On arriving in the USA at LAX we then flew to Las Vegas, to pick up our hire car which we would have for the next 10 days. On arrival at Las Vegas, picked up our car and I drove down to Cottonwood in Arizona which ended up being quite a long 6hrs. Cottonwood is 20 miles south of Sedona, and our base for the next few days.
Day 2 we set off for our train trip which took us through the Verde Canyon.This rail line was built in 1911, at a cost of $1.3 million by 250 men, using 200 mules,picks, shovels and lots of Dupont black powder and constructed in 1 year. The railroad stretches from Clarksdale to Perkinsville a distance of 38 miles. The train is usually fully booked so it is advisable to book before you go. The scenery is quite beautiful with all the colours of the canyons.
Day 3 Another big day ahead of us driving up to the Four Corners ( a point where all 4 states meet) Arizona, Utah, New Mexico & Colorado, via Flagstaff ( complete with snow) & Tuba City & Kayenta. I had been past the area in previous visits but had never actually seen the monument.
We then proceeded up into Utah to Twin Rocks and then headed back via Mexican Hat and Monument Valley.
The first time I had seen the Valley from the North, as my previous visits had all been from the South (Arizona)
This drive was about 500 miles.
Day 3 We hit the road and back to Las Vegas to our resort for the remainder of our time. We stayed at the Grand Desert Resort, located in East Harmon Avenue. That night we had reservations for Jersey Boy's and what a night. great show. We had prebooked before leaving Australia.
Day 4 We decided to go down to the The West Rim of the Grand Canyon and the Hoover Dam to see the construction that 's going on with the new bridge which will take vehicles across the Colorado River, when completed.
This is amazing, and we ended up spending considerable time viewing this amazing feat. On previous visits we had taken the Dam tour ( strongly recommend), then we set off for our visit to The West Rim and Skywalk, about 50 miles from the dam we turned off the highway and headed towards the Canyon, whilst the road for the first 30 miles is bitumen the last 20 is dirt/gravel. Well we finally arrived and bought tickets for the skywalk, which I was hesitant about doing, well you only live once. After initially walking onto the glass skywalk and you are 4000ft up from the bottom, the fear goes, and the view is magnificent. We were very lucky, as they were having a quiet day, so we ended up for a while being the only people on the skywalk. It is something that I will never forget.
After the skywalk we were taken by coach to other vantage points at the canyon. This is under the control of the Hualaipi Indian Reservation. After several hours we headed onto Laughlin which is on the Colorado River, on the border of Nevada, for a overnight stay.
Day 5 Back to Vegas, and we had a date with Barry Manilow for that evening. At that time he was staging his show at the Hilton, but now has his show at Paris.
Day 6- 10 We spend relaxing and enjoying the Buffets, shopping and a little gambling as this was not our first visit. After 8 times we have just about seen everything Vegas has to offer, and there is a lot.
One visit we had to make was back to Bass Pro which is a Sporting Store, adjacent to the Silverton Hotel/Casino unbelievable in size to do a bit of shopping then we headed over to Las Vegas Shopping Outlet for some retail therapy.
After Vegas we headed back to LA and took a quiet cruise down to the Mexican Riviera on Sapphire Princess, but unfortunately due to the swine flu which was gripping USA & Mexico we didn't set foot in Mexico and headed back to San Diego and Catalina Island. The later I had never been to so it was a first.Famous for the Casino which is not a casino and the Wriggley Estate (Chewing Gum Tycoon).
On returning to LA we stayed at the Westin Hotel at LAX to freshen up for our long trip home.