Sedona

June 15-16, 2012 The drive from Flagstaff to Sedona offers two routes, faster/highway or scenic and winding. We took the scenic route. The driver must be alert and basically miss the fantastic views. Breathtaking views abound as you drive many tight switchbacks descending along steep cliffs until you reach the river below.

We stayed at the Hilton Sedona Resort & Spa. Our room had a view of Bell Rock. The kids enjoyed the pool & hot tub. The breakfast buffet was great and cheaper than ordering items individually.

We took a Pink Jeep Tour of the area. The Jeep is used to drive off road and climb and descend where no other vehicle may go. At the top of some of the Giant Red Rocks, we would exit for pictures, the resume the challenging terrain by Jeep. At the end of the tour, we stopped to photograph Snoopy Rock.  Definitely add this to your plans when visiting Sedona.

We took the easy, short hike around Bell Rock. Be aware that in Sedona, you need to have a $5 daily recreation pass for hiking or even pulling to the side of the road for pictures. The pass comes with a local hiking map.

We visited Slide Rock Park, which is a spring fed river, where you can sit down, and be pushed downstream, through multiple natural rock "slides".  There is also an area to jump from the side - about 8 feet up, into a deeper section of the water.  It's very popular, and we had to wait about an hour in line in the car, as they only let in cars for as many parking spaces are available.  Each time a car left, they would let one in.  Go during the week to shorten the wait time.

We ate in the downtown area at The Cowboy Club. A popular place and somewhat pricey but good food. This area is all shops and tourist stops. 



On our final night, we visited Blazin' M Ranch.  At this Wild West Ranch, we all got to shoot handguns at targets. play horseshoes, take a hayride, and pose for old-time photos.  The dinner and entertainment were great.  The kids enjoyed the comedy portion of the show, which was Country Western guitar theme, of course.  Leaving Blazin' M Ranch, we saw a real Blazin' fire nearby - an abandoned church rectory was fully engulfed.  So that was the second fire of our trip.

We planned an early flight from Phoenix, which is just over 2 hours away (3+ on a business day). Along the way, we saw some awesome stovepipe cactus. If you need to refill your rental car's has tank, use a smartphone gas station locator map. The highway has high walls and you cannot see which exit has gas until you've missed the exit.

And then Southwest Airlines flew us all home on Father's Day - which is also our Wedding Anniversary.  What a great trip!

Flagstaff area

June 13 - 14.  After leaving the Watch Tower area, we headed south into Flagstaff where we arrived at the Hotel Aspen on Route 66.  This was the lowest priced hotel during our trip.  While unpacking our bags from the Mercedes SUV, we were immediately approached by a homeless person asking if we're going to Happy Hour (at 10pm?).  He then asked for a quarter.  Anyway, the hotel has a nice pool, and includes a free breakfast buffet.  The room was small but clean.  They provided only two towels per room.  We got what we needed - a place to sleep.  After all, we're in Arizona to see the sights, not stay in the room.

We started by visiting the Meteor Crater.  The visitor's center has some good information about the event and the kids enjoyed the movie, and the "what if" simulator where they can change the size, composition, speed and trajectory of a meteor to see what would happen.

Next, we visited the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest.  In the "forest", there are many trees that were turned to stone.  After seeing a few, we were ready to move on.  There are many great photo spots for the Painted Desert.  The road through these two is about 28 miles long.  They check your vehicle at entrance and exit to be sure you did not take any rocks.  There is a $375 fine for that.

As with most places in Arizona, be sure to take plenty of water, snacks and sunscreen along.  Driving between these locations - there are not many places to stop for these supplies.

We ate at Lumberyard Brewing.  Good food, large portions, good prices and fun atmosphere.  We visited the Lowell Observatory that night for viewing of Saturn and some star clusters.

The next day, we visited Sunset Crater National Monument.  The visitors center includes details about the history of volcanic eruptions in the area, and video simulations of what it may have looked like.  We hiked up  a neighboring volcano.  A short walk but very steep, and the path is sort of lava crushed into sand.  There are some impressive views of lava rock, but - once again - you are not allowed to remove any of it.

Last, we visited the Wupatki Indian Nation Monument.  We walked through the ruins, and climbed where allowed.  The kids enjoyed the "Blow Hole" which sends cold air out of the ground.  The outside air temperature was about 95, but the air coming out of the ground was about 68.

Getting natural air conditioning.

Next entry: Sedona

Las Vegas

June 3 - 9: Palazzo Hotel, Las Vegas, NV.  I was visiting for the HP Discover 2012 convention.  I spoke at a breakout session on Wednesday regarding "Improving Impact Analysis on HP NonStop COBOL programs".

The Palazzo and Venetian Hotels are 5 diamond resorts, each with several pools, fitness centers, restaurants and - of course - casinos.  The Palazzo is normally over $300/night, but the convention rate was only $175/night.  My suite had two queen beds, a sunken living room with office area.  The bathroom had a shower stall and bath tub.  (Most hotels do not have that shower stall - I really like having that, and it accommodates tall people too!).

When my family arrived on Saturday, the kids LOVED the room, and could not believe there were three flat screen TVs, including one in the bathroom.

The food at the Palazzo was - as expected - very high priced.  It was good - but expensive.  Breakfast at Grand Lux, $18.  It was a little better next door in the "Food Court" in the Venetian, where I was able to get 2 slices of pizza and a coke for $14, and breakfast the next day for $9.50.

Guests may visit the pools at the Palazzo or Venetian.  The Palazzo's main pool has some "lounge chairs" in the water.  When the temp is 100 and the water is cool, those chairs are great.  The Palazzo also offers Black Jack tables next to the pool area and their pool restaurant.  ($18 for a .. very good.. Wolfgang Puck Cheeseburger).  It was challenging to find an available chair at any of the pools around lunch time.

I did not see Blue Man Group, Phantom of the Opera, or Tim Allen's show while I was there, so I cannot comment on those.

Eventually, I found that there is a SUBWAY located in the back of the Casino Royale, a few doors down.  Breakfast and Lunch cost much less there.  Well, if you don't count the fact that I eventually played Craps at Casino Royale instead of Palazzo, because Casino Royale offers $5 minimum bet tables.  (Next time, I will have to really study the Craps Books from John Patrick "So You Wanna Be A Gambler?")  While there, I also watched a version of Black Jack I had never heard of before called "Switch".  You play two hands at a time, and can switch the 2nd card on each hand with the other.  I thought that would improve the player's odds against the house - but I watched as the house won 25 of 30 hands in just a few minutes.

For a family, avoid the Pirate Show at Treasure Island, across from the Palazzo.  It's a sexy pirate show.  The kids would enjoy the gun battle and sinking ship at the end of the show.  Instead, walk a block and catch the Mirage's Volcano show, then take a taxi up to the New York New York Hotel Casino, where the kids can visit their "Coney Island" section and ride the roller coaster.  My 14 year old son exclaimed, "It's better than Sheikra at Busch Gardens in Tampa".  The taxi helps you avoid the people handing out cards for escorts and other "services".  The kids don't need to see that.

One thing I enjoyed was over at Gilley's in Treasure Island.  During the HP Discover event, Willie Nelson dropped in unexpectedly and sang a few of his classic songs.  That was fun.

Next entry: Hoover Dam & Skywalk

Grand Canyon South Rim

June 11 - 12, 2012 - We arrived at the Best Western Squire Inn just outside of the Park Entrance just after midnight.  While temperatures are 80 - 95 during the day, it was just 39 when we had to hurry our luggage inside.  The hotel includes a free breakfast buffet and it was well stocked with plenty of selections.

Before going to the Grand Canyon, we recommend you purchase a National Park Annual Pass for $80.  With the pass, you can skip the lines of cars paying the daily entrance fee, and just show your pass and a valid ID.

The Best Western is just 7 miles from the Visitor's Center.  At the Visitor's Center, you can view maps of trails and which bus takes you where.  There are water refill stations in many areas above the rim.

On our first day, we stayed at the rim, taking pictures from different locations.  We ate at the Bright Angel Lodge (Blue bus route).  The food was good and a reasonable price. Just a short walk from there is a Condor Viewing Center.  There were five Condors circling the area when we were there.  There was also this squirrel who must get food from visitors because he will get to about 1' from you and look you in the eye kind of begging.

On the second day, we planned a hike on the South Kiabab Trail.  Our goal was to stop at Ooh-Aah Point (0.9 miles) and then lunch at Cedar Ridge (1.5 total miles).  Cedar Ridge has restrooms.  The descent from the rim to Cedar Ridge is about 1100 feet, and as you descent, the temperature gets hotter.  There is a great difference between sun and shade temps, but very little shade at mid-day.

We began our trip with 8 bottles of water for the four of us, plus our Boy Scout son has a water bladder for his backpack.  (We packed lunch, and a bunch of salty snacks as well.)  We did not realize our 9-year old stopped to look at something before the hike, and left a bottle of water behind.  The kids were told about the dangers of leaving the trail, as it seems someone dies in the Grand Canyon every few weeks from either not enough supplies or falling.

Descending to Ooh-Aah Point was easy.  We passed some mules that were ascending.  They go right to the edge.  The trail is steeper and narrower to Cedar Ridge, but not difficult.  This location has plenty of room to roam and take pictures.  We ate lunch, and then began the return trip.

Up hill is more difficult, especially at mid-day.  More frequent stops to catch your breath and drink water.  We reached Ooh-Aah Point and surveyed our supplies.  We were down to 1/2 bottle of water, with a mile to go.  Not good.

Ian, the Boy Scout, gathered the empty bottles, and set out on his own, hiking back to the top, and returned with 6 full bottles of water, plus his water bladder was refilled.  (So he did 5 miles on a 3 mile hike.)  Wonder if there's a merit badge for what he did?

When we got to the top, we saw what delayed Ian a little on his "rescue" hike.  The water refilling station had a few elk drinking the water that was spilled.  After we took these photos, we read the sign "Stay 100 feet away from Elk".

At this time, we noticed smoke from a nearby fire.  Afterwards, we drove 35 minutes east to the "Watch Tower" for some additional panoramic views.  About 1/2 way to the Watch Tower, we saw some emergency vehicles at a hiking trail entrance.  We're hoping that there was not another fall into the Canyon.  We then saw additional emergency vehicles blocking a small southbound road.  This is where the fire was.  We later found that this was called "The Grand Fire" and it burned 480 acres and they had considered closing the Park and evacuating all visitors and employees but were able to contain the advancement before that decision had to be made.

Leaving the Canyon and heading for Flagstaff, we stopped for one last view, and a Native American road side stand selling some items.  We purchased a few.  Then I took this picture of the sunset, with the smoke from The Grand Fire.

Next Entry: Flagstaff area

Hoover Dam and Grand Canyon Skywalk

June 10, 2012 - Hoover Dam and West Canyon Skywalk

If you visit Las Vegas, you must make the short 45 minute trip to see Hoover Dam.

One thing we skipped due to time was Lake Mead Recreation area, which is just a few minutes before the Dam.  If we had started out earlier in the day, this would have been a great addition to our trip.

First, there is a parking lot and a spot to climb (stairs or ramp) up to the Hoover Dam Bypass / US 93.  There is a wide walk way with a secure railing for you to view the Dam and take some great pictures.  There is a sign at the West End of the bridge where you are entering from "Entering Nevada".  From November to March, this is also the location of the time zone change.

Next, return to your car, and continue on the road to Hoover Dam (Route 172).  There is a multistory parking garage.  Pay and park to visit the Dam.  You can tour the outside of the Dam, or you can purchase tickets for interior tours.  We did the Hydroelectric Tour, but, I'd say save your money on this one.  The free outside tour would have been just fine.

Next, we drove about 2 1/2 hours to get to the "Grand Canyon Skywalk" located on the West Rim within the Hualapai Indian Tribe lands.  This is a horseshoe-shaped cantilever glass bridge where you look down at your feet and see the canyon floor about 4,000 feet straight down.

The drive to Skywalk takes you onto an unpaved road for about 14 miles.  Do not bring your low riding sports car here.  Also, make sure your Rental Car agreement allows you to drive "off-road".  (Our Hertz Mercedes SUV was perfect!)  Once you arrive at the visitors center, you can purchase your tickets.  Be prepared.  The tribe charges $40 per person for the bus ride and an additional $35 to go onto the Skywalk.

At the Skywalk, you put coverings over your shoes to protect the glass against scratches.  Also - you must remove any items which could scratch the glass.  You place your keys, cameras, phones, etc. into the free lockers provided.  Yes, that's right - you cannot take your own pictures.  They have employees to take your picture.  That'll be another $30 per picture.  (Gotta pay for a lot of glass cleaner here.)

If your next stop is the South Rim - it's about a 5 1/2 hour drive, as you drive down to Kingman then east to Williams and then north on 64.

Next entry: Grand Canyon South Rim