The Blog of Randy

Slept in until 10am. Sat on the deck chatting for quite a while. Town with Mom: car wash, computer shop (arranged projector for tomorrow), tourist info for pontoon rental, Target to look at a new TV for Mom, then McDonalds and home with David’s lunch. Back out to Paul Bunyan TV, K-Mart, and Target where we bought a 32″ Samsung TV and a new suitcase for us. Quick bit of grocery shopping at Cub (and a stop at Mom’s bank) then home to set up the TV. Had pizza delivered, then looked at another hundred slides, then Mom went to bed and Helen, Matthew, and I went out for a little walk (and a Blizzard from DQ).

Had a nice lie in. John fried us eggs and hash browns for breakfast. Went for short spin on their Chinese electric bicycle. Loaded the van, and off to Midway Books for some Mad magazines for David. Up hwy 65, lunch at Cambridge, saw a deer north of Mora, took a break at McGregor, and River Road in to Grand Rapids. Mom looks just the same, so good to be home. Unloaded, and then KFC for dinner, followed by a drive around town. Now back at Mom’s and chatting and doing bills and jobs. Eventually got the slide projector out. Break for ice cream from McDonalds, then more slides until after midnight.

Not quite such an early start today. Packed and carried the bags down to the hotel lobby, checked out (and got $25 off the bill after reporting a few of the issues we had with the room; still won’t be coming back). The doorman summoned a minivan taxi for us, and we were rapidly delivered to the airport. Went through the self-checkin process ($85 for 5 checked bags!!!) and the bag collection process – the whole thing being more confusing and no quicker than the old-fashioned way. Muffin from Starbucks, then security and waiting by the gate. The flight was uneventful (and un-lunch-ful), and we got to the gate in Minneapolis right on time. John, Andrew, Ana’s friend Eric, and our bags were waiting for us at the baggage claim. Drove to John’s, unloaded, then went out into the alley for a National Neighborhood Night Out potluck dinner, followed by a tour of a house that’s being extended and renovated in a very environmentally fiendly way (geothermal heating, rainwater collection, etc.). Back to John’s and sat around talking and looking at slides until midnight.

Slept until 10am. Walking to the strip at 1130 (Ana’s still asleep) – we may take a taxi back. Went into the first air conditioned building – the Planet Hollywood Miracle Mile shopping center. Watched a rainstom, then had breakfast at Ben and Jerry’s. Waiting for a laser show. Next door, to Paris and up the Eiffel Tower. Burger King in O’Shea’s casino. Grand Canal shops at the Venetian. (Apparently there’s only one bookstore in Vegas, and I can’t afford anything in it. But they do have JRR Tolkein’s copy of The Book of the Dead.) Starbucks. Now heading back on the other side of the strip. Bellagio fountains. Walked back to the Hard Rock Cafe (quite a bit cooler now) and met Ana for dinner. Hotel to book airport shuttle (they recommend a taxi instead) and back to room for an hour or so. Out in a cab to the strip with Ana. Walked a ways, checked out the Venetian shops, watched the 11pm Mirage volcano eruption and the 11:30 Treasure Island Siren show. Taxi back to the hotel and collapse.

Hotel breakfast again, tried the waffles but not as nice as Comfort Inn’s. First stop Kingman, just for a break. Hoover Dam (111F in the shaded car park) – walked over and back (just the visitors center was $8). Milo’s Cellar in historic Boulder City for lunch. In to Las Vegas. Found the Hard Rock Hotel easily enough, but when we went to check in the rooms weren’t ready (at 4pm – too early they said). Starbucks and sat around for an hour, then went back to check – another hour they said. Went out in the van and drove along the strip, then found a Target for Ana to buy a sundress for the pool. While there the hotel called to say the room was ready. Rooms are nice, but… this is the most expensive hotel of our trip and it doesn’t include simple things like coffee in the room or wireless internet access. Oh they’re available of course, but at a cost (I don’t know how much because guest services doesn’t answer the phone). The room’s not really all that clean, either: rubbish behind the bathroom door and blue goo on one of the taps. I don’t think my priorities are the same as the hotel’s. Room service for dinner – very nice, actually. When we’d finished, Helen and I took the van to the airport and a taxi back; Ana went out on her own.

Breakfast a little after 7:30. Left the hotel a little before 8:30, got to the airport at 9:20 – an hour early. Drove into Tusayan and found Jennifer’s Coffee and Bakery. Wandered around the gift shop for a while then back to the heliport. Checked in, watched the safety video, and now we’re just waiting our turn. [...]  Well, that was fantastic. 25 minutes wasn’t enough time to take in the small part of the canyon that we saw, but then 25 hours probably wouldn’t have been enough either. Back to Jennifer’s for a generous lunch, then in to the park. Parked and took the shuttle to the rim. Walked to the first overlook (though the path along the rim was closed), bus onwards to Hopi Point, and again to Mohave point, and then back to the village. Bus to the Market for cold drinks, snacks, and souvenirs. Back to the van and took the Desert View road; stopped at a couple viewpoints (much less crowded). At the second, David and I scrambled down a ways. Back to the van and off to Desert View. Checked out the shop, had some ice cream, and took photos of the sunset. Drove to Flagstaff for 9:20pm dinner at McDonalds.  (202 miles)

Breakfast at Starbucks, drove to Harvey House (railroad hotel and station, now museums). Got there too early, so went for gas and cash. Back to the Route 66 museum, filled with fascinating memorabilia of the road and its times. Left Barstow on I40 east to Ludlow then followed the old 66. Stopped for photos of Amboy Crater (a 200 foot volcanic cone), and of the road itself at the Kelso turnoff. Rejoined the I40 east of Essex, carried on to Needles where we had lunch at Dennys (1:30pm, 113F). Stopped at the first rest area in Arizona in hopes of getting a map, but no.  Stopped at Kingman, Arizona for a map and cold drinks. Next stop was Williams, filled up with gas then checked in at the Fairfield. Went for a swim and soak in the hot tub with Helen. Dinner in Williams at Pancho McGillicuddy’s Mexican Cantina, sitting outside and listening to Calvin Kristofferson.  Now back at the hotel and writing this and doing photos. (331 miles)

Fresh waffles for breakfast again, and on the road at 9:15. Drove past Lake Kaweah, a reservoir which looks like it’s at less than 10% of its capacity.  Drought, or just seasonal low?  Hwy 198 to 99. Stopped at Target in Bakersfield. East on 58. Lunch at KFC in the town of Mojave (104F) at 2pm. East then south on 395, looking for Victorville. We had hoped to find the Route 66 museum but weren’t anywhere near by 4pm when it closed, so we stopped at a Starbucks and sat outside in the shade with a cold drink. Very pleasant, despite the 100F temperature. Spotted a Barnes and Noble as we were getting on the freeway, so turned back for a few books (also Best Buy where I bought an iTrip for my iPhone). On to Barstow and the Days Inn (293 miles). Perfectly acceptable, but we should have started with a cheaper hotel and worked our way up, instead of the other way around. Left Ana and David at the hotel and drove to Rainbow Basin, 10 miles north of town – so called because of the amazing range of colors in the layers of exposed rock. Got there right around sunset, and returned after dark. Dinner at Burger King (Ana and David were there but just leaving). Back to the hotel and settled for the night.

Fresh waffles for breakfast! Entered the park about 10am, stopped for photos at Tunnel Rock and Amphitheater Point, and when a 4-point buck crossed the road right in front of us. Parked at the museum and Sentinal tree. Started around the Big Trees Trail, but turned back after seeing two bear cubs on the trail (but where was their mother?). Drove to General Sherman car park and walked down to see the largest tree in the world (by volume). Lodgepole Market for lunch, and to post a card to Aunt Lulu. Hiked up Moro Rock, drove through Tunnel Tree, and then Helen and I walked to Crescent Meadow with thunder rumbling. Saw another bear, and carried on to Tharpe Log, the summer home of Hale Tharpe, the first European to see the Giant Forest, from 1861 to 1890. Back to the van and down to Hospital Rock, site of an ancient indian village. Stopped for dinner just outside the park at the Gateway restaurant (expensive but ok). One final photo of the historic Pumpkin Hollow bridge (1922) and back to the hotel, not quite too late but definitely too tired to swim.

Ignored alarm until 7am. Breakfast from the shop again. Checked out, stopped at the shop just in time for a power outage. Waited a while for them to get the till running, then we were off. Crane Flats for gas, then down into the valley and out the Wawona road. Stopped at the tunnel viewpoint; it’s much hazier than yesterday. Had to wait for roadworks a couple miles up the road, and again on the Glacier Point road. Fantastic views from Washburn Point. Lunch at Glacier Point. View was more stupendous than from Washburn Point. Took many photos. Ice cream on the way back to the van. On the way down a deer ran across the road in front of us, and Ana saw more in the woods. Roadworks again. Wawona Store for drinks. Brief stop at an old railway at Sugar Pine, then non-stop through Fresno to McDonalds in Farmersville. Checked in at the Comfort Inn in Three Rivers (218 miles), and now mostly just relaxing.