Day 4.
Justin actually got out of bed at five am to watch the sunrise. He woke me up and asked me if I wanted to go with him, but sleeping just sounded so much more appealing. So he went and took some pictures and I slept for about three more hours.
The advantage to staying at the Grand Canyon is that we literally walked out of our hotel and walked straight to South Rim and we were there early enough that we beat the crowd and had the rim to ourselves for the most part aside from some early-risers.
The Grand Canyon is breathtaking. Seriously I took about a million pictures and I don’t think even they do the Canyon justice. Seeing it in person, and just being like “Oh My God, how did the world create something so beautiful” is a feeling I can’t describe.
I think my words are going to fail me this entry. I don’t know how to describe it. Just the rocks, the colors, the experience, being there… It’s like another world.
Justin and I walked along the “Trail of Time”, which is about a three mile walk alongside the South Rim, every meter walked on the trail signifies another million years of the Grand Canyon’s Geological history. There are plenty of signs and labeled rocks that explain the history of the Canyon and how it formed its different layers. It was definitely cool. We walked about half the trail before heading back. One cool thing about the Grand Canyon is that they have water refill stations that contain water from a spring near the North Rim and it was delicious tasting world and gives a new meaning to spring water. We also went to Verkamps Visitor Center and picked up a Grand Canyon sticker and stamps for our National Parks Passports. I also bought some postcards that I have yet to send, and Justin bought a nifty walking stick with a compass on it.
We spent about three hours at the Grand Canyon before heading out to our next destinations. We could’ve stayed longer, but we didn’t want a repeat of the Petrified Forest situation, where we were on the road for hours.
I didn’t get sunburned today, YAY, I made sure to put crazy high SPF on… However, I am developing quite a special Teva tan on my feet from my shoes.
We headed out of the park and halfway between the Grand Canyon and Flagstaff is this place called Bedrock City. Bedrock City was made in the 1970s and it’s a recreation of Bedrock City from the Flintstones. However, time has taken over this version of it [there’s another in South Dakota] and it’s seriously like a creepy ghost town on Route 66 or a post-atomic bomb settlement where there are little to no survivors… However, that’s just a part of the charm, in my opinion. The buildings are falling apart, the paint is fading, it’s practically abandoned, and I had to check it out before it disappears forever.
The soundtrack of Flintstones episodes plays through the park over loudspeakers and there is also a theater, where you can sit and watch episodes of the show. There’s the goat-a-saurus cage, a doctor’s office, a jail, a volcano, a gas station, a school, and Fred/Wilma and Barney/Betty’s houses. You can wander in and out of the buildings and stare at creepy mannequins,broken down props, and fading paint. There’s a little playground in the park with a dinosaur slide, a seesaw and a swing set. There are vehicles all over the park that you can sit in. It was a really cool yet creepy detour. For five dollars, it’s totally worth it.
Then we started on the road towards Vegas. There was absolutely nothing on either side of the highway for about three hours. Then we finally hit civilization at Kingman, AZ, where we filled our Yeti up with ice, got gas, and stopped at an Arby’s for linner, and then continued towards Vegas.
Originally we planned to visit the Hoover Dam, but it closed at five and we just didn’t get there in time, oh well.
We arrived at Vegas, and checked into our room at the MGM Grand Hotel. Unfortunately we were there too late to go swimming, but hopefully we’ll get to the pools tomorrow. I’ll write a review about the hotel tomorrow, after we’ve experienced more of its amenities.
Tomorrow we’re meeting up with our friends Kara and Bill, hitting a buffet for breakfast, and then Justin and Bill will do guy things and Kara and I will do girl things, and eventually we’ll reconvene after a few hours.
Tonight, we may go check out the strip, or we may just take it easy. I’ve been to Vegas before, so it’s not really a new destination for me, but Justin has never been here before, so it’s alien to him.