What to do when you boss says "Yes. You can take your 3 weeks of vacation at once"

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

Great room, and an awesome price!! I have been to through Vegas but we didn't stop. We were on our way to California to see my brand new nephew and my mother wasn't stopping for nothing. I will have to put a Vegas trip on my bucket list!

[Katman1356...Jason 1,140]

Before I forget I said in Vegas I only lost $1. That's because on my way out I played exactly $1 and lost. I almost always do and choose to spend my money on food and shows. Plus we have a casino right down the road from us. Might as well give my money to the local guy.

OKay since Nicki is being patient we will continue on. We headed up to the Hoover Dam but I will tell you right now we did not go inside on the tour. While I am sure it was cool inside we just weren't into the idea.

Here's Lake Meade

Almost there

Bridge for the roadway going over the colorado river after it goes through the dam.

A memorial to its completion. If you notice it's feet are really shiny. Legend has it if you rub the feet BEFORE going into Vegas you will have good luck. Clearly i missed the memo on that one.

If you have seen the Transformers movie that came out a few years back this is where Sector 7 is supposedly based.

Intake towers

If you notice the lighter color rock in the background that is how far the water level has dropped. It used to be much higher but as more and more is sent out for irrigation it keeps dropping.

You were warned about the view. I get vertigo but for the adoring public reading this report I took one for the team.

okay 2

Area shots

A couple of weird people who got in the way of my camera.

We were there for an hour or so. Its kind of hard to tell as one side of the dam is in one time zone and the other side is in another.

from there we headed east

I saw signs for a place that had Venison and elk Jerky and I was really hoping to get some. This is what the front door looked like.

Unfortunately they were out of everything except super spicy hot beef jerky so we continued on.

We came upon Seligman and Rt 66 again and Silvia wanted to stop and get a post card so we did.

We then turned and headed north. We were heading for the south rim of the Grand Canyon

I will continue in next post.

[Judy in Texas 150]

I've not been to Hoover Dam either and it is on my list. I'll get there someday.

We saw Glen Canyon Dam when we went to the Grand Canyon's south rim. It was impressive. For now your pics will have to do. :wave1:

[Katman1356...Jason 1,140]

I can't wait to see the Hoover Dam. We missed it since we went to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon instead of the south..... waiting... waiting.... ok, i'll be patient

Thank you for your patience.

Great room, and an awesome price!! I have been to through Vegas but we didn't stop. We were on our way to California to see my brand new nephew and my mother wasn't stopping for nothing. I will have to put a Vegas trip on my bucket list!

It was a fun place to visit. I think we might go back again for a couple of days but this was enough for this trip.

[Katman1356...Jason 1,140]

I've not been to Hoover Dam either and it is on my list. I'll get there someday.

We saw Glen Canyon Dam when we went to the Grand Canyon's south rim. It was impressive. For now your pics will have to do. :wave1:

It is an impressive sight.

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

Wow, just awesome!!!! I have GOT to get out West! (and not in an airplane)

[Brent... Just Brent 83]

Great updates. I've done the inside tour of the Hover Dam. Meh. You didn't really miss anything. Glad you took one for the team and got those photos. They were great.

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Loving all the photos! I'll probably never get that far west and sure am enjoying your trip!

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

Wow that was Awesome. You know those strange people might be stalking you. They keep showing up in your pictures.....

[Southern Blessings 4]

Vegas went by really fast, lol! Love the dam pictures!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Whoa, Vegas did go by fast!

Props to you for eating at Earl of Sandwich.

Too bad you didn't go find Rick, Chumlee and the Old Man (from Pawn Stars-have you ever seen it?). I would have.

What the heck is going on with all those devil worship statues at the Hoover dam? It looks like some kind of witchcraft is going on there, I tell you. What is up with those weird statues and zodiac stuff? What does any of that have to do with a dam?

TCD

[Katman1356...Jason 1,140]

Whoa, Vegas did go by fast!

Props to you for eating at Earl of Sandwich.

Too bad you didn't go find Rick, Chumlee and the Old Man (from Pawn Stars-have you ever seen it?). I would have.

What the heck is going on with all those devil worship statues at the Hoover dam? It looks like some kind of witchcraft is going on there, I tell you. What is up with those weird statues and zodiac stuff? What does any of that have to do with a dam?

TCD

I cant remember the reason behind the design of the statues.. There was one I am just blank. The zodiac stuff was for a purpose. They set up the Compass Rose and zodiac symbols along with some other details that marked the exact date and time the Dam was completed. They wanted to leave a marker behind that could be figured out by someone at any point in the future . At least thats how I remember it.

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

Too bad you didn't go find Rick, Chumlee and the Old Man (from Pawn Stars-have you ever seen it?). I would have.

TCD

Some friends of ours did try to do that when they were in Vegas. Those three were nowhere to be seen, and the folks that were working were really rude. I bet those three are rarely at the store any longer except when they kick everyone else out for filming.

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Those aren't devil worship statues. Clearly those are mothmen. And now I'm begining to wonder why you have so many mothman pictures in your trip report. Between you and Judy I am really getting creeped out.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Some friends of ours did try to do that when they were in Vegas. Those three were nowhere to be seen, and the folks that were working were really rude. I bet those three are rarely at the store any longer except when they kick everyone else out for filming.

I should have known. I'll bet that show has made them rich.

Those aren't devil worship statues. Clearly those are mothmen. And now I'm begining to wonder why you have so many mothman pictures in your trip report. Between you and Judy I am really getting creeped out.

Darn it Dave.

Why did you have to mention Mothman?

I'm going to have to sleep with the lights on again tonight.

TCD

[Total Joker ... TJ 203]

I'm in, you can start the report now. :clint:

[fladogfan aka Gretchen 259]

Thanks for the warning about the dam photos, good thing I took a Bonine pill this morning.

[Katman1356...Jason 1,140]

I'm in, you can start the report now. :clint:

I am so glad you are here. I wasn't sure how much longer I could wait before starting this. The natives get restless you know.

Thanks for the warning about the dam photos, good thing I took a Bonine pill this morning.

I had a real hard time looking down that dam.

[stefa70 205]

I understand your quick stop in Vegas. We stayed for 4 days and it was about 2, too long. We had a blast and there was a million things we missed, but it's just SO MUCH. The lights, the noise, the people, the hangovers.....

The damn dam freaked me out a little. I skimmed them quickly. Thanks for taking one for the team, I couldn't have done it.

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

I understand your quick stop in Vegas. We stayed for 4 days and it was about 2, too long. We had a blast and there was a million things we missed, but it's just SO MUCH. The lights, the noise, the people, the hangovers.....

The damn dam freaked me out a little. I skimmed them quickly. Thanks for taking one for the team, I couldn't have done it.

six hours in Vegas on a Sunday was too much for me...

[Katman1356...Jason 1,140]

I understand your quick stop in Vegas. We stayed for 4 days and it was about 2, too long. We had a blast and there was a million things we missed, but it's just SO MUCH. The lights, the noise, the people, the hangovers.....

The damn dam freaked me out a little. I skimmed them quickly. Thanks for taking one for the team, I couldn't have done it.

I have to admit the damn really freaked me out. looking down one side to teh water which was a ways but not to far and then looing down the other side...and down....and down....shudder

six hours in Vegas on a Sunday was too much for me...

haha

[Katman1356...Jason 1,140]

Continuing on we headed north towards the Grand Canyon.

We would not be making it there tonight however we were camping for the night an hour outside the canyon.

Where you say.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PPf3aaZmUw

Thats right Flintsonte's Bedrock City Campground!

Out back, for a nominal fee, they have built Bedrock City and you can explore it. I will say this was built I believe in the early 80's and hasn't had to much in the way of upkeep. So if you bring little ones keep an eye on them.

Dang bird was trying to eat me!

Is it quitting time yet? There was a slide in the tail of this dinosaur but again I wasn't to sure of it so I went back down the stairs.

After we get set up, explored and had some dinner in the diner, good food cheap prices, A storm came rolling in. We hung out in the car while it quickly passed through and were rewarded with this sight.

We headed off to bed and the next morning we finished the drive up to the Grand Canyon.

And here it is...

No really thats it. What you think its a painting or a picture.

Nope that is the real thing. It is so massive the brain has trouble interpreting the distances involved. It seems almost like a flat image.

While walking along the trail along the South Rim Silvia was taking pictures. Every 20 feet or so she would stop and take another picture. Till i finally pointed out to her that she was getting pictures of the same exact thing. Because we would go behind a tree it would almost seem like the view had changed but it had not really.

We spent a couple of hours exploring different points along the rim.

This used to be a place where the Indians demonstrated how they made things. Now it is a museum.

Pic limit.

[Katman1356...Jason 1,140]

Bonus points if anyone can tell me what movie this hotel facade was used in. It had a different name for the movie.

While moving along the rim we saw these guys.

Up towards the eastern edge.

The tower was added on as a museum and designed to use the same type of rock as the surrounding area to help it blend in...well as much as a 3 story tower can "blend in"

On the way back to our car at one point I saw this little lady on Silvia's shirt. Knowing how she feels about bugs I rescued her from a certain death.

They had free water fountains as a way to encourage people to not use bottled water. I made sure to fill up a bottle to bring home. Still have it too.

And that was the end of the Grand Canyon for us. I think we would like to return here when we can adventure down to the bottom for an overnight camp and maybe explore the north rim.

On our way down the road after we saw some indians set up on the side of the road peddling their wares and stopped. Silvia bought some pretty jewelry and I finally managed to get my hands on some beef and buffalo jerky. They were awesome. I need to order some more of that now that I think about it.

It amused me that while they had no electricity or phones running to there set up they did have an Iphone with a charging setup.

In the next post we head for monument valley.

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

Interesting side note -

while we went to the grand canyon, every single view you just posted was new to me. Great shots!

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

Just...... WOW!!