Second Day In Page

25 September 2014

Weather: Sunny and 34C

This morning we were up at 5:40am to get ready for the first tour of the day.  We grabbed a little bit of breakfast from the Clarion Inn breakfast area.  To this day it still cracks me up, Justin got two round creamy coloured items which he thought was pancakes and covered them in maple syrup.  I thought he was strange but he thought I was the odd ball.  He took a mouthful and discovered he had poured maple syrup all over his cheese omelets.

We drove around to the Colorado River Discovery Centre ( http://raftthecanyon.com/raft-the-river/half-day-raft-trips/ ) were we boarded a bus to the Glen Canyon.  The bus went through the wall of the Glen Canyon to reach our boarding location for the raft.  At this point we had to don hard hats and walk along a walkway over the water’s edge to reach the rafts.  Our group was divided into two smaller groups of 14 people and we floated down the Colorado River with our guide David telling us facts about the Glen Canyon and the dam.  We drifted most of the way to Horseshoe Bend then it was time to hit the throttle and we reached no more than 15 miles an hour.

Glen Canyon Dam

Horseshoe Bend, Colorado Rover

We stopped at a beach area on the way back where we walked along a track to some petroglyphs.  No one knows there meaning but most of them are of horned animals, mostly bighorn sheep.  To my disappointment there was no sheep sighted but we saw Blue Grey Herons, Osprey and a Californian Condor.  The condor was too high up in the sky to take a photo but you could see it with the naked eye.

Petroglyphs, Glen Canyon

Petroglyphs, Glen Canyon

Sandy beach on the Colorado River, Glen Canyon

When the tour finished and we had returned to Page we headed out to the meeting point for our afternoon tour to see what time it starts after the previous night’s confusion.  Our afternoon tour wasn't until 2:00pm so we had some lunch using the groceries we had bought the afternoon before.  Then it was time to head out again to Adventurous Antelope Canyon Tours ( www.navajoantelopecanyon.com/tours.html ) to meet our guide Noah, who took us to see Rattlesnake and Antelope Canyons.  Rattlesnake is not as popular, it is open to the sunlight making it better to photograph.  The iconic shaft of light that enters Antelope Canyon in summer makes it more popular but for September it was too dark and most of the photos turned out blurry.  We had an enjoyable tour as it was just the two of us and our guide.  That afternoon we met Lionel Bigthumb who would be taking us out on the night tour.

Me at Rattlesnake Canyon

Antelope Canyon

After the second tour of the day we had a couple of hours of down time.  I spent some of the time writing in my travel journal, while eating grapes and drinking water.  We are in the desert so one needs to keep themselves hydrated.  Justin had a nap as he had caught my cold and had a headache, maybe not enough water?  Rested up we had Thai for dinner at Dara Thai Express then drove out to meet Lionel for the night tour.  Justin was the photographer for the night using our SLR camera and tripod.  Luckily he was the photographer as I had sinusitis for the first time in my life and had taken Benadryl which meant I kept falling asleep even when I was standing.  Justin took photos of the stars as well as a flame spun around in the air by Lionel in the dark.  We then went into Antelope Canyon to get photos of the stars and the canyon at the same time.  Justin also took photos of the canyon walls which where lit up by Lionel to allow enough light to capture the photos.  The process involved Lionel lighting the walls up in various locations for short periods of, this is called light painting.  I slept all the way back to our car and I think the way back to the Clarion Inn but the medicine was doing its trick.  Handy note don't take Benadryl when you really want to do something interesting like a tour.

Stars at Antelope Canyon

Night photography at Antelope Canyon

First Day In Page

25 September 2014

Weather: Sunny and at least 29C.

This morning we had a good sleep in at the Golden Nugget because check-out wasn't until 11:00am.  We didn't stay that long because we had an almost 5 hour drive ahead of us.  We headed out of Las Vegas following the directions of the Hertz Neverlost System and were not sure which way it was taking us.  We stopped at a gas station (I know we call them a service stations), to see if we could but a map but none of them were printed very clearly or covered the area we wanted.  We did manage to work out that it was sending us the right direction.  

On the road from Las Vegas to Page

Arizona sign

At first we followed the signs to Salt Lake City.  The drive was spectacular, passing through the Virgin River Gorge and through a number of National Parks with amazingly barren mountains of interesting shapes and colours.  

Justin and I at the Virgin River Gorge

We stopped in St George, Utah looking for some lunch and followed the signs to the Visitor Information Centre which was in a temporary location within the Rosenbruch World Wildlife Museum which is worth a visit.  I picked up a map and brochure on the Kane Country, it showed the route the Neverlost system was taking us.

Me with the Utah sign at St George

We drove onto Hurricane where we stopped for Taco Bell.  We had tacos and a wrap, which tasted alright to me.  We also had a nice cold cordial which was yumberry and pomegranate.  

Justin drove us out of Hurricane and then I had ago of driving on the wrong side of the road for the first time.  I drove for an hour to Kanab where we filled the Dodge up with gas (fuel) and then Justin drove to Page.

Before reaching Fredonia

Justin relaxing on the side of the road before we reached Page.

I thought we had a night tour booking of Antelope Canyon where we had to meet the guide at 8:30pm so we checked into the Holiday Inn Express Page which had changed its name to Clarion Inn Page.

Our room at the Clarion Inn Page

After checking in we walked across the road to Big John's Texas Barbeque for some dinner.  We weren't a fan of the flavour, I had the chicken nachos but it was nothing like nachos as I know it. Justin had the sampler with ribs, beans, potato salad, sausage, pulled pork and bread.

The sampler at Big John's Texas Barbeque

After dinner Justin drove us out to the meeting point for the night tour but they had already left for the night.  We weren't late and we waited 40 minutes but still no-one turned up.  It turned out the guide had that our tour was the following night which was fine as we had two nights in Page.

   

First Day In Las Vegas

23 September 2014

Weather: Sunny and 36C

This morning we had to get up at 3:00am to check out of the Jackson Lake Lodge at 3:20am to drive south to Jackson Hole to return the hire car.  We drove in the dark but could make out that there was some deer on the side of the road, one appeared to be an elk cow.  We got the hire car back to Alamo and made the 4:30am airport shuttle, the first of the day.  Note that the Alamo office is in the town and not at the airport so we had to ride the shuttle north along the road we had driven along that morning.  To save on car hire we had booked with Alamo but for ease and a sleep in I would have gone for one of the companies at the airport.  

We arrived at the airport and the staff were not behind the counters so we queued for a while until the staff arrived.  Checked in for our flights we had breakfast before boarding our first flight to Salt Lake City which took only 49 minutes.  We had a very short stop over to change flights where we then flew from Salt Lake City to Las Vegas, the flight took 1 1/2 hours.  My ears did not pop due to having a cold and were very painful but luckily didn't cause any damage.  

We collected our hire car from Hertz who upgrade us to a Kia SUV, but the Neverlost navigation system would not work with the app we had programed our trip into so after some persistence they upgraded us again to a Dodge.  That is more like it, to drive an American car on our trip was great.  

Justin drove us to the Las Vegas sign where there was no carparks so we parked in a carpark nearby and raced over to get a photo with the sign.  The queue to stand in front of the sign was too long and we were parked were we shouldn't have been so Justin stood to the side of the sign and we were in and out in minutes.  

Las Vegas sign

We then drove to the Las Vegas North Premium Outlets where I brought a Kate Spade NY, dress for US$200 and Justin bought some new sport shoes as his, which he bought before going on this trip had thin soles and were not providing any cushioning, not good for long days of walking and standing.  Since check-in is much later in the USA we drove around Las Vegas before trying to checking in to the Golden Nugget.  Put it this way if you are early you won't get into your room any earlier.

Our room at the Golden Nugget

The view from our room at the Golden Nugget

Checked in we decided to hit the pool area so Justin could go on the waterslide which goes through a fish and shark tank.  I chickened out due to not liking waterslides, rides or anything that causes adrenalin.  I used the excuse of my sore ears from the flights earlier that day.  I did hang out in the pool on my own which did seem pretty strange especially after Justin had his first go on the waterslide wearing his GoPro on his wrist and having forgotten to put the waterproof cover on.  The GoPro therefore stopped working and he raced off to the room to pull it apart and try to dry it out.  This meant I was left in the pool on my own for quite a long time before he reappeared to go on the waterslide minus his camera a couple of times.

The waterslide at the Golden Nugget

Afterwards we changed and headed out to Fremont Street to have a look around during daylight hours and later returned to watch the Fremont Experience a couple of times during the night.  

Golden Nugget

Street Entertainer

After seeing the first light show we wanted to know what time the Bon Jovi light show would be on.  We were staying at the Golden Nugget and they are one of the sponsors so I thought the staff would be a good place to ask.  No one could help us and didn't even want to help us, with our disappointment we walked back out to Fremont Street and found that the show times are showing on the screen above.  Bon Jovi was on at 9:00pm so we hung out in Fremont Street until then.  A live band played between the light shows and after the Bon Jovi light show we had a buffet dinner at the Golden Nugget before going to bed, which we fell asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillows.  

Fremont Street Lights

When the Fremont Street Light Show starts

     

Second Day In The Grand Teton National Park

22 September 2014
Weather: Rainy and 21C

Old Faithful Inn Dinning Room

This morning Justin and I had the buffet breakfast at the Old Faithful Inn, checked out and then joined the 9:30am tour of the Old Faithful Inn.  During the tour was on we stayed out in the undercover area where you arrive and check in just to see Old Faithful Geyser erupt one more time.

After the tour we drove to Gibbon Falls which is about half way between Norris and Madison. Where we took photographs before heading onto the Norris Geyser Basin to find Steamboat Geyser, it is the tallest geyser in the world when it erupts which occurs anywhere between every 4 days or 50 years.  Yes this is correct!  It last went off on the 3^rd of September and we didn’t see it erupt during our visit. 

Me at Gibbon Falls

Steamboat Geyser

Steamboat Geyser sign

Norris Geyser Basin

We drove through the rain to Cotler Bay where we stopped for lunch at around 2:00pm.  At this time of the afternoon there is very little food left so I decided on a banana and Justin went the beef jerky and a glazed donut.  We then drove onto Jackson Lake Lodge arriving an hour later and were told that our cabin wouldn’t be ready until 4:00pm, so Justin used the Wi-Fi in the lobby while I bought a postcard and looked through the gift shops.  

Jackson Lake Lodge Lobby

I also went out to the balcony to look for elk and moose but could only hear the elk bugling in the distance.  Once we checked into our cabin we showered and got ready for dinner.  We didn’t get into our room until sometime after 4:30pm as it still wasn’t ready at 4:00pm.  

The bedroom in our cabin at Jackson Lake Lodge

We drove down the road to Willow Flat and Oxbow Bend Turnout to try to find more animals but due to the rain we didn’t have any luck, so Justin drove on towards Moose Village but turned around before the village because we had to be back for our dinner reservation.  

On the road to Moose Village

Our reservation for the Mural Room wasn’t until 7:00pm so this allowed us 30 minutes of animal spotting from the lodge which we managed to see elk in the distance: two elk bulls bugling and about four female elk cows in the meadows between Jackson Lake Lodge and Jackson Lake.  From this distance they could be seen with the naked eye but looked about the size of ants.  

Elk seen from Jackson Lake Lodge

Elk seen from Jackson Lake Lodge

 We continued to watch the elk when seated next to the window at the Mural Room.

The mural at the Mural Room 

While waiting for our dinner we were served a free but tiny watermelon, ginger and mint soup which was served cold, it was very refreshing and enjoyable.  For dinner Justin had the duck and I had an elk steak cooked medium rare, it was delicious and tender and served with red cabbage sauerkraut and white beans.  In my opinion elk steaks are the best meat I have eaten to date.  We also had bread rolls served with butter in the shape of moose, how cool!  We didn’t have any dessert but we were give free dark chocolates in the shape of bison’s, again I am impressed.  

Duck

Butter in the shape of a moose

Elk with sauerkraut and white beans

Chocolate Bisons

We called it a night afterwards as we are going to have an early morning the next day.