West of the Mississippi

Early thursday morning I left out of Myrtle Beach. A small stop in Charlotte, NC and I was on my way to Phoenix, AZ to met up with friends for a Phoenix/Las Vegas weekend. Our first evening was spent catching up, exploring Kelly's sex shop, and waiting for the straggler to arrive. The evening ended with mexican food and margaritas! The next morning we set off bright and early for the four hour ride up to the grand canyon. Our first pit stop was also a combined tourist attraction and we spent about an hour or so wandering around the Montezuma Castle Park. It was amazing to see how the native americans had been able to build structures in the cliff walls and the fall colors were just amazing.

A few more hours of driving through the desert plateau of Arizona brought us to the Grand Canyon, which in my opinion was absolutely fantastic! Its immense size and the variation of brown and red colors were overwhelming. We walked along the southern rim, chatting, taking pictures, listening to the rangers, and trying to get close to the fat squirrel that lived there!

We arrived in Las Vegas that evening and I was again overwhelmed, but in a totally different way. Driving down the Las Vegas strip was indeed a sight. The lights, signs, crowds of people, and constant bombardment of stripper (sex) advertisements by very small, old non-americans (mexicans) really set the mood. We spent the next few days exploring the different themed resorts, which were dressed up to a tee. It was so strange to spend a half an hour walking through the egyptian styled Luxor where many of the decorations seemed so real and then walking back out into the chaos that was Las Vegas! We ended our last night in Vegas watching the beautiful light and fountain show at the Bellagio.

The next morning was an early one for me and some of the others. We had another early morning walk to explore some of the casinos we hadn't made it to yet and to take some fun pictures. After meeting up with most of the group for breakfast at Treasure Island we loaded up and headed back to Phoenix with a quick two hour stop at the Hoover Dam! :P