Mount Charleston

Much warmer today, managed to eat our porridge outside without jackets or hats on, bliss! Spent most of the day on the road. Beautiful day for a long drive; more amazing scenery and sights. We passed through two large Indian Reservations and a few nice small towns, including a place called Hurricane, where we stopped for gas and a bite to eat.

It was so sunny when we left Hurricane Valley...

 We made it to our destination, Mount Charleston at around 3pm (30 miles out of Las Vegas). We weren’t too sure where we were going to stay as it appeared a small, sparse town, but we soon came across a fully equipped RV campsite (Fletcher Canyon Campground). After a few nights of wild camping, we decided to treat ourselves to a night in a proper campsite. Best campsite we’ve stayed in so far, not only did it have showers and an outside grill, it also had full hook ups, so we could plug in our heater, lamp and laptop – perfect!
 

Updating the blog next to the campfire

The park was run and maintained by a really nice couple called Jim and Janine (Jim must have told us his name three or four times! lovely chap though). Jim went around on a quad bike making sure all the campers had everything they needed and offered us some firewood (I think we got special treatment as he liked people from “Scotchland”. Apparently we were the first Scotch people to stay. He was delighted).

After reserving our camp spot, we headed half a mile back along the road to a lodge we had just passed (Mount Charleston Lodge) for hot chocolate next to the open fire. Great way to end a long day driving.
Tomorrow we start our journey to Yosemite Valley.

Bryce Canyon

Got up early today, as we wanted to do a couple of trails in Bryce Canyon in the morning. It was -18 in the morning, so instead of tackling the porridge on the camp stove we decided to head to Bryce Canyon Village for breaky. Stopped at a place called Ruby’s Inn (a general store, post office, gas station, hotel and restaurant all in one), it was massive and obviously the hub of the village...it also appeared to be the only place open over the winter, in the area. After a big hearty breaky and lots of coffee refills, we headed over to the Canyon. There was even more snow at Bryce Canyon, our snowboarding gear would have come in very handy (I felt a little dismayed when I saw a couple coming off a trail with snow shoes and skis on!) still we managed to make do with what we had!

Where's your snowboard when you need it?

We headed to Sunset Point to get a good view of the Canyon from the top. It looked pretty amazing at that time in the morning and the lashings of snow made it quite a dramatic sight. You really had to go on the trails to take in the sheer enormity of the Canyon (and also to see some of the massive caves). We went on a 2.5 hour trail. You end up stopping every so often to take pictures – there is just so much to take in.
There are a couple of signs at the beginning of some of the trails that say something along the lines of “enjoy the trail, but remember the walk back up!”...oh how right they were. It was a bit of hike back up the canyon and the thin air (8300ft) made it a bit more of a challenge. Didn’t help that our water canister had frozen, so you only really had a slush puppy to sip on every now and again!

View from 8000 feet!

Bryce Canyon was also the first place we have seen any signs with warnings of bears, one said “watch out for bears when you’re enjoying your picnic”...as much as Arran wanted to see a bear, I managed to persuade him that it would be best to have lunch back in the car park in the safety of our camper.
After spending the day in the Canyon, we headed down the road to set up camp. Camped 60 miles South of the Canyon.

On our way to the next Canyon

We woke up early today, mainly due to the cold. We found out later from a Park Ranger it was -16 overnight, brrr! After de-icing the van (inside and out) and having some warm breakfast, we headed down the canyon. We stopped at another view point on the way, with views straight out of a Christmas card (it was so snowy, up to our knees at some points) and went on a short trail. All in, the Grand Canyon is fantastic place where you could spend a good couple of weeks camping (or staying in the lovely lodges) and working your way round all the trails and hikes.

I knew we shouldn't have left the chairs out overnight!

We saw a number of warning signs when we were in the Canyon, advising you to look out for elk or deer on the roads. We didn’t spot any on the roads, but we did see a couple of elks roaming around someone’s garden in the village and a couple of stags, hanging out in the grassy area near the information centre. Arran was being a bit cautious when taking photos, before a local walked past and said you could get pretty close to them without them minding, as they are quite docile. It was amazing seeing a massive stag just walking around in the village, but I guess if you live there, you’d get used to it. 

A local stag

Made it all the way to Bryce Canyon today, but as it was getting dark we set up camp for the night a few miles down the road at Dixie National Forrest.

The Grand Canyon

We started the day with a huge American breakfast at nearby diner;  then hit the road.
Lovely drive to the Grand Canyon, it was such a sunny day but you could still see a tonne of snow on the mountains (felt a little bit like a ski resort). On the way we stopped off at small town called Williams -  the first place so far Arran has had the petrol pumped for him, by the owner of the station (Bob), no less.

The Grand Canyon - view from the top

We arrived in the Grand Canyon late afternoon. It is one of America’s National Parks, so you have to buy a pass to get in ($25 minimum charge, but the pass lasts you a week). We felt a little irked paying so much for only one day in the Canyon, but once you get in and actually see the views, it’s definitely worth it. We decided to camp at the Canyon that evening. Most of the designated campsites were closed for winter, but we found one open. Not surprisingly (given the temperature and all the snow) we were the only people in the site. We got settled and made a quick bite to eat and some hot drinks, before heading over to the park’s main view point. Pulling up to the car park, there was a lovely (warm looking) log cabin and we wondered how far we’d have to walk to see the first of our views...not realising, we just had to walk across the car park and look over the small wall! Pretty amazing sight to take in – the sheer vastness of the canyon and the contrast of the bright red rock against all the snow.

Keeping warm next to the campfire

As the sun set, we decided to head back to the campsite, to ensure we still had a little light to cook in (I’m still haunted by the Kangaroo Rat incident!).
We picked up some supplies in the General Store on the way back including an extra torch, candles and firewood. Just as well did, as it was pitch black by the time we came out the store, (the light seems to disappear instantly round here; you really have to keep an eye on the time).
I successfully managed to make dinner under candle/head torch light while Arran made a campfire – first campfire of our road trip so far. Great end to a busy day.

The Breakdown

Of the van...not our relationship! Well, our trip was going just a little bit too smoothly, we had to have a hurdle at some point! When we picked up the van the chap said “the one thing you don’t want the van to say is - check all gauges” before quickly adding “but the chances of this happening are very slight, so don’t worry”. Guess what happened today! We left Vegas around 9am and had been driving for about an hour. Suddenly, on the freeway, while listening to some Flight of the Chonchoreds, the scary message flashed up...Arran’s expert driving skills came into play as he lost power steering and the engine died.

We then headed up to a gas station (straight out of 'Wrong Turn') we had passed a half mile back, to phone the free toll breakdown number. While walking through the interesting desert verge we saw many sights including tumble weed and another coyote! (it ran away as soon as it spotted us). The ladies at the gas station/deli were luckily incredibly friendly and helpful. The pay phone did not work so we had to use one of their mobile phones. It all got sorted out after a few phone calls and we had time to have a bite to eat at the Deli.

Singing the blues.

After the pickup truck arrived we ended up in a small town called Kingmam, where the garage (after 2.5 hours) found the route of our troubles – a faulty fuel pump. Problem solved.
As it was late, we decided to spend the night in a nearby motel, for some much needed rest and showers! (hence the internet).
Tomorrow we are heading to the Grand Canyon as planned.

Arran & Emily

Viva Las Vegas!

First night in the camper was great, it’s a surprisingly comfy and cosy little van. We got up pretty early and made some big portions of porridge to set up for the morning’s drive.
The drive to Vegas was lovely, beautiful sunshine and scenery, once we arrived in Vegas, however, there was a sharp change in the weather. We arrived about 11.30am and it was drizzly and grey. Vegas does not look good on a grey Monday morning...it looks a little worse than Aberdeen’s Codonas Fun Beach on a good day!

After pulling up to the famous Bellagio Hotel in our mystery machine (it was funny having to drive around the various limos and fancy cars) due to another sat nav navigation error, we quickly rerouted to a nearby spacious car park to park up for the day (a stones throw away from the Las Vegas Strip).

Vegas Baby!

We spent the afternoon taking in the sights of the strip and the Miracle Mile Shopping Mall. After a bit of shopping and lunch we headed back to the camper for a bit of shut eye, at this point we feeling very underwhelmed by the sights of Vegas. This all changed when we headed out later that evening. If you ever go to Vegas, please try not to see it in the daytime. For the full effect and experience you need to go in the evening. Even though it was just as cold and drizzly when we headed back out at 8pm (once all the sparkly lights and neon signs are on full blast) the Strip looks amazing! There’s definitely a different atmosphere in town (it's less depressing seeing people drinking and gambling in the evening; it's more fitting somehow!).

New York in Vegas

My main highlight of Vegas was the Bellagio Fountain. Every half hour the massive fountain outside the hotel (the fountain used in Oceans 11) performs a show, the water moving in time to different tunes. It’s an amazing sight (wait till you see the video we took).
After hanging out in Planet Hollywood and taking in a band we headed over to a nearby sports bar for some much needed beers and curly fries. We then headed back to the camper for the night.

Paris Las Vegas hotel

Some things I didn’t realise about Vegas...

• You can drink on the streets at anytime of the day – every other person was wandering around with a bottle or plastic pint glass, even at 11.30am! 
• The overall smoking ban does not apply anywhere
• There was a distinct lack of police presence and bins! (unlike the other parts of the US we have visited so far!).
• Vegas does not look good in the day time...but hopefully if you visit Vegas you drink so much the night before you won’t see the city in the morning!

Arran & Emily

First night in the camper

Collected our campervan this morning. We got to pick our van from a selection of four. As the guy put it “the most important thing to consider is the paint job!” After deliberating for a bit, we selected the funky looking New Orleans camper. After a mini lesson in driving an American automatic and the vans "features", we hit the road.

We made a couple of wrong turns – due to the sat nav and the American-English language barrier, but we soon got into the swing of things.

On the road again.

We parked up for the night in a small town called Baker (80 miles west of Las Vegas). Upon parking up, we decided to cook up some dinner, despite it being a little dark and chilly. All was going well until I heard the fateful words from Arran – “I think I just saw something!” this mischievous Kangaroo Rat kept running around our feet, van and stove for the duration of the cooking...so I decided to leave it to Arran and get the laptop set up to watch a movie.

Quite glad I did, because within in minutes of getting into the van Arran spotted a coyote making it's way over to camp stove! Luckily a loud clap is enough to scare a coyote off, the Kangaroo Rat was a bit more cocky. Who would have thought our $1 can of Chilli would spur so much interest among the Mojave wildlife.

The Mystery Machine

After dinner, we pulled the van forward a bit to leave a good bit of distance between us and the verge of the desert...lesson learnt for next time!