Williams - Grand Canyon South Rim

On Friday, September 11th we drove the Jeep from Williams to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.  Wayne had read about riding your bicycles along the Rim Trail from the Visitor Center out to Hermit's Rest so that was our plan.  The visitor center is beside Mather Point, which is a beautiful overlook.  After checking out the Visitor Center we rode our bikes out to Hermit's Rest stopping at all of the overlooks along the way.  The total ride was 11.3 miles.  With the overlooks it is probably the most scenic bike ride we will ever take !  There is not much parking so the only other vehicles allowed on Hermit's Rest Road are the Park buses and those with Handicapped Parking stickers.  Riding our bikes, we could come and go as we pleased.  We enjoyed a nice picnic lunch with an amazing view.

We were expecting it to be crowded but really it was not too bad.  As for North Rim vs South Rim...they are both equally breath taking.  If I could only do one, I think I would choose the North Rim.  The South Rim is more commercialized, so the North Rim seems more serene. But if you get the chance do both!  You have to see it for yourself because pictures can just not do it justice.

Hopi House National Historic Landmark built in 1917 near motel

California !

On Wednesday, September 9th we moved to Needles, California.  On our bucket list is to sleep in the RV in all 49 of the continental United States, then a cruise in Hawaii !  After this trip all we would be missing in the western US was California and North Dakota.  We were so close to California we decided to slip over for one night.  We will obviously come back to California to see the many things there are to see, but it will be a few years.

We stayed in the Palm's River Resort and RV Park.  It was a very nice park.  After setting up we drove over to Lake Havasu City, Arizona.  Lake Havasu City is famous for one thing, it is the US home of the London Bridge.  The London Bridge really was falling down...actually sinking and a US business man said he would buy it.  He bought it for 2 million dollars.  Had it taken apart piece by piece and numbered and they shipped it to Arizona and put it back together.  It was reinforced and brought up to code and cost another 4 million plus to do it.  At the time Lake Havasu City had around 5000 people, now there are over 60,000 and it is a popular resort area.   The bridge looks great and is used as a normal bridge.  We walked across.  There are little shops, marinas and restaurants that overlook the bridge.  They made it into a fun area.

We went back and got in the pool.  It was HOT !  We found out later that Needles, CA was the hottest place in the US on September 9th at 109 degrees.

The next morning, Thursday the 10th we drove to Williams, Arizona to a really nice place, Grand Canyon Railway RV Park.  After setting up we walked to the visitor center and around town a little.  Williams claim to fame is they are the last city that was bypassed by US 40 so Route 66 was no longer needed.  They are also the train station for the Grand Canyon Railway Train that will take you to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.  We did not ride the train but we took pictures of it.

Needles is where Snoopy's brother, Spike lives 

Reminders of the old Route 66

Train arriving back from the Grand Canyon

Sunset over the campground

Las Vegas Part 4 the lights at night

While in Las Vegas we enjoyed taking pictures of the lights at night. It was fun experimenting with the settings on our cameras to try and get the best shot.  We have so much to learn about our cameras but we now know a little more. We went to the strip three evenings.

We also went to Fremont Street on Sunday night.  Fremont Street is Old Downtown Las Vegas.  It is famous for its lights.  They have added to the neon lights by putting a roof with LED lights on it over several blocks of the street.  They do a light and sound show every hour after dark.  There is also a zip line down the length of the roof.  You can do a short ride which is a normal zip line or you can do the whole length and fly in a superman position.  They had 3 types of live music Rock (Kansas and Blue Oyster Cult), Beatles  and a Jazz Saxaphonist.  We liked the Beatles and Jazz.

We saw the musical, Vegas, the Show.  It is a history of Las Vegas from the music side.  I would have chosen more familiar songs, but it was good.  At night is also when the strange people come out, there is a LOT of people watching that can be done.

Above and below are shots of the light show, it changes quickly

 Zip line superman fliers...hard to catch but this will give you an idea