Whenever we say about America! People always think of Road Trips. This is in fact very relevant, especially in central and on the West Coast. While driving is very much to be effective in cities especially with the traffic in places like New York City. Automobiles and America still goes very much hand in hand, and many amazing places are best left to be explored with a vehicle. In fact even in the city of Los Angeles, the public transport is very limited! I have rented a car in Vegas and we got an amazing shinny new black Cadillac V6 XT5 SUV from Sixt Cars. I was amazing to drive. I will share more on the car rental in a separate post! Of course, being in USA means I definitely have to head to lay my eyes on the Grand Canyon and also Death Valley, both which are very much on my bucketlist. So here it goes! Follow me on my day trip to the Grand Canyon!
Grand Canyon is actually a pretty hard and long drive from Las Vegas. The journey takes around 4 hours one way at the minimum, covering a distance of over 250 Miles! Some people actually recommend you not to do it in a day, but since I was based in Vegas, thats is the only way for me! Thankfully all three of us could drive and take turns.
We left Vegas bright and early, setting off when the sky was still dark! While planning the road trip I chance upon the opportunity to actually visit the Hoover Dam as well as stopping by The Coffee Cup, the diner which was recommended by Guy Fieri. Check out my previous post for my breakfast experience there! The best bet for any road trips are offline Google Maps, in fact I have use it throughout this 3 months that I am out of Singapore. Remember to download it beforehand. The offline version provides you with everything that you need beside the live traffic updates. It was chilly in the morning and the air was really crisp! From there it was a short drive from The Coffee Cup to the Hoover Dam.
On the journey there you can start to see bodies of water and the water is just so blue, like the sky. It is such an amazing way to drive. Nothing is better than this! Music, Speed, Wind. Nothing else a driver could ask for! I was there right about 7.30am in the morning. It was quaint! Just how I imagine it to be. Being a little fan boy of the Transformers movie. I knew that I have to visit here one day after watching the movie. Now I am finally here. There is a little checkpoint before you enter to the facility of the Hoover Dam, after all security is never the same nowadays after terrorism around the world! Nothing too stressful though! The friendly ranger just exchange compliments with us and was glad to hear that we are from Singapore. He even give some direction on where to park!
Let me just say, THE HOOVER DAM IS SO MAGNIFICENT! I was here just as the sun begin to shine, everything look so nice and it was just basking in the sun. You could definitely see the reflection on the water. Right smack on the Dam is actually the main road, single lane in each direction. There is a carpark near the center and apparently it cost 10 dollars. We might have dodge it since we actually inadvertently park at some place, I think it might be the staff parking, so we luck out for free. In the picture below, that was where we park!
I spend around 30 mins here, taking pictures and admiring the grand structure in peace. I love the peacefulness! It was said that the Hoover Dam can last more than 10,000 years and it hold more than 10 trillion gallons of water. On one side of the Dam is the Colorado River and the other being the artificial lake created by the Dam. Here are some of the vain pictures of mine! Luv it!
We quickly made our way to the Grand Canyon, hoping to maximise our time there. As we drive over to Arizona, you can find the landscape changing, from time to time, somehow the views are always different, that kept me entertained while being the passenger. We swap drivers after every 2 hour or so to be fresh and stop for gas before we were just about to reach Grand Canyon and also for a long due toilet break.
We reached the Grand Canyon National Park just past noon, passing by the toll booth and paid our entrance fee. You only pay a fee for the vehicle, every passenger inside the vehicle is included. Yay, I am so excited to finally lay my eyes of the most grand landscape in the world. I luv nature! We first head to the visitor centre!
First up on the trip was Matherpoint! Which was within walking distance of the visitor centre. You can check out the full itinerary of my Grand Canyon road trip here! I decided to skip the Hermit Road section of the Grand Canyon since I had not enough time. I would rather not rush through any viewpoint and sights! Leave plenty of time for pictures. It is kind of a one in a lifetime thing! I have to say that parking are pretty much available in all the viewpoint! Different viewpoint gives you different views of the Grand Canyon!
The village is the main part of the Grand Canyon National Park and it is also most probably the first place you will reach after arriving. The visitor here and facilities are well equipped and they also have huge parking space. It is also the main transportation hub in the area. For those areas where you are required to take the shuttle bus to access. Yavapai Point and Mather Point is walkable from the Village! Check out the views here!
We then went on the Dessert View Drive! I love it more here, as it is less touristy and more rustic. There is also significantly lesser people! First up is Grand View Point! This outlook viewpoint overlooks a panorama of colourful canyons, ridges & the snaking Colorado River. I love that you can see the bends! Pls don’t copy my poses, ahahhah, I was risking my own life in some!
Next up is Lipan Point! Be careful here!
My last stop is at the Navajo Point and the Dessert View Tower. The Desert View Watchtower viewpoint offers a great view of the watchtower as well as panoramic vistas to the west and a view north up the Colorado River. Navajo Point is the highest overlook on the South Rim. The picture of the watchtower as well as the Colorado River is a worthy sight. This is one of my favourite after Matherpoint! I love the view of the snaking colorado river!
That pretty much brings an end to my Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam road trip! It was such an eye opener! The drive is totally worth it! I also love coming here in the winter, since in the summer it will be too hot for me to enjoy this place! I will definitely enjoy myself so much! I left the place roughly after 4.30pm. With the sunset biding me goodbye. Hope you all enjoyed this photos intensive post. Stay tuned for my upcoming road trip, Death Valley!
Seeing The World In Steps 