In the evening of our first night in Death Valley, we visited Zabriskie Point to watch the sun set.
exploring
Attractions and other places we visit.
Valley of Fire State Park
We visited Valley of Fire State Park, north of Las Vegas, Nevada.
A cheeky squirrel found some food in the picnic area (no, we didn’t feed it):
Red Rock Canyon
We visited Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area near Las Vegas, Nevada.
Entrance station; timed-entry reservations required:
Visitor Center:
Gift store:
Exhibits:
Tortoise:
Jackson the burro:
Picnic:
We did a hike to a waterfall:
The Beatles Love Cirque du Soleil
One night while staying in Las Vegas, we went to the strip for a nice steakhouse dinner and The Beatles Love Cirque du Soleil show.
The Mirage hotel:
The Mirage foyer:
We were early, so played some slot machines, to make an offering to the gods of luck:
Then checked out a swag shop:
And The Beatles Shop:
Then went to the Stack restaurant for dinner:
Martinis:
Salads:
Steaks:
Adult tater tots:
Desserts:
Professional photos:
Food and beverage:
The Love show (they were okay with photos, a little unusually, so of course I took a bunch):
The Mirage:
Kingman, Arizona
After Grand Canyon West, we went back to Kingman, and had dinner at a classic Route 66 diner.
Welcome to Kingman:
Route 66 buildings in Kingman:
A drive-through Route 66 sign:
We had dinner at the Mr D’z Route 66 Diner:
Menus:
Special shakes:
I had (with Jenn’s help) a lavish Chocolate Pot of Gold shake:
Fries and burger with bacon, egg, hash browns:
French toast etc:
Route 66 truck:
Old police car outside the diner:
I may have knocked a few years off my life with that shake and dinner, but it was tasty!
Grand Canyon West
We visited Grand Canyon West, a commercial operation of the Hualapai Tribal Nation.
On the way there, we enjoyed seeing lots of Joshua trees and snowy mountains:
The sign for Grand Canyon West:
The main terminal; there is lots of parking, an airport, large heliport, and gift store here:
One catches buses to reach the other two areas:
The first stop is Eagle Point:
Do you see the eagle?
A selfie:
The main attraction of Grand Canyon West is the Skywalk, a horseshoe-shaped glass bridge that extends 70 feet out over the canyon:
We went to the restaurant for lunch first, which had a great view over the Skywalk:
No personal belongings allowed on the Skywalk:
Line:
We put our stuff in a locker:
They have photographers on the Skywalk to take posed pictures:
Some stock pics of the Skywalk that came with our photo downloads:
After we experienced the Skywalk, we headed outside and looked at some Native American tribal structure exhibits:
Then caught a bus to Guano Point:
Posing ravens:
Nice Grand Canyon views:
This point is named for a guano mine (harvesting bat droppings for fertilizer); there are still some ruins of a tram used for that operation:
A long line for the bus back to the terminal (it was much longer when we joined it):
On the way back to Kingman, “Expect Cattle”:
Yep, cows were expected:
A fun experience, and a different perspective on the Grand Canyon.
Baseball: Mariners Spring Training
While in Phoenix we attended a spring training game of the Seattle Mariners, playing against Canada.
The Mariners do their spring training at the Peoria Sports Complex:
Of course, we bought some swag at the team store:
Some ballpark food for lunch:
Lineups:
Umps:
Play ball:
“Big Dumper” Cal Raleigh:
We enjoyed a Matador Southnorte tequila and pineapple cocktail from a vendor:
Ichiro:
Shipyard playground:
Home run:
Attendance 3,962:
Mariners win!
Final scores:
Bisbee, Arizona
South of Tombstone, near the border with Mexico, is a cute little historic town called Bisbee, Arizona. We went there for a drive and dinner.
An interactive map:
The historic Mule Pass Tunnel:
Entering Bisbee:
Bisbee buildings:
We had Mexican for dinner at Contessa’s Cantina:
Jenn’s dinner:
My dinner, stuffed potato:
Jenn’s dessert, sopapillas:
My dessert, Mexican deep fried ice cream:
More Bisbee buildings:
Back through the tunnel:
Sunset:
A cute artsy town; we quite liked it.
Tombstone, Arizona
We visited Tombstone, Arizona, which has a few blocks of downtown devoted to an old west theme.
An interactive map:
And promotional map:
A classic old courthouse:
Wyatt’s saloon and hotel:
Horse-drawn mail coach:
Four Deuces Saloon:
Dirt road:
Ice cream parlor:
Good Enough Mine tour:
Library and railway:
Trolly tours:
We got some jerky and dried fruits from this shop:
Big Nose Kate’s Saloon:
Longhorn Restaurant:
More shops:
Hotel Tombstone:
Bird Cage Theatre:
Jenn enjoys her pressed pennies:
Crystal Palace:
The famous OK Corral:
We initially were going to have lunch at Big Nose Kate’s Saloon, but it was too busy:
So we headed to Crystal Palace, since they had outdoor seating:
A real touristy town.
Video: Pikes Peak dashcam timelapse
A timelapse dashcam video of driving up and back down Pikes Peak in Colorado (back in September).