Hoover Dam & the Grand Canyon

Jen and I constantly berate ourselves for not seeing more of the West Coast since we have moved out here. Being lifelong East Coasters, yet well travelled in most respects, the West Coast remained largely unknown to us. So from tips and pointers picked up here and there, we begin to see more with each passing month, but there has always been the Big Three. These include Yosemite, Tahoe and the Grand Canyon, widely considered the best outdoor experiences within 1,000 miles of our location.

The trip began with Jen flying to Las Vegas for the massive sales conference that Google holds annually. Some 11,000 people descend on Vegas, baby, the only city large enough to accomodate this many visitors AND have a conference room that can fit that many. A week of exclusive events and celebrity appearances filled in the spaces between new product launches and company rally cries! Between a few hours of work, Jen was lucky enough to get treated to a lovely spa day, dinners with colleagues and a couple of concerts.

I flew to meet her on Thursday night and we met at the Aria hotel, a new, dazzling structure that matched the luxury and style of the Bellagio and the Venetian. We dined at Sage, a fantastic spot with excellent reviews and world class service. After a 4 course meal we strolled around the Strip and took in the sights and beautiful weather.

The next day, we made our way to the Hoover Dam and did all the touristy things such as watching the documentary film about the building of the greatest man-made structure at the time (1933) and still stands as one of the biggest engineering achievements of the 20th century.

After the Hoover Dam, we made our way to the Grand Canyon, but were presented with the below sign on the side of the highway. We were definitely curious and took a little road break to check out what exactly they offered. Apparently, they had just above every type of weapon imaginable from the Magnum Smith & Wesson that Dirty Harry carried to assault rifles to the biggest sniper rifle I've ever seen.

We tried out a few shots and they were LOUD. The type of gun that we were told could kill a man from 2 miles away. So we indulged and tried it out, firing off a round of sniper bullets the length of my hand.

Then on to the Grand Canyon, a site so wide and vast that it has taken explorers centuries to document the many corners and species that live within it's realm. Hiking trails line the most accessible parts of the canyon and trips to and from the bottom take at least 2 days to complete.

We didn't have time to make it to the bottom, but we hiked a ways down and turned around when we knew we would be challenged with the two hour hike back up. We continued along the trails and amazing vantage points, each one taking our breath away and making us imagine what the first settles must have said when confronted with such an obstacle. I'm sure it wasn't pretty, but they must have managed somehow.

Braving the edge

The Trail back up

Taking in the view

Pictures don't do it justice.

After plenty of trips to the Grand Canyon at different hours of the day, we finally made our way back to Las Vegas on Sunday morning and took our afternoon flights home. Two down and only Tahoe left to see, but I have a feeling we will be taking in plenty more, lesser known sites as well.