From the GC village, we went south on Highway 64 to a cut-off at Road 180. A spur of the moment decision, Road 180 angled cross-country on our way back to Flagstaff.We had a spectacular view of the San Francisco mountains, particularly twin snow-covered peak mountains Humphreys and Agassiz, elevation approximately 3800m (12,400 ft.) each. Further down this scenic road was the entrance to the Arizona Snowbowl professional alpine ski site. This was a very full day; however, we do not feel that we needed more time at the canyon than this one full day. The following day, our southern drive from Flagstaff to Sedona was one of the most exhilarating drives I have enjoyed. Take Highway 89A south and you will travel up and down mountain slopes with several intense switchbacks around obstacles and river beds. Place two hands on the steering wheel, foot near the brake pedal and enjoy the excitement of the ride down the mountain. It was like your personal Monte Carlo ride. Sedona is located in a beautiful red rock setting. The city is a busy tourist community known for its shops, mystical tours into the area countryside and accommodations. Leaving the next morning, we drove along I-40 west towards Las Vegas and the Hoover Dam cut-off, Highway 93. We spent about an hour at Lake Mead and Hoover Dam. If you are careful, you can find the pull-off to a public parking area of the O’CallaghanTillman Bridge on the westbound side of Road 93 (I-11 in Nevada). We missed the turn and had to double back. There is a public walkway up the mountainside that leads to a walkway above the Colorado River. Bring your camera if you do visit the dam. Such an amazing work of engineering only 1,000 feet away. Apparently, there is enough concrete in the construction to pave a 16-foot-wide road from New York to San Francisco. There are very good storyboards to aid in understanding how difficult the dam was to construct in the 1930s. Crossing into Nevada, not much further down I-11 is Las Vegas. We arrived in town just before rush hour, on a Friday afternoon. Our hotel was selected to be within walking distance of the “strip.” Parking in the area of the strip is very expensive, if you can locate any at all. Next day, our little Toto again went to a dog sitter and we began our two full days of touring Las Vegas. We walked to the strip and went up one side and down the other, from Caesars Palace down to MGM Grand and New York-New York. There are replicas of the Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty that amaze you. The sidewalks are wide and rarely do you have to walk across side streets. Often, walkways and elevators are in place to get you from one side of a street to the other above the roadway. A favourite spot to stop along the strip is the pond in front of the Bellagio. Here, we watched a wonderful water display, as wellplaced fountain chutes shot water into the air in rhythm with Cher’s song “Believe.” It was a captivating display of sound and water syncopation. We did not spend much time in the casinos. However, we had instructions to place a bet for an Ontario friend from our Florida community…$100 on the Blue Jays to win the World Series! Caesars Palace sports betting gave us two free beer tickets for placing the bet! Our friend says that this may be all that we “win.” For the evening, we purchased tickets to the Caesars Palace Coliseum to see country music star Keith Urban.This was an excellent show. Lights and sound in this theatre −where there is no bad seat − was so, so good.That Saturday night there was much entertainment competition with several big-name acts in town. As one expects in Vegas, there is lots to do and see. Youmust get your photo taken at theWelcome to Las Vegas sign.There was amoderate lineup to do so whenwe drove to the site. Tourists like its “easy in-easy out” location in the roadway centre median. A volunteer was on site to help you pose and snap the digital photos on your device. I think that we came away with 25 pictures as a result! Got to love digital! Desert View lookout, Grand Canyon Hoover Dam, view O’Callaghan-Tillman Bridge walkway 26 | www.snowbirds.org Travel
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