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On Saturday 17th November 2007 we travelled on the overnight Greyhound from Denver to Vegas. Our coach left Denver at 6:00pm and arrived in Vegas at 8:50am and surprisingly it wasn't as bad as you might think! Of course there was the usual mix of weirdos that you get on the Greyhound (it is part of the experience) and the obligatory stop in the middle of nowhere at 1am, but we both managed to get some sleep and the best thing was waking up to the sun coming up over the desert in the middle of nowhere.
Ordinarily an overnight journey on a crowded (and smelly) coach would make you feel a bit cranky and fed up, but when you see the things that we have seen along the way it is difficult to feel anything but happy to be on this trip!
Arriving in Vegas was brilliant and we were both like kids again wondering around with wide eyes going wow! We stayed at Circus Circus hotel, because it was cheap, but soon regretted this decision!
The hotel was in a good location, but it was full of kids! Normally I don't mind children, but this is one of only a few hotels on and around the strip that allow children and because it was thanksgiving there were loads of kids groups staying for different events. Tony and I were unlucky enough to be staying next to the party boys room and they were making noise till late at night. After calling security to ask them to keep the noise down they thought it would be funny to knock on the wall continuously.
I am getting on a bit and need my beauty sleep so went to have a word with them. I was already to shout at them when they opened the door and were about 12 years old. So instead of shouting I made them wake up their teacher and tell him why I was there. Needless to say we did not hear a peep from them again.
Aside from the rubbish hotel, we had a good time in Vegas, although I am sure it would have been much better if we were on holiday rather than backpacking. We made the most of the free offers from each of the casinos and the best of all was at the Sahara casino which gave you a buffet dinner for $6.99 (about 3.50) and drinks. We ate here quite a lot and on thanksgiving we even got free champagne.
One of the highlights of our time in Vegas were going to the top of the stratosphere and for me it was riding the big shot at the top, a ride which shoots you straight up and down (Tony didn't go on this!!). The view from the top was brilliant and we went just before sunset so we saw the sun going down and then all the lights of the strip, just as you see on TV.
Another highlight was going to see Travis at the Hard Rock Cafe. We have seen Travis before at the Isle of Wight Festival and they were excellent so when we saw they were in Vegas we decided to get tickets. The venue was really small, probably smaller than most I have been to before, and because of this it was even better than watching them at the Festival. At the beginning the band came out through the audience in Rocky costumes and halfway through Fran Healey did an acoustic song, which you would not be able to see at an ordinary gig in the UK as the venues are too big.
After a week in Vegas we hired a car and drove to Flagstaff where we stayed overnight in a motel, which was actually a shed that might as well have been on the railway track we were that close. It was well worth the drive and the sleepless night to see Sunset Crater which is a dormant volcano just north of Flagstaff. After spending the day in the National Park we drove to the Grand Canyon where we stayed overnight.
The following day we went to the Canyon and it was awsome. It is really difficult to describe just how amazing it is there and the pictures you see do not do it justice. We spent the day walking along the rim of the canyon for about 7-10 miles, which is just a fraction of the full size. Seeing the Grand Canyon sums up for me what this trip has been all about and it is definately a place I would come back to.
The following day we headed back to Vegas, stopping off at the Hoover dam on the way. Today we are staying at the Sahahra hotel (which is much better than Circus Circus) and tomorrow we are off to LA.
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