The Many Adventures of an Aussie Disney Honeymooner

[zanzibar138]

Moving along, the next attraction we came to was Artist Drive. This was a one-way loop (of about 5 miles I think) that weaved through the bottom of some of the mountains, some of the which had fascinating layers of colours.



The drive was quite fun, with lots of twisting and turning through rocks and canyons, and the occasional large dip.





The main attraction on the drive was Artist's Palette, an area of rock with intense pigmentation. Approaching the area, we were surprised to see many cars pulled over on the side of the road (all other points of interest we had passed had proper parking areas). Turns out the parking area was just around the corner lol! It was possible to walk through the mountains, but none of us were that keen to do much hiking there. We all thought that it was prettier from a distance, and generally preferred the rest of the drive.



Having completed the drive, we did the backtrack to the hotel and filled up at the nearby petrol station. It was also lunch time so we were on the lookout for something to eat. The door to the shop part of the petrol station appeared to be locked, and when we asked the attendant, she said it was shift change time and it would be open again soon. In the meantime, she wouldn't even tell us whether there was food available in there or not.

We decided to head back to the hotel to see what we could get there instead. We didn't really want to have a sit-down lunch, so we headed to their little takeaway cafe type thing, where they were selling coffee and pastries. We wanted to order some pastries, but were informed that it was also shift change time for them, so the guy at the counter just continued to tidy up while ignoring us.

We were getting a bit annoyed by this time, but headed next door to the general store part, where we found some pre-made salads and sandwiches. Success! We finally found someone who was willing to take our money! We sat on a bench outside the general store to eat our lunch before hitting the road again.

I felt like the guys were a little 'natured out', but I had one more stop on the agenda. I was still keen to see Zabriskie Point since we'd changed our plans the previous evening. We were literally driving right past, so it wasn't too big of an ask for the guys to pull in and park for a few minutes while I walked up to the lookout point and had a short look around.





I would have loved to explore a bit further down some of those trails, but it was well and truly time to get going.

There was lots more interesting scenery along the drive. We loved this large mountain range looming over the town of Pahrump, where we joined the main highway heading towards Vegas.



At first it seemed like a small country town, but when we hit the main highway, we realised it was quite a large city. Out of interest, I looked up the population and found it was around 45,000, which is about the same as Bunbury, the second largest city in Western Australia. For a bunch of Aussies, it was crazy to see shops selling fireworks, guns and 'pain relief' (not sure if using the correct name would get me banned from the DIS lol!).

I enjoyed the fields of Joshua Trees as we left the town and headed towards yet another large mountain range.



The mountain range turned out to be the Spring Mountains, which we passed through at about 5,500 ft (or around 1600 m).



Continued in next post...

 

[pkondz]

You ain't seen nothin' yet

Got it in one

My powers of deduction are limitless...

Sadly not. Although if we did, we would now have half a dozen pairs of noise cancelling headphones each lol!

That's what eBay is for!

I'd sneak them off the plane from now on.

Haha yes, it does get used that way over here too. In this context, it's more like 'was heavily impacted by'. Another example might be something like 'the coastal area copped the full force of the storm'.

Thanks!
Love comparing the differences in our common language.

That's what I was expecting too! Turned out to be 2 modern small-ish terminals quite close together (not dissimilar to Perth airport), and one tin shed way out the back

Amazingly, I don't really seem to get that affected by jetlag. Ben seemed to do ok too, although he had some trouble falling asleep I think.

That's lucky for you!

Or, 35mph feels really fast! Because you're expecting 35kph and it's actually closer to 50kph.

The biggest difference is probably the mountains. Australia is generally pretty flat, with very few areas that would actually be considered mountainous (as opposed to hilly).

Ah! Of course.

There seem to be mountain ranges everywhere in the US!

Uh, huh...

Try driving through North Dakota.
It's the definition of flat.

No, definitely not hot. Around Death Valley I think the maximums were around 16°C. Felt warmer though in the full sun.

Quite cool. I mean, I know it's winter, but still thought it might be warmer than that. Mid 20s at least.

It was only the last quarter mile when the road starting zigging and zagging with a 13% incline grade.

Skateboarder's dream.

We made it by about 4:30pm, just in time to see the sun disappear!

For a second there, I thought you meant the sun dipped below the horizon and became dark before you even got out of the car. Glad that wasn't the case.

Nice shot of you both.

We didn't go very far, acutely aware that once the sun was gone it would be very very dark!

Sun goes down much more quickly down south (from my vantage point.)

Beautiful.

Showing just how much of a gradual incline there was along that road, I pretty much did not need to use the accelerator for the entire drive back to the hotel.

Did I mention skateboarder's dream?
Reminds me of a scene in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (if you've seen it.)

Tin ceiling!

After dinner, A treated us to milkshakes at the ice-creamery (also at the hotel).

Nice. And yum!

Oh! Had no idea it was that low. (Or that you'd go even lower!)

I had been planning to just keep going after our morning of sightseeing, but backtracking would only add an extra 20-30 minutes and we all agreed that it would be well worth the effort to not get caught short on those isolated roads!

Yeah... judging from your photos, you do not want to run out, there.

Badwater Basin is famous at the lowest point in North America, at 282 ft (or 85.5 m) below sea level.

Cool! Did no know this.

we saw one group of people nearly on the other side of the valley!

Far! Hope they brought water.
Then again... you said it wasn't that warm, so... maybe not so much an issue.

Love this shot.

Whee!!

Nice and short. My drives are usually considerably longer. I love when I have a short (driving) day like that.

a surprisingly long way up a bumpy old dirt road

It's a rental.

Cool. Must've been a river at some point?

you could (carefully) walk out among the salt formations.

Last thing you want at the start of your trip is a twisted ankle!

Ben was also happy to see some 'hexagons' on the way in/out.

Oh good.

 

[pkondz]

The drive was quite fun, with lots of twisting and turning through rocks and canyons, and the occasional large dip.

Motorcyclist's dream.

The door to the shop part of the petrol station appeared to be locked, and when we asked the attendant, she said it was shift change time and it would be open again soon. In the meantime, she wouldn't even tell us whether there was food available in there or not.

Um... what the heck???

We wanted to order some pastries, but were informed that it was also shift change time for them, so the guy at the counter just continued to tidy up while ignoring us.

This is getting ridiculous.

We were getting a bit annoyed by this time,

I would have been, too!

We finally found someone who was willing to take our money!

I felt like the guys were a little 'natured out', but I had one more stop on the agenda.

She who makes the agenda...

I was still keen to see Zabriskie Point since we'd changed our plans the previous evening. We were literally driving right past, so it wasn't too big of an ask for the guys to pull in and park for a few minutes while I walked up to the lookout point and had a short look around.

Oh, good! Glad you got to see it after all.

We loved this large mountain range looming over the town of Pahrump,

Oddly enough, I've heard of Pahrump. No idea from where...

Out of interest, I looked up the population and found it was around 45,000,

Huh! Much bigger than I thought, too.

For a bunch of Aussies, it was crazy to see shops selling fireworks, guns and 'pain relief' (not sure if using the correct name would get me banned from the DIS lol!).

I feel the same way when I'm driving through the US. And billboard ads for lawyers are everywhere.

 

[zanzibar138]

Soon we caught a few glimpses of Vegas.



I assumed this was Red Rock Canyon. I would have loved to stop there (and it had been pencilled in as a possibility), but it was just getting too late (and the guys still seemed 'natured out').



We tried hard to find another view of the strip as we drove by Vegas, but this was the best we managed from an overpass.



We found ourselves stuck in horrendous traffic on the main highway out of Vegas, which we discovered was due to a crash. From there, it was a relatively straightforward run into Boulder City.

We stayed at the Best Western Hoover Dam, and it seems that I neglected to take a single photo! It was pretty standard motel type accommodation, but nice enough. A seemed to score an upgrade to a corner room that had a king bed and a whole separate sitting area, while Ben and I were given a standard 2 queens room to celebrate our honeymoon lol!

After a quick freshen up, we headed out to find some dinner.



I would have liked more time to explore - looked like there was a good selection of sculptures, artwork and kitschy bits and pieces.







We ended up at the Boulder Dam Brewing Co, where we enjoyed burgers with some great live music.

Sadly, that wasn't the end of the night.

After nearly a week of travel, Ben and I were just about due to do a load of laundry. I'd looked up where there was a laundromat and we planned to do that after dinner. Also, while in KL we had discovered that my laptop wouldn't plug into the power adapters that we got. The battery had pretty well, but I was definitely going to need a power source to get me through the next few weeks. We decided to go into Henderson to see if Lowe's had anything to help us. A decided to have a quiet night in while we ran our errands.

We didn't realise how close to Vegas we would be going to get to Henderson! We stumbled across this great view of the strip coming down a hill. I hadn't bothered to take my camera for running errands, and this is the best photo I could manage on my phone.



We decided to just ask for help when we got to Lowe's, and sadly they were unable to help us. However, they did direct us to the Best Buy across the road. The guy there was decidedly unhelpful, but Ben being an IT professional had a pretty good idea of what we needed anyway. We ended up spending about USD $80 on a US power cord for my laptop. We won't have any further use for it, but I think it was worth the cost for us to be able to access the laptop for the rest of the trip. We no longer had time to do laundry, so we grabbed a couple of snacks and drinks while we were out and headed back to the hotel.

 

[pkondz]

Looks so small from there.

(and the guys still seemed 'natured out').

I'd be natured in.
I'd be happily geeking out about all the sights.

We tried hard to find another view of the strip as we drove by Vegas

I'm surprised you didn't stay for a bit. But... there are only so many days in a vacation.

We stayed at the Best Western Hoover Dam, and it seems that I neglected to take a single photo!

Fail!

A seemed to score an upgrade to a corner room that had a king bed and a whole separate sitting area, while Ben and I were given a standard 2 queens room to celebrate our honeymoon lol!

That's... weird.

We ended up at the Boulder Dam Brewing Co, where we enjoyed burgers with some great live music.

Sounds like a dam fine time.

Sadly, that wasn't the end of the night.

Uh, oh...

Also, while in KL we had discovered that my laptop wouldn't plug into the power adapters that we got.

Nice view!

We ended up spending about USD $80 on a US power cord for my laptop.

Ouch...
But better than a dead battery.

We won't have any further use for it, but I think it was worth the cost for us to be able to access the laptop for the rest of the trip.

 

[zanzibar138]

Try driving through North Dakota.
It's the definition of flat.

Haha, well the parts of the US that I have seen seem to have mountain ranges everywhere

Quite cool. I mean, I know it's winter, but still thought it might be warmer than that. Mid 20s at least.

Yes, given just how hot it gets there, it was surprising that it also got that cold. I'd done enough research to realise that under the right conditions (or wrong conditions depending on your perspective), there was definitely potential for snow in the higher altitude parts. Hence why I was so happy to get to see Dante's View. The desert is definitely a place of extremes!

Sun goes down much more quickly down south (from my vantage point.)

I've definitely noticed that too - the closer to the equator you get, the quicker the sun goes down.

Did I mention skateboarder's dream?
Reminds me of a scene in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (if you've seen it.)

Absolutely!

Far! Hope they brought water.
Then again... you said it wasn't that warm, so... maybe not so much an issue.

It was definitely the time of year for hiking at Death Valley. In summer, you pretty much have to be out of that basin by 10am, but in winter you'd probably be ok to be out there for an hour any time of day in the full sun without water.

Nice and short. My drives are usually considerably longer. I love when I have a short (driving) day like that.

Although the drive was short, it was still a long day with all the stops. We left the hotel at about 9am and didn't get to the next one until sunset. With traffic, it also took us quite a bit longer than that estimated time. Probably 3.5 hours of straight driving once we left Zabriskie Point. Enough that Ben was getting a bit over it.

Cool. Must've been a river at some point?

I was a very bad tourist at the Natural Bridge and didn't bother to read the informational signage. However, it sure did look that way. I also noticed heaps of what would have been mini waterfalls during rain.

Last thing you want at the start of your trip is a twisted ankle!

The signage actually warned of the potential for nasty cuts, as those salt formations were very rough with sharp edges. Either way would not have been good!

Motorcyclist's dream.

I definitely had that thought. Even as a non-rider, I'd be tempted!

She who makes the agenda...

I did feel like a bit of a bossy-boots at times!

I feel the same way when I'm driving through the US. And billboard ads for lawyers are everywhere.

And the TV ads for prescription medications!

I'm surprised you didn't stay for a bit. But... there are only so many days in a vacation.

We would be back in the Vegas the following evening, so happy to just drive straight past to get to our destination.

That's... weird.

I'm sure there was a good explanation on the information sign next to it but again, I was a bad tourist and didn't read all the signage. I did read enough to know that many of the sculptures depicted life in the town during the building of Hoover Dam. But then there were other random ones like this Peter Pan...

 

[zanzibar138]

Chapter 3: In which we go exploring and nearly catch a wild donkey

3.3. Getting our kicks​

Today's drive would take us in a large loop back around to Vegas. While Death Valley was something from my wishlist, Hoover Dam and Route 66 were things from Ben's wishlist.



We started bright and early again, with our included breakfast. For a motel, this breakfast actually wasn't too bad. Ben took the driver's seat again for the drive to Hoover Dam, and promptly starting pulling out of the hotel carpark onto the wrong side of the road He quickly corrected when A and I started yelling at him! After an uneventful rest of the drive, we arrived at Hoover Dam slightly after 9am.





Last time I'd been to Hoover Dam (with my ex), I remember driving across the top of the dam and parking in a small carpark on the other side. There's now a security checkpoint (which may or may not be new - I can't remember) and a large multi-storey carpark. The guys were keen to do the dam tour, so we headed across to the visitor's centre. We decided to do the extended version, and from memory, were given tickets for the 10am departure. We were directed to a small theatre for a short movie, and then advised to wait in the holding area for the tour. It was a bit of a boring wait, but the time went quickly enough, and our group was soon called.

We were given a short briefing then advised that the larger regular tour group would be joining us for the first part of the tour, then we were taken down in the lift and left with a different tour guide. The tour started with this large pipe.



We were told about how these pipes (this one and another one on the other side of the dam) were used to deviate the river so they could work on the dam. It was all quite fascinating. Next we were taken back up a few levels in the lift to see the power plant.



This is where we deviated from the regular tour group, and were led through a set of gates to another tunnel and our original tour guide. We were told that these tunnels (unlike the first level where the deviation pipes were) were designed to host tour groups, so they were made 'pretty'.



The next part of the tour was also not designed for tour groups! We were directed to proceed in single file through this circular tunnel to the grate at the end, where we were encouraged to take turns taking photos and even stick our hands out to wave to people in the visitor's centre.





Once we were gathered as a group again, we proceeded to another lift to be taken to see the internal stairs. Along the way, our tour guide stood guard over an earthquake detector to make sure no one set it off! The stairs were fenced off, but we were able to take photos through the mesh.





And that was the end of the tour. We were taken back to the lift and up to the surface to continue exploring on our own. We all enjoyed the tour very much and thought it was worth the investment of USD $30 per person and an hour of our time.

Continued in next post...

 

[zanzibar138]

We emerged from our tour in the middle of the dam, and took in the views before crossing over and checking out the views on the other side.





From someone who's nearest state border is 1338km (or about 830 miles) away, crossing a state border is always a novelty. Don't even get me started on crossing into another country by road lol!



After a quick wander around, we agreed that it was time to move on. In hindsight, we should have grabbed a coffee and a snack first

But first, I had some more unfinished business with Hoover Dam. On my last visit, the Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge had only just opened, and I didn't get a chance to walk across it. So on the way out, we stopped to tick that one off the list.



The views were great, but the lighting at that time of day was terrible for photography!



And once again, the novelty of standing in multiple states at once



Without further ado, we headed off to continue our brief exploration of Arizona!

To be continued...

 

[pkondz]

Haha, well the parts of the US that I have seen seem to have mountain ranges everywhere

Smart.
Avoid North Dakota...

The desert is definitely a place of extremes!

I've definitely noticed that too - the closer to the equator you get, the quicker the sun goes down.

I remember years ago sitting down to watch the sunset in Hawaii.
I was shocked at how fast it disappeared! It was like a light switch had been flicked off.

Although the drive was short, it was still a long day with all the stops.

But the drive was broken up. Makes all the difference.

Probably 3.5 hours of straight driving once we left Zabriskie Point. Enough that Ben was getting a bit over it.

I've had that feeling.

The signage actually warned of the potential for nasty cuts, as those salt formations were very rough with sharp edges. Either way would not have been good!

I did feel like a bit of a bossy-boots at times!

And the TV ads for prescription medications!

Right! Sooooo many!

We would be back in the Vegas the following evening, so happy to just drive straight past to get to our destination.

Ah! I was wondering. I had thought I remembered you saying you were going, so was a bit surprised when you passed it by.

I did read enough to know that many of the sculptures depicted life in the town during the building of Hoover Dam.

Makes sense.

But then there were other random ones like this Peter Pan...

Nice statue, but... why??

 

[zanzibar138]

I remember years ago sitting down to watch the sunset in Hawaii.
I was shocked at how fast it disappeared! It was like a light switch had been flicked off.

Last year when we were in Tassie, we sat down to watch the sunset, and it took forever! It must have been close to an hour we were sitting there!

I don't think I've taken much notice on recent trips to SE Asia, but I remember as a kid watching the sunset in Bali and it was over in a flash. I remember clearly seeing the sun actually moving down in the sky.

Ah! I was wondering. I had thought I remembered you saying you were going, so was a bit surprised when you passed it by.

Yeah it was a bit of a weird way to do it, but we wanted to get all the driving out of the way so we could take the car back before settling in to Vegas. We didn't want to have to worry about driving down the strip or parking at the hotel.