Canyon Adventure

Dorian's Experiment!

lalalalala

posted by Dorian @ 6:13 PM 0 comments links to this post  

Experiment

• Hello
• Testing 1....2

posted by Dorian @ 5:57 PM 0 comments links to this post  

Day 1

6/30/06 - Viva Las Vegas. What does that mean? I’m remembering why I’m not a fan of the whole travel thing.

5:15 PM – After a hard day packing and getting the various pets distributed to friends, family, and vets, we’re ready to head to the airport! The flight’s not until 8:40, but we figure if we get there and security is a nightmare, we’ll still be to the gate early and have time to eat at the airport.

5:55 PM – At the airport (thanks for the ride, Grandma) and security’s not a deal, so it’s up to Chili’s for dinner, but on the way we notice our 8:40 flight has been pushed to 9:00. Not too late. That just means we don’t have to rush for anything.

7:15 PM – Walking to the gate when we notice our 9PM delay is now a 10PM delay. I also notice that our airlines has another flight to LV that heads out at 7:30. We rush to the gate to see if we can’t switch to this earlier flight. Silly me. It wasn’t LV. It was LA. Alas.

7:30 – We’re settled into our gate with four hours to wait; it seems the yet again time revision brings our departure time to 11:30PM. Only almost three hours late.

11:30ish – Yay! We’re taxiing! The engines rev, the safety video comes on, and … all the power dies (electrical and mechanical). Why were the engines tied in to the electrical? My son decides to end the deathly silence that broke out at the passing of all things reassuring when all our power died. “Is this gonna’ happen when we’re in the air”, he cries shrilly? Not even a nervous titter. Of course every person on the plane wanted to know why the electrical and mechanical were tied together.

Midnight – The power is back, we actually take-off, and the captain punishes our patience with a free showing of Steve Martin’s rendition of the Pink Panther. Steve Martin is NOT Peter Sellers.

4:30 AM EST (1:30 AM in LA) – We’re walking to the luggage carousel.

1:55 AM – Apparently luggage sometimes follows a First On-Last Off queuing scheme. And we’re off to the rental car counter.

2:20 AM – Waiting for the rental car shuttle bus finally pays off as the driver of said shuttle chews out a little old handicapped woman for not hoisting her luggage into the shuttle herself.

2:45 AM – I’ve managed to get to the front of the rental car line, and after taking care of the paper work, we finally get to walk outside to the “minivan” aisle which apparently is free of any infection by minivan. After more patient waiting I run inside to ask about the lack of all things mini-van. “Wait and they’ll bring ‘em to you” is the summary.

3:15 AM – The lights on Las Vegas Blvd are amazing. And of course, I get lost.

3:30 AM – The streets are packed – both with cars and people. I’m amazed.

4:00 AM – I thought the streets were busy. Then I saw the casino as we checked in. When do these people sleep.

4:15 AM – zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz (x5)

posted by Tim @ 12:18 AM 0 comments links to this post  

Itinerary Update

For those of you following our trip who want to know the where and when of our adventures, I thought I'd spell out our itinerary

Friday 6/30
~6PM We need a ride to the airport. You'll need a minivan. You could come to our house and drive us in ours and return ours back to our driveway. Volunteers?

8:40PM Plane takes off. This is Orlando time. It is Delta Flight 1896.

10:25PM Vegas time. We land in Las Vegas.

11PM Pick up rental minivan from Alamo.

11:30 Checkin to the Las Vegas Hilton on the Nemesis package.

Saturday 7/1
Star Trek Experience. We'll also tour the city and use the hotel pool and recreation.

Sunday 7/2
TBD

Monday 7/3
Early checkout for 275 mile drive to the Grand Canyon! We'll be detouring by Red Rock Canyon and stopping at the Hoover Dam.



4PM Checkin to Yavapai Lodge in the Grand Canyon National Park. We may do the "Sunset Tour" today (90 minutes).

Tuesday 7/4
6AM 3 mile hike down the Bright Angel Trail. According to the Grand Canyon Explorer site, "The Three-Mile resthouse makes for a good day hike for those wanting to see the inner canyon but not wanting to exert themselves too much. There is a very nice spot for viewing just beyond the resthouse."

10AM Should be back to the rim. 3 miles down and up (6 mile total) should get us plenty of breathtaking views at a leisurely rate over 4 hours before the heat becomes unbearable.

The rest of the day we'll spend driving the rim for scenic viewpoints. If we didn't catch the sunset tour yesterday, we'll get it today. If we can find a fireworks display in a nearby town, we'll head for this after sunset. Fiteworks are not allowed in the National Park.

Wednesday 7/5
8AM The long drive back to Las Vegas. With no planned stops, we should be there in five hours.

1PM Checkin to the Stratosphere hotel. We'll probably unwind by the pool on the eighth floor. Of course if the kids want to nap in the room, we can always visit the adult only pool on the 25th floor.

The rest of the day TBD.

10PM The adults will head to Bite.

Thursday 7/6
10AM Visit the Stratosphere observation tower. We will NOT be doing any of the rides. It's insane to imagine.

Noon Checkout. We will probably still hang out at the pool.

2PM We will catch the family friendly Viva Las Vegas show.

9PM Drop off the minivan at the airport Alamo.

11:15PM Vegas time. Delta Flight 1896 takes off for Orlando.

6:40AM Orlando time. Who's picking us up at the airport?

posted by Tim @ 10:58 AM 0 comments links to this post  

One of the rides on the stratosphere is called Insanity. If you want to see a video of it or if you just want to look at its website then go to http://www.insanityride.com/. you might even puke by watching the video.

posted by Haley @ 6:03 PM 1 comments links to this post  

Are we driving through Utah? I really need to look at a map! If we are, Bryce Canyon has been recommended by a couple of friends. Here is the website--boys, check out the kids link:

http://www.nps.gov/brca/index.html

If we have time, it sounds like a fun day stop.

Now, I know that we will be in Nevada! Red Rock Canyon sounds like a lot of fun. It's a 13 mile windy drive through a scenic canyon with stops for hiking along the way. We can sign up for guided hikes for a levels (even less than a mile!) or make our own way. At least 2 people talked to me about this canyon. Here's the link:
http://www.redrockcanyonlv.org/

posted by Tracy @ 9:10 PM 1 comments links to this post  

Hi Powells!

Here is something to think about:

Rainbow Trout Farm
3500 North Highway 89A
Sedona, AZ 86336
(928) 282-5799

I couldn't find an actual link to the farm, but here is a link to a place to stay in Sedona that mentions it:

http://www.swinn.com/things_to_do.html

This farm comes highly recommended by a friend; however, in all fairness, I must mention that I did read a horrible review of it on a website. Let's discuss.

posted by Tracy @ 8:53 PM 0 comments links to this post  

In that kind of weather, I need a pool.

No joke.

posted by Tracy @ 12:03 AM 1 comments links to this post  

South vs. North

Don't get confused by the title of this post. It's not about the Civil War. It's about location. For all y'all following along, I thought I'd clear up one misconception. The south rim is the closest rim to Vegas, so that's where I originally planned to head. As a matter of fact, I've booked a lodge that's operated by the National Park service that's less than a half mile from the rim called Yavapai Lodge.

There were only five rooms left in all the lodges listed as operated on Park property, and we got one. The problem? No AC! Only vaulted ceilings with fans.

Gotta' run. I'll edit this later.

posted by Tim @ 9:55 PM 0 comments links to this post