Days 170 to 176: Las Vegas & Grand Canyon

We spent the better part of a day driving across Arizona, stopping to sleep in Ehrenberg, just opposite the Colorado River from California. We drove into California for dinner and a charge, and couldn’t believe that we’d actually made it all the way around the country. What an accomplishment, all 20,000 miles of it so far. The next morning, we drove up to Vegas through the Mojave Desert. H’s wonderful friend Tobirus came to visit us for the long weekend, and the three of us made the most of the crazy city. 

Each night, we stayed up far too late having way too much fun. We explored the Strip, overpaying for delicious pasta at Eataly before marvelling at the maze-like quality of a place where everything’s designed to capture your attention. We managed to wake up early enough to go see Bernie Sanders at a pre-caucus rally, which absolutely blew our minds, and ate phenomenal food before a raucous night at Piranha. And we enjoyed a gentle recovery day in a beautiful spa that ended with a Cirque burlesque and another wild Strip adventure, wrapping up shortly before Tobirus’s 6 AM flight home. The three of us (and Tegan, of course) had an amazing reunion—like we’d never been apart. As we expected from Vegas, we emerged from our stay satisfied, bewildered, and exhausted by such a fun, tacky place. 

While we were in the neighbourhood, we decided to pop in and out of the Grand Canyon, via the colourful cities on Route 66. The park itself was stunning, but we faced some natural beauty fatigue (and exhaustion from too much driving). Before we headed into LA, we stopped one night more in Vegas—just enough to enjoy the raucous Democratic debate taking place just steps from our hotel, with a great view of the Strip to watch when the political fireworks settled down.

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2 Comments

  1. Wow! Congrats on the whole trip! I’m so glad you’ve had such an amazing time and that you shared your adventures and photos with everyone. Love the map showing all the places you’ve visited. Take care and I look forward to connecting further to say hello and to hear how everything is going in your world!

  2. It was so great to see pictures of Tobirus and to hear his voice! Hope we get to spend time with him again someday!

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