Canyons, Dams and Vegas!

Day 3 was a shorter mileage day with three fun stops. Our first stop was Grand Canyon National Park, which marked Mikayla’s third national park. Needless to say, it is huge! The colors and sheer expanse of the canyon was truly amazing. It was also cold, particularly when the wind blew, but between a fleece pajama body suit, fleece pants, fleece vest, fleece jacket and a rabbit eared stocking cap, Mikayla stayed toasty warm, practiced going up and down the steps at the lookout points, and lived to play monster trucks with a couple little boys from Puerto Rico following our rim walk.  

From Williams, AZ (outside the Canyon) where the town Christmas tree was in the process of arriving by tractor, accompanied by every sheriff in the county, we didn’t stop until we reached Nevada and Hoover Dam. Nevada is Mikayla’s first new state along our trip and with the exception of Montana and Wyoming, she’s now been to every state West of the Mississippi.

The terrain of the day didn’t change a lot, but we had some fluctuation. Arizona was speckled with juniper blobs and became more and more green the further West we came. There were areas of round rocks that scattered the desert – somewhat fraggle rock style. The elevation started to show some distinction and a couple times we crested ridges and were greeted by sprawling picturesque valleys.

The sun had just done down when we reached Nevada and the Pacific Time Zone, but we could see just fine as we went jogging across the new bridge parallel to the dam to take pictures. It was certainly impressive to see and the fact that it only took about five years to construct is incredible. Funny though, that after visiting Grand Coulee Dam, one’s impression of these massive concrete structures becomes relative.

  

And then, there was Las Vegas. Even days from Thanksgiving, the town never stops. The streets were crowded with tourists watching the water show at the Bellagio or the torches of the Mirage. People were wearing far more clothing than I’d remembered in the past, however that was likely attributed to the chill in the air. From the casinos to billboards to light show Christmas décor, Vegas will always be, Vegas.

So here we go, getting ready for our day. We’ll head to Paris for breakfast and a bowl of latte and then off we’ll be again.