Day 19

The day began watching the sunrise over the Grand Canyon at 5.30 am, the plan being to watch it then go back to sleep. As usual though, Matthew’s stomach was in control of our plans and with the restaurant opening at six, you can probably imagine what we did - breakfast! Poached egg on muffin, potatoes fried in butter and lots of juice saw us ready to walk along the rim. The guide book did warn that you must eat hearty meals and that ‘now is not a time to go on a diet’. Matt has taken this literally, even though I pointed out that this advice is for people going on treks into the Canyon, not us who are going along the rim for 8 miles, mainly on the shuttle bus provided! Anyway, along the rim we went. The sheer scale is difficult to grasp, especially when you see a helicopter that looks like a fly! We have decided that we should come back one day, do said helicopter ride and then raft down the river - let us know if you would like to join us! We appreciated the Canyon much more this morning with less tourists! A quick shower after saying hello to the deer who was curiously hanging around the car and we were off, although not before Lynne had discovered yet another mosquito bite; the total is now eleven. Painful, nasty ones as well, from the vampires in Canyon de Chelly.
On the road to Vegas - woo hoo!! Stopping to take a photo of the Hoover Dam, we realised that the guide book wasn’t lying - this is what 110 degrees feels like! Luckily we weren’t impressed enough by the dam to stay out in the heat for very long. Matthew's summary: "it's just a big concrete wall." Entering Las Vegas Boulevard, we were like two excited children, mesmerised by the lights of the casinos and hotels. We were hopeful when we went to check in to Caesar’s Palace that an upgrade or free bottle of something would be ours. This is because Lynne had cunningly phoned 3 days previously to advise the hotel that her ‘friends’ would be honeymooning there. It didn’t work. Still, the room has an amazing view of the strip; we can watch the volcano of The Mirage explode from our window on the 25th floor, which is what we did before heading out. We soon realised how knackered we were though and, after walking to New York New York and back in the still stifling heat, we called it a night.