had to take a gas guzzling SUV. WHEW! That probably saved us $50 in gas money right there!

We checked into Sam’s Town, somehow managed to find our room in the maze of corridors and elevators, had a burger at Mickey D’s and then hit the casino. We could only find ONE full pay Jacks or Better video poker quarter machine. We won a little, then gave it back, and then repeated that process a couple more times Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. If only I would cash out when I’m ahead!

The room at Sam’s is an above average standard hotel room, but the price is right! We see a lot of families here, and a lot of Seniors in the casino. The cigarette smoke isn’t too bad in most places.

"All our bags are packed, we're ready to go..."

Well, we're almost ready to go. A few things left to pack, gotta go to the orthodontist first thing in the morning, run a couple of errands, and then...

"We're leavin' on a jet plane, don't know when we'll be back again..."

Did you know John Denver wrote that song in 1967 while waiting for a plane? Check it out at Wikipedia.

Say a little prayer that we make our connecting flight in Atlanta. We only have about 30 minutes to make it after we land.

360 Degrees of Grand Canyon

In a previous post I shared a link to a 360 degree view of the Grand Canyon from Four Chambers Studio. I was so impressed I bought the CD for $23.99 including shipping. It arrived today and it is WAY COOL! There are 75 or so of these 360 degree views from all over the Grand Canyon, including some places that you'd never see unless you hiked for miles. There are even panoramas taken inside some of the historical buildings.

The pictures are absolutely perfect! Who knows what the weather or the lighting, or the haze will be like when we're there? The images on this CD are gorgeous! And because it's interactive you can look up, down and all around, zoom in and zoom out. It's the next best thing to being there.

I'm afraid that my photos and videos will pale by comparison! But this will be so great to take with us and look at on the plane and in our hotel room. I'll share this with you when we get back, but until then check out the link below, and a complete description of the CD here. Could be the best 24 bucks I ever spent!

New Visa commercial filmed in Red Rock Canyon

Have you seen the new Visa commercial with the Proclaimers "I'm Gonna Be" (aka 500 miles) background music? It was shot in Red Rock Canyon. I happened to see a sign near the end of the commercial that said "Calico Hills Trail" and I remembered seeing that listed on the Red Rock Canyon website. WOW! Gorgeous scenery! I can't wait!

Check out the commercial online here. It's called "Weekends."

Grand Canyon Video Podcasts

While searching Google for Grand Canyon podcasts I came across a great site that has four VIDEO podcasts on the South Rim, in addition to several other video podcasts about other national parks. Check out the list of available podcasts at TRAVELBUDZ from ADVENTURE CROSSING. They also sell a variety of DVDs on their website. I plan to put the South Rim video podcasts on my iPod. They are EXCELLENT!

I emailed Adventure Crossing to ask permission to put a link to their podcasts, and I received this response from the president of the company, Jares Gallagher:

Our Video Podcasts are a spin off from what we do. Our company creates products to help prepare visitors for their national park adventures. We work with the Chief of Interpretation and othe park staff to capture their unique messages and features - so it is their messags we incorporate into our products. I mention this because we have created a product series entitled Park BasiX. It covers the basics you need to know as well we hike the trails so the viewer can see the trails first person and choose trails within their comfort zone.

We originally released our products on DVD format. However, in May we released all of our content for purchase and download for playback on mobile hand held devices such as Video iPods, etc. That website is www.ihikes.com

So if you're planning a visit to one of our national parks, be sure to check out this website.

$100 in FREE Money!

I just saw a great story on Las Vegas on the KCAL CBS TV website. It talks about why July is the second best time (after November and December) to visit Las Vegas. Sure the weather is HOT, but so are the bargains!

What interested me the most was the great deal going on at Arizona Charlies. They will rebate you up to $100 in gambling losses! So I can try my luck at the slots and video poker with $100, and if I lose I can get my money back! Talk about a win-win situation! If I win I don't need to get my 100 bucks back. And looking at the map, it's right down the road from Sam's Town Hotel and Casino where we are staying the first three nights.

Another web cam: Red Rock Canyon

Here's another web cam from the Red Rock Canyon, courtesy of WeatherBug. If you click on the hyperlink above you'll see a time lapse of the last 24 hours or so. You can hit the Stop button to view the pictures individually.

Secret weapon #2

Check out the fortune cookie I got with my lunch today...

Google Earth Grand Canyon kmz File

If you are a Google Earth user (and you should be if you have hi-speed Internet-- download the software for free at http://earth.google.com) you can download a nice kmz file that will show many of the popular landmarks in Grand Canyon National Park. This hyperlink will take you to the correct page.

I captured this picture of Grand Canyon Village using the Google Earth software. I couldn't quite locate the lodge where we're staying though.

Las Vegas Strip Web Cam

From KLAS TV, this webcam is located on the top of the Stratosphere. Apparently they change the position of the camera throughout the day, so you'll see the Strip at night, and some other scenes throughout the day.

7/9/06: Hmmm... for some reason this webcam doesn't seem to be working any longer.

OH. MY. GOODNESS.

It's not ready yet, but the Skywalk being built by the Hualapai Nation at Grand Canyon West will be absolutely BREATHTAKING! If the video below doesn't satisfy your curiosity you can read more on this website: http://www.destinationgrandcanyon.com


FreeVideoCoding.com

Grand Canyon Web Cam

Check out the view from Yavapai Point on this live web cam link.

There's lots of other data and information on this site. Just click on the links on the right side of the page. It looks kind of hazy today.

Panoramic View of Grand Canyon

Wow! Click on the link below to see an amazing QuickTime panorama of the Grand Canyon from 360parks.com's website.

I wish I knew how to do that!

Our new license plate (I hope)

Create your own license plate at: http://www.acme.com/licensemaker/

A sign we hope we don't see

Make your own sign at http://atom.smasher.org/vegas/

My Secret Weapon

While we were at my mom's house cleaning out my dad's old dresser we came across this lucky coin. My dad used to do pretty well playing the slots at Casino Windsor, so I'm going to keep this as a good luck charm when we hit the Vegas casinos. It's a ten dollar coin from Liberia that's been hand painted. There's a little brochure that explains what all the symbols mean and it even has a carrying case. Click on the picture to enlarge it.

Mac King's Magic in a Minute Cartoon (click to enlarge)

Mac King's Magic Show

One of the highest rated shows I've found on the Strip is only 20 bucks a ticket... it's magician Mac King who performs at Harrah's. Below is a clip from his website, http://www.mackingshow.com

FreeVideoCoding.com

Latest news on the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas

To see the latest news from Google News click on the links below:

Grand Canyon

Las Vegas

And to see up to the minute weather conditions and the forecasts for Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon, click on the Weather Underground links that I've posted on the right side of this blog.

Casino gambling

While reading a book on Las Vegas yesterday I learned that Sam's Town Hotel and Gambling Hall is the second largest casino in the Vegas area. Only the MGM casino is bigger! There are some pictures of Sam's Town posted online at tripadvisor. com that other visitors have uploaded. Check out this picture of the 25,000-square-foot Mystic Falls Park!

I've also been reading up on video poker to improve my chances of winning some money (or maybe not losing my money as quickly). I've got some strategy cards I can take with me into the casino so that I keep and discard the correct cards. The author also suggests practicing as much as possible before actually gambling with real money, so I managed to find a free online video poker site to do just that: http://www.freeslots.com/poker.htm

I was on a hot streak yesterday! I started out with 100 imaginery dollars and ended up over 400 imaginery dollars before I quit. WOW, if only it was that easy in real life!