Start of an Epic Road Trip: Las Vegas Part 4

DSC_0001

Early morning we set the GPS for Las Vegas as our end destination with some stops one the way: Grand Canyon, Kaibob National Forest, and Hover Dam. I love road trip, its alway about the journey.

DSC_0003

We left during sunrise and was a nice view driving trough north Arizona.

DSC_0005

DSC_0006

The steep climbs was even more of a struggle for the 18 wheelers. With the Land Cruiser fully loaded, I had my foot planted on the floor during the climbs only maintaining 60mph. Felt like I was driving a bus. Made me miss the M3 but at least I knew the Land Cruiser wasn’t going to break down.

DSC_0008

Thankfully some sections leveled out and the skies opened up.

DSC_0009 DSC_0014

DSC_0016

It started to rain and get colder as we drove towards Flagstaff, Az.

DSC_0019

DSC_0024 DSC_0021

Lambo enjoying the ride. If you are thinking about bring your dog on a road trip, I highly recommend. They make great companions and your dog will be well cultured!

DSC_0024 DSC_0026

The landscape changed from desert, grasslands, then to forest. I started to notice how cold it was outside becuase snow was on the ground!!

DSC_0027

Kinda nervous driving on snow because I never had experience. The Land Cruiser did make me feel safe with the full time 4wd and the heavy rig made it seem planted. Yeah its wasn’t a blizzard but being form Texas, snow is something you don’t deal with yearly.

DSC_0030

After passing Flagstaff, AZ the snow/rain mixture started getting stronger. It was an experience to remember!

DSC_0031 DSC_0035

DSC_0039

This was crazy, because its May and its snowing!!!! I just traveled through for seasons in one day!

DSC_0049

The snow did let up but it was still pretty cold.

DSC_0052 DSC_0055

DSC_0060

Nadine and I decided to explore some back roads before entering the Grand Canyon.

DSC_0063

DSC_0064 Kinda muddy but nothing the Land Cruiser couldn’t handle. Lambo did get his paws all muddy, which in turn made for muddy paw prints on the leather seats. Sigh.

DSC_0070

DSC_0073

Sometimes I don’t know what Lambo thinking.

DSC_0076

DSC_0082

Back on the paved roads we the Grand Canyon, wasn’t too far away. Looking forward to the snow covered canyons.

DSC_0099

DSC_0087

I didn’t know it was $30 for entry but it’s good for 7 days. Too bad we where only doing a day trip. Next time we will stay longer.

DSC_0089

DSC_0092

The weather was like Texas, one minute its clear sunny skies, next minute its gloomy.

DSC_0095

Lambo’s first time in real snow!!! We had some light dusting in Houston before but this was pretty deep that it was touching Lambo’s belly. Soo cute.

DSC_0096 DSC_0097

Unfortunately the view of the Grand Canyon wasn’t all hype as it was. Pretty foggy and we where at the Grand Canyon overlook haha. Oh well, there is always a next time. We did wait it out till the sun came out but the fog covered the views.

DSC_0098

With all the attention Lambo got, you would think he was a movie star. We had lots of people taking pictures of Lambo. This lady didn’t speak English, but with charades, we deduced she wanted to pic up Lambo for a picture haha. Lambo just seemed more nervous about falling down then looking at the camera haha.

DSC_0101

After roaming around Grand Canyon and giving up hope that the fog would let up, we left and looking for more off road trails.

DSC_0103

We were at Kaibob National Forest, I wish I had downloaded the map prior because we didn’t have cell service. The trails are well maintained so we couldn’t get lost or stuck.

DSC_0105

DSC_0106

Back on the paved roads, we headed to Hover Damn and Las Vegas!

DSC_0109

Started to get warmer and drier nearing Las Vegas.

DSC_0110 DSC_0113

Feeling adventurous we went off beaten path and explored a dirt road.

DSC_0114 DSC_0117

DSC_0120 DSC_0122

The views off the beaten path is awesome.

DSC_0118 DSC_0124

Some of these places would make a great campsite but not sure it is allowed here.

DSC_0126

There was a small rock slid that didn’t totally block the trail.

DSC_0129

DSC_0130

We went back on paved roads and was nearing Hoover Dam! But we didn’t really stop haha. Mainly becuase we where running low on time from all the off roading and wasn’t sure if dogs are allowed to enter Hoover Damn.

DSC_0134

We couldn’t see Hoover Dam passing through, because the bridge blocked the view but I guess that a safety issue too. You don’t want distracted drivers crashing.

DSC_0137 DSC_0139

There is always a next time to explore more.

DSC_0142

Back in the city and Las Vegas in view. Who knew a city in a desert would be a popular tourist destination.

DSC_0144

Vegas traffic is always terrible.

DSC_0146

After the times I’ve have been to Vegas, this was my first time driving here and passing the Vegas sign!

DSC_0151

There is actually parking for the Vegas sign but its pretty small and limited. Luckily we came on a weekday and was able to find parking easily.

DSC_0154

Lambo and I waiting patiently to get a a prime picture. I could only imagine how packed it gets during the peak times.

DSC_0155

Lambo just living life.

DSC_0158 We did it! Finally a picture of the Vegas sign! DSC_0160

DSC_0179 In the city sometimes finding dog friendly restaurants can be hard but thankfully this restaurant was close to the strip.

DSC_0181

DSC_0185 The Vegas strip…. so fancy.

DSC_0187

I remember coming here on July 4th weekend, the strip was just packed with people and cars. Felt like a sardines in a tin can.

DSC_0191 DSC_0192

DSC_0194

Passing though the strip, all I could think of was the song “Flashing Lights” by Kanye West.

DSC_0195

DSC_0197

After being on the road roughly for 12hrs we called it a night. It was nice being back in the city life, but the next day we planned to head to Death Valley!!! Stay tuned!

 

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out /  Change )

Connecting to %s