Vac Day IX - A Wink at Vegas then Grand Canyon

Sunday - September 5th, 2010

Vegas then Grand Canyon

We arrived after 8PM the night before, but it took us as long as the duration of the flight to get our rental. Partly, I think it was due to a long weekend, so most vehicles were already rented out and it was a last minute deal as we tried different options on getting separate rentals for both groups. We did have a reservation for a vehicle fit for 12 people so, after an hour or haggling and analyzing what would be best for all of us, we settled for the original plan.

It was huge, a Ford E350, will showcase it in a little bit. Florence had the privilege to try it out first, facing with minor challenges even before leaving the parking lot, like releasing the brake hehe

After quite late dinner which we had at Panda Express -- Chinese Fast Food, we checked in at Tuscany Casino, small by Vegas standard and was pleasantly surprised by the sheer size of their rooms. After spending three full nights in a small hole with three other adults, that was a very nice change. It even came with its own kitchenette along with a small round dining table, sofa set and even a desk. That's luxurious compared to our accommodation in SF.

Didn't even manage to "break-in" the room also... such a waste.

Apologize for the crappy picture -- lack of light does that :)

Alright, enough bashing that inn in SF. We didn't really get to enjoy our stay at the Tuscany as we headed out a little after 7AM. It was my turn to test out the big wheels. I've never driven nor carried so many passengers in my life. Being liable for many lives was kind of scary. But, this van drives great. Maneuvering was effortless. Initial plan was to head to Quiznos for breakfast, but they were not open yet. So we opted for Jack in the Box which was open and nearby.

After our quite hearty fast food breakfast, we all got back into the van and here starts our supposedly 5 hour journey to Grand Canyon South Rim. About 30mins into our journey...

Hoover Dam... on the way to Grand Canyon.

Spectacular feat of engineering. Nuff said. Too dam dry and hot :)

Everything was so dry even my lips were so badly chapped. Oh, this is where I wished Papa "Happy Birthday" hehe

This dam lies between two states, Nevada and Arizona...

Here's how the others cope with the hotness and dryness of this environment we call desert -- notice the hand gesture of Sean Ee and Mom's face on the first pic!

Yea! That's the van I drove :D Conveniently serves as a shield from the scorching sun

Papa so adventurous he climbed down the wall (look closely in the first picture above) and crossed the road to take this marvelous picture:

Papa seriously need to lose that backpack

Back on the road, much of nothingness mostly.

And this would be one trip with many pit-stops with most of the old folks needed constant bathroom breaks. Papa said even he was getting affected haha PCC and I take turns to drive. We stopped for lunch at A&W in Saligman, AZ (of all places, not that we have that many options)... and it's been a long while since I last dined at this restaurant hehe ordered a Giant Float, but... forgot to take a picture of it! Dam.

The scenery has changed quite a bit as we ascend to higher elevation. I believe about 5000+ft. Seligman also lies on the the historic Route 66.

When it was PCC's turn to drive, I took the opportunity to take a nap. When I woke up... we pulled over for another pit-stop. Not sure what town it was, but we were definitely getting closer. There were a couple of shops and there were a couple of tables laid in front of those shops selling souvenirs made from the local Indian tribe. Mostly jewelries and ceramics, I really like their vase but they were overpriced.

As we were heading back out on the road, PCC pointed at the mailboxes. I guess that's the amount of people who live in the surrounding areas.

Not too long after our stop, we finally arrived at the park after 4PM. Admission fee is $25, valid for 7 days! It's a shame we weren't going to fully utilize the pass. After sitting in the car for hours, everyone was ready to get out and see the majestic canyons. It was dry, windy and the sun was bright and sunny.

Papa and Mom seemed anxious so they walked ahead of us. We stopped and took some pictures.

There was a little detour as they have construction, so we followed the path and anxiously scan for the grandeur of canyons. Then out of nowhere, as I looked to my right, there they were. My jaw dropped. All I could muttered was "oh my god... wow". It was humbling and so sudden. It took me a while to absorb the sheer magnificence of this place. I even forgot to take pictures. Everywhere you look, at any angle was a great view. It was simply awesome.

Pictures do zero justice.

Everyone sort of went at their own pace and got separated from the group and I ventured off on my own as well. The canyons are so massive and even in person, they looked as if they were big posters plastered across the screen. There were a couple of times, I tried to capture some pictures closer to the edge and I'm not really afraid of heights but boy when I was getting close to the edge, I could feel my legs trembling.

After almost two hours of nature therapy, I started heading back to the bathroom where we've parted ways earlier. I was surprised to see that most everyone has gathered. Florence's old folks gang asked if Sean Ee was with me, I told them no and that I was alone. They said she was nowhere to be found! Alarmed, PCC and I went to the Visitor's Center to look for her, and a few minutes later, I received a call from Vanitha saying that she was found. It wouldn't be fun if we have to report Sean Ee missing hehe

I really enjoyed the short time at Grand Canyon. This is definitely another place where I'll come back for an extended visit. There is the North Rim where it's only 10 miles away from the South Rim where we were but 215 miles by road! Imagine that. It would be a great experience to hike there or take a mule ride or go on the river trips. So many things to do and so much to see yet so little time.

It was getting dark by the time we exited the park. We did not stay within the immediate vicinity of the park but about an hour's drive away in a small town called Williams. I looked on my phone and they said there's a Thai restaurant in that small town so we decided to have that for dinner. Once we reached, we weren't able to locate that restaurant. I even tried calling but to no avail. We just assumed they went out of business because we walked up those street a couple times and don't see it. We were starving and settled for pizza place instead. We gave our orders and they said it will be 30mins...

While waiting, mom and Sean Ee went to the shops closeby to do a little shopping. Since it was Papa's birthday, I thought it'd be nice to give him a little surprise so I asked if they have any desserts, to my disappointment, they only have ice-creams and only in two flavors. What to do, just ordered them anyways and requested them that they bring it out when we're almost done with dinner.

I went up to the server and tell them to bring out the ice-cream in a little bit, but then with Papa's timing, while they were almost ready, he went to the bathroom pulak. So I asked if they can wait for Papa to come out and re-bring it back haha of course they complied. So once Papa came back out, I sort of signal to them again that they can start to bring the ice-cream out again. And I tried to act coy by looking at their menu, while opening the menu at its full stretch, it bumped onto PCC's water and knocked it off the table to Papa's direction and spilled onto his pants... oops... so Papa frantically wiped the water off his pants. Then out of nowhere, all the servers gathered with his ice-cream singing and clapping Happy Birthday for him haha

I left my camera in the van so thanks to PCC for capturing some of those moments. After they were done, Papa asked, how did they know it was his birthday kakaka

The ice-creams were pretty good and we all shared some.
Papa, Happy 60th birthday and many more to come!