A Hoover of a different kind!

We had decided to make a detour on our journey from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon to take in the Hoover Dam and also part of Route 66.

After only about 40 minutes drive we arrived at the dam. We decided not to do the tour as we really didn’t have time, but we did pay to go in and look at the museum which was fascinating

and to use the viewing platform

and we also walked across the dam and back again!

 

It was then time to get back in the car and do some more driving! As soon as we joined Route 66 in Kingman I took over the driving, which allowed Hugh to watch some enormous trains and their loads go past us for quite a distance!

I was expecting Route 66 to be fairly busy, but it was extremely quiet and we never had to overtake another car, or get stuck behind anyone going slowly. We saw a few motorbikes travelling in the other direction, but apart from that it was a very quiet and pleasant drive! However, it did add quite a bit of time on to our journey and when we got to Peach Spring I let Hugh take over and drive on to Seligman where we rejoined the main route. However, we had both ‘Got our kicks on Route 66!’

We then had another couple of hours of easy driving until we reached the Grand Canyon National Park Entrance. We paid our fee, collected our newspaper with all the local information and set off to find our hotel!

This was not quite as easy as we had expected! Our hotel, Kachina Lodge, has no reception, so we had to check in at El Tovar. We missed the turning for this hotel and it was all one way, so we had a bit of a tour of the park before being able to get back to it! When we did get back the car park was completely full, so Hugh had to pull up at the front and I hopped out and checked us in. We then drove round to our hotel, only to find that the car park there was full too! There was an unloading area, so we unloaded all the cases and then Hugh went to find somewhere further down the road to park. He then had a bit of luck as someone in the car park departed and he was able to get their space!

This photo is a bit of a cheat - it was taken the next day, not when we arrived!

Once we had deposited our luggage we decided to have a walk along the rim just outside the hotel. This was our first proper view of the Grand Canyon

We were speechless! The photos just don’t do it justice – the size and colours are just unbelievable.

We strolled along, gasping and ‘oohing and ahhing’ and taking so many photos! We then decided to find somewhere for dinner. The Bright Angel Lodge was just next door to our hotel and we went to the  Bright Angel Restaurant where we were seated immediately and had excellent service and excellent food.

After another stroll along the rim we retired to bed, ready for my birthday the next day and our bike ride!