Took the Hoover Dam Tour today. Checked out of the hotel, left my car in the parking ramp where it had remained the entire time I was there, and was picked up at 9:00 a.m. The bus driver stopped at the welcome to Las Vegas sign on the way and let us all out for a photo op. Then on to Boulder, where the tour company is located to pay for the tour. They were offering new helicopter tours over the Hoover Dam and Lake Mead for $99. Would have liked to do that, but it would have involved staying longer than I wanted to.
Hoover Dam is amazing! We did the power plant tour, which takes you into the bowels of the dam. You're then free to wander across the dam and around. Good views of the new bridge. Oh, and we saw 3 bighorn sheep in the hills just before the dam! The water level is way down, due to the 12-year drought they're experiencing. Has left a very noticeable white ring (from the minerals in the water) on the Black Canyon walls. Saw tumbling tumbleweeds on the way back. A little bit of everything today.
Got the car from the parking ramp and hit the I-15 towards St. George, Utah. Was hoping to get farther, but forgot about losing an hour and I was getting tired and didn't want to be driving in the dark. Didn't realize that I would be passing through a piece of Arizona along the way. Hello/good-bye, Arizona.
The drive through the Virgin Canyon just before getting to St. George is awesome--easily rivals some of the gorgeous national parks. That's the same river that carved Zion.
Stopped first at a Hilton Garden Inn which allegedly had rooms for $69 according to the AAA book. $89 was the best price she would give me. Told her I'd stay elsewhere. Just down the street was a brand-new Comfort Inn which had nice big rooms for $61. I parked next to another Minnesota car. What are the odds of that? It's definitely cooler here, decided to bring in the big suitcase and get out some warmer clothes.
Also discovered that they have a very nice guest laundry that only charges $1 to wash and $1 to dry, so decided to do laundry while I had all the stuff with me in the room. That's when I made the ugly discovery that I've somehow misplaced my big ziplock bag of underwear. Have been operating out of a smaller bag and hand washing. No clue where I might have left it. Last time I had the big bag in the hotel was in Santa Barbara. Have sent them an e-mail to see if I left it there. Guess I'll be hand washing from now on! I suppose it won't be the end of the world if that's all I lose on this trip.
The wi-fi didn't work for spit, but the desk had an ethernet cord they lent me and life is good and connected. Will have to add that item to my travel bag. Also need to acquire another mouse to replace the one I managed to kill.
WANDERINGS & MUSINGS. Occasional thoughts on travel, getting ready to travel, other things. Maybe some lessons learned along the way.
Reading your blog today brought back lots of memories: Vegas, Boulder Dam tour, drive through the desert. I have made the I-15 trip to Salt Lake City many times on ski trips. The last time, however, was seven years ago when we flew to SLC to pick up my Mini Cooper and drove it back to SoCal. I bought it in Utah because dealers in California were charging a $3000 premium for Minis in those early days. The instruction was to keep the speed under 70 mph for the first thousand miles. When I got to the Virgin River Canyon, however, I had to open it up past 85...it put a big and long smile on my face as I went through miles of twisties through the gorge. That's when I knew I bought the right car. We stopped in Vegas, at Treasure Island, stuffed ourselves at the great buffet at the Bellagio and marveled at the fountains and music.
ReplyDeleteAnother memory was our stay in a motel in St. George a couple of decades ago on a drive with the kids to Colorado. The girls, about 3 and 7 then, had never stayed in motel before. The pool and water slide just outside our room was about the most exciting thing to them. Then later, they were in heaven as they watched TV from their bed in the motel room, a previously impossible and unimaginable thing for them.
If you haven't taken I-70 towards Denver, you should do that some time. Positively gorgeous!
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