Week-07

Part Two of Our Summer Vacation's Itinerary! Summer Vacation Series!

Hey Guys! Today, I'll be sharing the remainder of our summer trip itinerary, and that'll bring us to the end of this very short summer series! :) 

 Just as a recap, here's Part One of Our Summer Vacation's Itinerary: 

Day 1: 

We spent the entire morning, finishing up on some last minute packing. Then we had an early lunch, and took an Uber to our local airport. After that we went through security, and then boarded our flight, which was straight to Las Vegas. After retrieving our rental car, we arrived at our hotel, which was one of the Hilton resorts and the hotel room was huge! There were six of us and the room had a kitchen, an eating area, a sofa, and televisions in every room. The resort had one of its own pools and restaurants, which was super cool! So we cooled off there and we ordered takeout from a nearby restaurant. Our hotel was close to the Las Vegas strip, so we got a pretty good food variety selection. After dinner, we drove into the Las Vegas Strip and we saw the light attractions from the car. We could see the Statue of Liberty, the Eiffel Tower, the Bellagio, and many more hotels. 

Day 2: 

That day, we woke up around ten in the morning, to prepare for our road trip. We decided to drive down to Arizona and check out the Grand Canyon. On our way to the Grand Canyon, we got to check out the Hoover Dam where we took some amazing pictures! The rest of the ride was very scenic and we saw a couple of deer on our way to Arizona. We arrived at the visitor's center at around three, after many stops for lunch, refilling gas, and bathroom breaks. I would assume, if one drove nonstop to Arizona they'd make it in around three to four hours. So when we arrived at the visitor's center, we watched an IMAX movie about the Grand Canyon. The movie was more of a documentary and it had one of those screens, that go over your head, so it almost feels like you're truly there. The documentary focused on John Powell, other American settlers, and the Native Americans that lived there. It was really informative and definitely something I would suggest doing, before you explore the grand canyon. After we watched the documentary, we drove up to Mather's Point. The view was beautiful and we saw a California Condor perched upon one of the canyon's tips. We also saw some ravens walk the path with us to see the viewing points of the Grand Canyon. We drove farther into Grand Canyon Village, and we ended up inside the second visitor's center, which was inside the park. There we took some more amazing pictures, and then we stopped for dinner at a Pizza and Pasta place inside the village. At about ten at night, we began driving to Williamson, Arizona. This is where our hotel was, and although it wasn't as large as our previous hotel, it was still accommodatable. 

And if you haven't already check out Week-05's Blog Post! It has more related info: https://free-5178417.webadorsite.com/blog/1943996_week-05

So now we're on to  Day 3, Day 4, and lastly Day 5 of our trip. 

Day 3: 

This day was probably one of our most busiest and exciting, so get prepared for a lot of words! That day, we drove from Williamson to Red Rock Canyon, which was about an hour away. Red Rock Canyon is true to its name and very brightly reddish and orange.  A quick note to add; we drove to Red Rock Canyon on our way to Grand Canyon, so the two canyons are very conveniently located. That particular day it was very hot and dry, so I would advise staying hydrated above all, especially when vacationing to canyons, they can be especially dry. There were dry shrubs and trees around the canyon but overall it was pretty rocky. On our way to the canyon, we saw some camping sites, in the vegetation below the canyon. Although I didn't complete the camping experience it seemed pretty immersive with cabins nearby, so if you're one who enjoys cabin, I'd say the experience is worth trying! Red Rock Canyon had many viewpoints and was certainly as impressive as the Grand Canyon! While exploring Red Rock Canyon, we came across a nearby town called Sedona. Sedona was super cute and reminded me of a similar town in Southern California near Los Angeles, called Solvang. It was very traditional as well, and most of the buildings had red stone bricks and red walls to match the vibe of Red Rock Canyon. For me, the best part of this town was the canyon's proximity to civilization. I thought about the kids who go to school there and I thought they must be so lucky! While daydreaming they don't stare out to an empty field, they get to see a canyon that people travel thousands of miles to see! But then I thought about the days they'd have to run miles, which wouldn't be as fun because it's so hot and dry there! But anyways that was a little side note...haha! :) 

From Red Rock Canyon we drove back up to the Grand Canyon. When we reached the Grand Canyon we visited the park's interior visitor's center, which thankfully, was air-conditioned! At the center, we got stamps as part of our National Parks' Passport Collection, and we asked the rangers about some of the activities and viewing points at the canyon. We learned there was a drive we could go on (more on that later) and that every night at around nine, the rangers host a stargazing event at Mather's Point. After we talked to the rangers, we walked around the visitor's center learning about the Grand Canyon's history. We even saw the real boat that John Powell and his crew had to survive on when they explored the Grand Canyon and its rapids. We had to leave the visitor's center pretty quickly after that, since it was almost three and the center currently closes at three. Anyways, now about the drive. We drove along the Grand Canyon, stopping at specific viewing points. We then reached Bright Angel Trail and hiked down a little, we hiked about halfway down the canyon, then went back up as there weren't many people on the trail, and it would've been safer to hike if some others were there. But the hike was pretty fun, for most of it there are stones or man-made stairs to help guide you, it's more about the terrain and how the trail gets narrow. After that we drove further into the Grand Canyon Village, on our way we saw so many elk it was crazy! They weren't shy about the cars, and all the drivers were careful around the elk. After our elk sighting we saw some deer, and the differences were confirmed by a image search on Google. We passed the deer on our way to Hopi House. Hopi House was super cool, it was made entirely of stones and had little peepholes. 

Now here's a little history behind Hopi House. Hopi House was designed by architect, Mary Colter in the early 1900s. Hopi House was built for Hopi artisans and their families. Btw; the Hopi were the Native American tribe that inhabited the South Rim of the Grand Canyon in Arizona. Their backstory is intriguing as well, but it's also a bit sad. This may not be entirely accurate, but I believe the Hopi people used to be basket makers and were a thriving society until the Spaniards came and conquered them. They moved from their original home and whoever survived built a new society. But anyways, back to Hopi House it was basically a successful place for the Hopi artisans to stay with their families, and now Native American art is being sold at Hopi House. They've got really cool collections and it's cool to check it out, however you'd have to arrive before 5pm as they close around that time. Near Hopi House there are a couple of restaurants and one hotel with a view of the Canyon, so this had to be one of my favorite spots on this trip! It had everything, a luxurious hotel, pretty good restaurants, historical landmark, porch swings, and a great view of the Canyon. If you walked past the village you'd see these houses and even a little artist's museum. So like I said, one of my favorite places! Past the artist's museum you can walk into the canyon, and this has got to be one of my favorite hikes ever! There are minimum stairs but the terrain is manageable, the only hard part is the path gets narrower the more you get down. But it's worth it! The sights, the natural landscape, and the natural arches are just beautiful! I loved it! I cannot stress how much this part of the Grand Canyon was great. Now I wish I could tell you, we hiked all the way down, but unfortunately we couldn't :( 

1) It was getting dark, so it wouldn't be safe to hike down alone without a guide. Overall, it's just not safe!

2) It was getting dark, and we don't know what animals like rattlesnakes may come! 

3) Once you hike down the canyon, it's best to stay at a hotel or lodging near the bottom for at least night, so your rested to hike back up. But we started late in the day, so it wouldn't be easy to find our way as I mentioned before. Additionally, this was a last minute trip and since the Grand Canyon is in such high demand, lodgings are booked at least six months to a year in advance. 

So anyways, after the hike we ate at tavern in the Grand Canyon Village, and the tavern had everything! Gourmet meals, drinks, fruits, dessert, it was great! Btw; I know I haven't been great at giving names so far, but the name of the tavern is called Yavapai Dining Hall...we got a lot of our suggestions from ChatGPT actually, so if you type a prompt similar to this vacation, it'll like you give a list of these places! :) 

Day 4: 

So on this day, we drove back up to Las Vegas in Nevada. We got to our hotel which was literally in the Las Vegas Strip, this was a different hotel than our first days on the trip fyi. It was such a cool hotel and it was massive as well, it had stores inside and restaurants and a ginormous pool! We could see the Las Vegas Globe from our hotel suite. So after a long last couple of days we decompressed in our suite for an hour and we watched the First Knight for a bit before getting ready for a very special event! We drove up to the MGM and it was full of life! Gift shops, restaurants, smoothies stores, shoe stories, slot machines, bars, and our main event! We bought tickets to see David Copperfield! It was magical, quite literally! He made a space UFO fly above our heads, and an alien named Blu, reappear and disappear! If you'd like to read more about my thoughts on this experience; be sure to check out my blog post for Week-04: https://free-5178417.webadorsite.com/blog/1924143_week-04

 Anyways, after Copperfield's show, we went to Las Vegas's Julius Caesar's Palace. On the way we passed the the city's model of the Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty and so much more! I just loved Las Vegas, and since it was July 4th, we saw many fireworks on our way there! So we get to Julius Caesar's Palace and it's magical. I had taken a trip to Europe, in the winter of 2023 and honestly being in Caesar's Palace made me feel like I was magically transported back to Europe. It was great and I really enjoyed it. If in Vegas, the strip is quite literally the best and only place to be in Vegas! We went and dined at this seafood restaurant, and we were surrounded by stores and people and I cannot stress how great this was! There was also a Fountain's of the Gods right in front of our restaurant so the view was great and if you glanced up at the ceiling you could see blue skies and clouds, almost as if we were in Rome ourselves....haha :) 

From the Palace we walked to the Bellagio and saw some amazing water works there! The water works were occurring while the Star Spangled Banner played in the background! Anyways after seeing a bunch of water works at the Bellagio, we make our way to the Cosmopolitan. 

Day 5: 

It is still night, we are at the Cosmopolitan. That's right...we were up in Vegas until two in the morning! This city never sleeps, the streets were full of people like it was only eight p.m and everyone was out for a dinner stroll. Every building is open and restaurants, hotels, casinos, and every possible building is full of liveliness. There was quite literally no place of quietness. It was nothing like the quiet suburbs I'm used to. At home, even a dog howling or a car going by at ten p.m is considered noisy. But here in Vegas, there were quite literally no rules on volume, the city is awake. We stayed in the Cosmopolitan, walking through casinos and bars and restaurants. Quick Sidenote: Even at night, it's pretty hot, so make sure you prepare for the extreme heat in Vegas, although the heat in the Grand Canyon and Arizona is better, Las Vegas heat is crazy! 

Back to our itinerary, we walked for a long time, and every building had slot machines. Vegas is like a work of art, filled with casinos, it's a world in itself with the world's wonders like the Eiffel Tower and many more all in one city. I've even heard that Vegas is the brightest city to be seen from space! Through the streets we made it past Harrah's and Gordon Ramsey's Kitchen, finally making our way to the Venetian. After spending some time in the Venetian, whose beauty is as amazing as Caesar's Palace, we took an uber to our hotel. Then in the morning, we checked out of our hotel, as it was our last day. We then drove to the Luxor in Vegas and had an amazing breakfast buffet inside. As always, the building was full of slot machines; a true Vegas trademark! After that we toured the Luxor and took pictures by their iconic indoor fountains. We then walked outside to see a view of the Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty. Then we took photos by the Sphinx, because the Luxor is actually this giant building shaped like the Great Pyramids of Giza and the Great Sphinx of Giza. There were also a bunch of Egyptian statue replicas. We then headed back inside to view the exhibits indoors. There were human body, Titanic shipwrecks, and Egyptian exhibits indoor, they were all really cool. The Egyptian museum mostly reminded me of the exhibits back in San Francisco. Except these exhibits were all in one! After that we went back to Caesar's palace and toured the surrounding fountains and buildings nearby. Soon it was time to go, so on the way to the airport, we took one last drive around Las Vegas, snapping pictures of all the monuments we saw. On this drive we saw stores like Gucci, models like the Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty, the Hershey Chocolate Factory, the Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace, the Luxor, hotels like the Mandalay Bay, Treasure's Island, and so much more. Finally, we went to the hotel, which surprisingly was also filled with casinos and slot machines. By then it was the evening, and we got our dinner and boarded our flight. As we left Vegas, I can confirm it is such a bright city from night and it's just beautiful! 

So that marks the end of our trip! 

End of Trip Thoughts:

Most of my thoughts have already been mentioned...hahaha :) 

But I'd definitely spend more time in Vegas and the Grand Canyon, both are such beautiful places and it's very easy to get lost in beauty like that. Both of these places are really an amazement to me! The Grand Canyon is one of the greatest natural attractions in the world, and I love that it's beauty is open for the world to enjoy! :) 

On the contrary, Vegas is just as beautiful and is on of the greatest man-made attractions in the world, it's liveliness and color can be seen from space, that's just a fact to remind us of how beautiful the city is! There are so many beautiful places in the world, and I'm glad I got to experience these two places this summer! 

I hope this itinerary was helpful, if any of you are planning to visit these places as well! Contact me if you'd like specific hotel names or restaurant names or any more guidance or advise about this trip! :) 

Remember to share this website with your friends, and feel free to contact me or leave your thoughts/messages in the comments! :) 

See you guys next week!