Las Vegas

Had a lie-in today which was great.  As we had to pick Andrew up at the airport at 2.30 pm and take the car back to Dollar (at the airport)  by 2.00 pm, we decided to have brunch at the hotel and then take off.

Andrew arrived on time and we took a cab back to the hotel and I went exploring.  Found another part of the hotel-Vdara , via a walkway, and had a coffee.  Not sure whether A will be up to eating out tonight, so maybe Y and I will find  somewhere to eat on our own.


Oops, never meant to publish this yet but pushed the wrong button!!!  Will carry on later.


Andrew was feeling fine after a short rest so we decided to eat at one of the restaurants in the hotel.  Started off with a little pre-prandial drink and then ate in one of the restaurants that served Asian, Italian, Indian (from India - not American) and American meals.  All very tasty, then off to bed.


Not sure what time we will be starting out tomorrow, but watch this space.

View from Room - Daytime

View from Room - Night

Bellagio Hotel & Casino

The Strip

The Strip

Shops Galore!!

Phoenix to Las Vegas

Left a very hot Phoenix 111 F (42 C)  and drove to Las Vegas.  From I-60 we took Route 93 practically all the way, taking in a bit of I-40W/Route 66 and then back on 93N.  There are only two real  towns to speak of on the way.  One is Wickieup, where we stopped for lunch, and the second is King      We also passed through Bolder City and Hoover Dam and saw Lake Mead.  


The road itself was really interesting as it weaved its way through hills.  Some parts of it were beautiful, and it was hard to believe that they weren't sculpted by man.

Joshua Tree

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Not man-made!

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Road cut through mountains

We arrived in Las Vegas and found the Bellagio (not that Satty was of much help).  A lovely hotel but the lobby is like the Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv!  The room is spacious and very comfortable.


Showered and then had dinner in the hotel.  Y was feeling very tired so went to bed and I just had to do a little recce of the Strip.  Fascinating place. The temperature must have been in the high 30s even at night!

Phoenix

Another hot day - 41 C.Had breakfast in a Deli this morning.  Very interesting, as it had the history of the family on the wall.  Evidently they came down to Phoenix from New Hampshire, due to health reasons in the 60s. The son now runs the place.

Phoenix City Hall

Phoenix Convention Centre

We had decided that we would go to Canyon Lake, on the Apache Trail, so that Y could swim in a mountain lake. It took us about an hour or so to get there on a very winding road.  But Y says it was worth it in the end and the scenery was magnificent. It is surrounded by the Superstition Mountain Range and it is one of four reservoirs that were formed by the damming of the Salt River in Arizona.

Part of Canyon Lake

Y Testing Water

Y in water

View of Canyon Lake from Scenic Stop

The lake was formed by the Mormon Flat Dam, which was completed in 1925 after two years of construction. With a surface area of 950 acres, it is the third and smallest of four lakes created along the Salt River. Two others, Apache Lake and Roosevelt Lake are upstream. The fourth, Saguaro Lake, is downstream.  It is within the Superstition Wilderness of Tonto National Forest.  (This part was copied from Wikipedia, as I couldn't find anyone who could give me the history of the lake or how it was formed).

We had stopped for lunch at a Lakeside restaurant, which was excellent.  Unfortunately, we missed the boat trip which was at noon, and they cancelled the 2.00 pm one.

On the way back, we stopped off at an old goldmining town called Goldfield Ghost Town which was originally founded in 1893.  They have left all the buildings but have done them up so that they are safe.  They also have a station there, with an old-fashioned train which takes you on a 20 min trip around the town.  Can't remember half of what he said, but it all sounded very interesting.  After gulping down a beer and bottles of water, we made our way back to Phoenix.

Mercantile Store which now serves Candy and Sodas

The Goldfield Railway Station

Memorial to an unknown prospector

Train Driver, Engineer and Tour Guide

Part of the Ghost Town with Superstition Mountain in the background

The Train

Came back to hotel to cool off.  Had a shower and then went for dinner at a really nice restaurant called Kincaid.  Had a slow walk back to the hotel then to bed.


Off to Las Vegas tomorrow.

Flagstaff to Phoenix

Left the hotel at about 10.00 and had breakfast at the Diner.  Then on the road to Phoenix, which is the same road we took to Sedona, ie the I-17 South, only further.


 Between Sedona and Phoenix we saw many different types of cactii - at last.  I was beginning to think that it was just a figment of some movie director's imagination.  But there they were, on the side of the road, in all different shapes and sizes.

Our First Cactus!

The Hand

Field of Cactii

Flowering Cactii

As we were early for checking in at the San Carlos hotel in Downtown Phoenix, we decided to take a break at the shopping centre in Scotsdale.  This neighbourhhood  is evidently the vacation area of Phoenix, and many of the hotels are situated there.  Y managed to find a few things, and I managed to find a light sweater, which I think I will need when I eventually get to Seattle whose temperature will certainly be a lot less than the 110 F which we are getting in Phoenix.


After checking in and doing some laundry (as the hotel does not have a laundry) we decided to do some sightseeing around the town.  Unfortunately, there is not much going on in Downtown Phoenix, but we are reliably informed that business is slowly picking up and Downtown will be a hip place to go.  We found a really nice Thai restaurant for dinner and as we hadn't had lunch, we both enjoyed it.


Some of the architecture in Downtown is very 30's.  One or two buildings have been refurbished but there are a lot more new skyscrapers.  I know it is cheaper to knock a building down than refurbish it, but it seems to be such a shame that they are losing these beautiful buildings. Evidently Frank Lloyd Wright, who designed the Guggenheim in New York, came from Phoenix and there are some of his buildings still standing.

Luhr's Tower

Luhr's Tower

 'z's

Luhr's Building

Mural on building

San Carlos Hotel (foreground).  The old and the new

After dinner, we had a nightcap in the hotel bar (this is becoming a habit!!) and had a nice conversation with the barman, who was born in Chicago but decamped with his parents to Phoenix when he was 8.  He is still ambivalent about Downtown Phoenix, and prefers the suburbs!!


Off to bed now, and we will see what tomorrow may bring.

Flagstaff/Sedona

After breakfast in a genuine Diner we walked around Flagstaff to see what was happening and found that it was not a lot.  I think it's most famous for the cowboy movies that were shot around here and also that Route 66 passes through it.


We had decided to go to Sedona, which everyone said was a magnificent place to see, and they weren't wrong.  It took us about an hour and half to get there - we got lost again - instead of the 45 mins it should have taken us.  Due to the fact that people were on holiday, the town was very crowded, so we didn't stop.  I took a few pictures, as we were moving, but my little camera really doesn't do the place any favours.  The colours of the rocks and the surrounding forests, are just amazing, and one should really see it in order to understand the beauty of the place. Below a few of the photos which I took.

We then drove back to Flagstaff, stopping on the way to pick up some native Indian trinkets.  We also found a Barnes and Noble (like a Waterstones), so decided to stop off for a coffee and look around.  Naturally couldn't resist buying a book and also bought a map of Nevada and California.


Out for dinner at a lovely Italian restaurant with excellent food.  Back to the hotel for a nightcap and then off to bed.

Sante Fe to Flagstaff

We checked out of the hotel in Sante Fe, but left the car there as Y wanted to look  at a skirt at Clearwater Creek - and ladies' fashion store.  Luckily they had her size and she was happy.


We left Sante Fe at about 11.30 looking forward to a 300+ mile trip South on I-25 and then West again on I-40.  Other than the road works every so often, it was a pretty uneventful trip except for the scenery.  Between Sante Fe and Albaquerque the scenery was magnificant with beautiful red and amber mountains and hills.

The long road!

Magnificent rock formation

"Killroy woz here"

Part of the Range

The Range

On the way we stopped for a bite to eat at the restaurant of the Sky City Casino, but did not leave any of our pennies in the slots.  That was willpower!!  Then it was on the road again towards Flagstaff.


We are at the Hotel Monte Visa which was built in 1926/27 and I don't think the rooms have changed at all in the years in-between.  Each room is named after an actor or actress who allegedly stayed here at some time.  No air-con, but there is a ceiling fan which I think is better.  It is really very quaint and we are right in the centre of the town, so who's to complain?

Sante Fe

Breakfasted quite late and then set off to see the shops near the hotel.  Naturally, we both managed to buy something and got back to the hotel in time for our tour of the city at noon.


Being Sante Fe, the trolley bus was late, but I understand that this is quite normal.  We did, however make good time and were dropped off at the Plaza at the right time.  Sante Fe is the State Capitol of New Mexico and sits 7.000 ft above sea level.  Not far from here is where the Rockies start.

Doc and Friend

The start of the rockies

The tour took us around the Downtown, Canyon Road, and Guadalupe areas of the town.  In 1957 the town Council decided that in the Downtown area no new building could be taller than 35ft.  The only building that is taller was built before this law came into being.  When we passed the Plaza we met a character called Doc, who has starred in many films which have been made in Sante Fe and the surroundings and he told us a bit about this.  One of the films he was in was Easy Rider and he normally plays one of the drunks or a down and out.  He must be in his 80s and is still going strong.

A public building

Sante Fe  - New Condominiums

Most of buildings are in the pueblo or adobe style and any new buildings need to blend in with this.  At times the architecture is very Moorish and most of the buildings are beautifully kept.


There are two main churches in the town.  The Catholic Basilica of St Francis of Assisi and the Loretta Chapel with the stand-alone spiral staircase.  There is also the Scottish Rite Temple and Masonic Lodge, which is modelled after the Alhambra in Spain.  

Scottish Rite Temple

Catholic Basilica of St Francis of Assisi

Loretta Chapel

Circular Stairway in Loretta  Chapel

Canyon Road is very much the artists' quarter with many studios showing statues and paintings, as well as native art.  This area was originally farming area but slowly the people moved away and artists could move in, paying very little rent.  Now it is a very desirable area.

Mark Twain and me on Bronze Bench

Y with various statues

Children at play in sandbox (Bronze)

Bronze of Bison Hunt

Various totems

The Guadalupe area is a residential area with some of the houses being very old and in the old-time tradition - adobe style - with small widows to keep the heat out.




After leaving the tour, we needed sustenance and decided to go the Starbucks for a sandwich and coffee.  We then came back to the hotel and rested for a while.


This evening we went to dinner at the Cafe Coyote, which has a formal restaurant as well as a rooftop cantina.  We decided to go to the Cantina (as we hadn't booked the restaurant) and sat outside.  We started off with cocktails (as usual), with Y having a rum-based one and I had a Marguerita.  Both were wonderful.  The meal itself was excellent - not too spicy - but very very tasty.  Afterwards we decided to go walkabout to let the food digest and found and very nice place called Burro Alley Cafe for coffee.


We then walked back to the hotel.


Off to Flagstaff tomorrow.