Marc's Public Blog - Trips

Jennifer and I flew to the Grand Canyon via Las Vegas (which we overflew on the way there, and stayed at a few days on the way back). Below I have pictures and links to the flights we did, the backpacking, and pictures of Vegas.

Here's a quick overview:

Flight from Palo Alto to the Grand Canyon

Arrival at Grand Canyon South Rim, Sunset

South Rim Sunrise

Backpacking down and back up

Flight to Vegas

A few days in Las Vegas

Flight back to PAO

Georef Map

Flight from Palo Alto to the Grand Canyon

Trying to fly over thanksgiving was going to be the luck of the draw, but thankfully we got great weather for flying to the Grand Canyon. We got there in less than 4h, including some slower flying and scenic loops (otherwise it would have been about 3H). The best part outside of the view, was of course not having to deal with all the TSA shit and being able to fly with gas canisters (which are disallowed both as checking or carry on, on airlines).
Here is a link to the Flight to the Grand Canyon through Las Vegas.

Arrival at Grand Canyon South Rim, Sunset

Jennifer got us a room at the Bright Angel, and right after checking in, we took the bus to Hopi Point on the South Rim Ridge to see the sunset:

Plateau Point, with view on the river

and we went for a nice dinner after that :)

South Rim Sunrise

One good thing about going during the winter was that sunrise was at a very reasonable 07:12, so we went to see it (on en prend une du lever, une du coucher, et on se casse :) ).

Bright Angel Lodge

Bright Angle Trail going down

Backpacking down and back up

I have a different page you can read for Out Backpacking down the Grand Canyon and back up.

Flight to Vegas

Then, I have yet another page with pictures of our flight from the Grand Canyon to Las Vegas.

A few days in Las Vegas

Once in Vegas, we spent 3 days there to see some shows, enjoy food, and we used the time left over to visit some hotels and see what's changed. Below are a few choice pictures:

A few night shots:

shot from the Effeil Tower

We also had a look at the Mandalay Bay Aquarium:

We also went to see one show every night (choice was limited due to sunday and monday being dark for most shows).
We first saw Criss Angel. The show wasn't bad, but it didn't feel grandiose either (and a bit expensive considering).

The next day, we went to see Le Rève. That was much better. I had seen it before, but Jennifer hadn't and we both quite enjoyed it.

And the last day, we went to see Penn and Teller. Their show was stilll really good and they get points for chancing their tricks over time, so that you don't see the same show every time.

Last, but not least, let's not forget about food. Jennifer tried to practise her buffet restraint skills. She's still working on it :)
We tried the Aria the first night, the Wynn buffet the second night (2 best buffets in Vegas), and we had the tasting menu at the Effeil Tower restaurant the 3rd night. All 3 were really great :)

Flight back to PAO

After 3 days in Vegas, it was time to fly home, a nice scenic flight past Bishop.

Georef Map

If you wish, here is a link to a big georeferenced map of Vegas/Grand Canyon Trip.

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