VEGAS baby!

We'd seen some crazy canyons by this point, but Grand Canyon most certainly lived up to its name. We visited to the less-crowded North Rim of the canyon and were pleasantly surprised to find lush forests lining the 60-mile spur road that lead to the rim (we had expected the place to be desert, like the surrounding area). Sitting on the edge, or hiking into the depths, the enormity of the thing was hard to contemplate. The geologic stories of some two billion years are written on the walls of the Canyon, starting at the base with the Colorado river, and ending a vertical mile above at the rim.

After a couple of days at GC, we moved on to Page, Arizona, where we camped on the beach of Lake Powell (it's called a lake, but it's actually a reservoir formed by the Glen Canyon dam on the Colorado River).

A guided tour into the workings of Glen Canyon Dam proved fascinating. The construction of the dam in the 1950s changed the surrounding desert ecosystem forever. The dam caused the warm, muddy and erratic waters of the Colorado River to flow cold, clear and constant, like never before. Native fish and plants perished, precious sediment ceased to be transferred downstream and Glen Canyon was destroyed. However, the hydro-electricity powers the region, and the water storage capacity allows people to actually live in the desert. When standing at the base of this marvel of engineering, one can't help but ponder how high the price of progress should be. On a lighter note, when we got to the base of the dam on our tour, we were amazed to see that they have planted a lush lawn at the bottom (apparently it helps stabilise the cooling matrix around the flow pipes)!

As we headed back west, we stopped at the remote Paria Canyon Wilderness Area to take what turned out to be a first rate hike a few miles into an awesome slot canyon (the slot actually stretches 43 miles and can be hiked in about 5 days). These narrow canyons are formed by the repeated fast-flowing flash-floods, which are characteristic of the region's weather. In this particular slot, deep pools of muddy water covered the floor periodically. With sheer walls on either side, the only way through the water was to wade. So epic was our adventure, we thought it deserved a title...

“Andiana Jones and the Mucky Slot”....?

or how about “Lara Croft - Slot Raider”...(ooh, matron)...?

(lame I know!). The magnificent Zion National Park was our next stop. On entering Zion Canyon, it becomes immediately obvious why the Mormons gave it such a name. The Virgin River, which carved the imposing red-walled canyon, nourishes verdant vegetation, creating a fresh and peaceful haven from the harshness of the surrounding desert.

The walls at the bottom of the canyon weep with rainwater that was absorbed into the porous rock at the top of the canyon some 1400 years earlier. Where the walls weep, magnificent hanging gardens sprout, like that in the photo, which was taken on a hike up the stretch of the river known as “The Narrows”.

After Zion, we left Utah for the last time to head for Las Vegas (yeah baby!). On the way we stopped at Lake Mead, the reservoir created by Hoover Dam. Completed in 1935, Hoover Dam was the engineering wonder of its age. It contains enough concrete to pave a road from coast to coast (or pave the entirety of Rhode Island! Poor old Rhode Island, it always gets done over in these analogies). Sadly for us though, the dam administrators have realised that being about the only non-gambling related tourist attraction in Nevada can be very lucrative, and have accordingly hiked the entry fee for the visitor centre and dam tour to extortionate levels. Though we didn't go inside, we could nonetheless appreciate the attractive art deco styling of the structure from the outside.

And then we went to Vegas! We actually booked into a hotel for the first time on this trip, as it was a mega-deal we found on the internet, which was actually cheaper than camping! Our hotel, called Stratosphere, was right on The Strip (the main casino drag). Each casino in Vegas has some kind of gimmick to pull the punters in. With Stratosphere, the gimmick was it's 108 storey tower with restaurants at the top.

Stratosphere also has three hair-raising fairground rides hanging off the top, one of which we rode. It was appropriately named “Insanity”! It hangs you off the edge of the tower and spins you like a top -arrgh!

The scale of the casinos and the lengths that they go to pull in the punters was something to behold. “Paris” casino, for instance had a half-scale eiffel tower...

while “New York, New York” casino was, well, just like Manhattan crammed into a Vegas city block...

and “Luxor” had a full-size sphinx and pyramid!

We saw pirate gun battles, lounging lions, musical fountain shows, gondolas on a river on the second floor and so much more. And with margharitas at $1 a pop, it would be rude not to have a couple!

After two nights in Vegas, we headed out of the air conditioned comfort of Stratosphere, and into the heat of California. Well, he made it to California without any troubles, but where do you suppose we might have the first problems with our beloved van, Grayham? The answer is the hottest place on Earth – Death Valley – a firey hell-hole 180 feet below sea-level. Marvellous!

After the AAA had towed us 60 miles to the nearest garage, Andy's diagnosis of a broken fuel pump was confirmed. Luckily the part was in stock and a few hours (and a wad of cash) later, Grayham was revived.

Once on the other side of Death Valley we will head for the coolth of the Sierra Nevada mountains and Yosemite National Park... Phew!

(If anyone can tell me how to sort out the spacing of pictures and paragraphs on this blog, please drop me a line! It doesn't look like this on the writing screen!!)