vegasarizonajune2003

Las Vegas, Arizona, Toroweap
June 18 to June 27, 2003

This is a father/son vacation trip that is based in Las Vegas but moves to many different areas. When we go this far out west we like to cram as
much as possible into the time we have. You only live once after all and later Austin is going to think that it isn’t the coolest thing in the world to go
adventuring all over the Southwest with his Dad. But then again he is 20 so perhaps that day is not soon upon us.

We left, courtesy of some U.S. Airways frequent flyer miles on Wednesday, June 18th at 3:35 PM flying through Philadelphia and arriving in Las
Vegas right on time at 8:02 PM. Note that I wouldn’t call these the best flight times in the world but again they were sort of free since we used
frequent flyer miles and they did save me around $600 so that’s okay. We picked up our car, a 4 wheel drive Durango at Dollar without any hitches
and were shortly on our way to the Fiesta Henderson to check in. Note on the car rental: I now always use Dollar Rental Cars when I travel to
Vegas. They are the most inexpensive and if you sign up for their Fast Lane program also one of the easiest to get your car. If you are in the Fast
Lane program and reserve your car with your number all you have to do when you get to the lot is to get your car and drive to the gate and present
you license. In a couple of minutes you are on your way. If you have to make any changes or your forgot to update your driver’s license or credit
card information then you have to desk to make the changes and good luck on a quick in and out there.

Check in at the Fiesta Henderson was smooth as usual. I have stayed at the Fiesta six or seven times and have only had a short wait maybe two
times. I like the Fiesta because the staff is so nice and they have excellent video poker. My host there is Jane Quine who is also one of the nicest
hosts I have ever dealt with. One thing to remember is Las Vegas is that you can get more from casinos if you ask. At a small casino like the
Fiesta Henderson they may notice you after awhile but at a larger one forget it. What I always do if I am playing at a new casino is to play at my
normal level or a day or so and then go to the slot club and ask for a slot host. When they come just introduce yourself and ask them if they can
check your play now and see what they can do. At the Fiesta that usually is only comped (free) rooms but it can be other things also. You also have
to be realistic. If you are a nickel single line video poker player playing one hour a day then there isn’t going to be much they can do for you.
However, if you are a quarter or above player playing at least four hours per day then who knows what you might get.

For the remainder of Wednesday and for Thursday we were in rest and relaxation modes. I gambled and Austin played video games and watched
pay per view movies. We also visited a couple of other casinos including Sunset Station where we went to the movies. The Fiesta Henderson is
part of the Stations Casinos and therefore you can get comps at their other casinos, like Sunset Station, by using the points that you earn at the
Fiesta. Just another one of those cool Vegas things.

Friday

Our plan today is to begin our out of Las Vegas adventures. The first stop is at the Sky Dive Las Vegas location in Boulder. Austin and I did this a
couple of years ago and it was one of the coolest if not the coolest things we have ever done. It is pretty expensive. The first time we went it was
$199 each plus I paid another $100 to have Austin video taped and photographed as he descended. However, the price has come down a little bit
but still more than a couple of bucks. We got to the office and paid our money and went through the orientation planning on the second jump of our
lives. However, the wind was too high to safely jump and they asked if we wanted to wait. We did and waited about 30 minutes without any letup
so we decided to save this for another day. For future reference all the jumps at Sky Dive Las Vegas are tandem jumps where you are attached to
an instructor. The attachment is at your back so you are first out of the plan. They have various safety features including a device that automatically
opens the chute if no one else does. I have to admit to being a little scared before the jump and in the plane as we climbed but that is nothing to
being scared as the door opened and you stepped out into the cold air and looked down at the ground 12,000 feet below. What you do is then lean
forward and both of you then make a few tumbles and the instruct releases a little drag chute to straighten you up. After you go out the door it is
quite a thrill and I wasn’t scared at all. I heartily recommend it to just about anyone.

So with our sky diving plans squashed we then proceeded to drive to Flagstaff, Arizona where we would then spend the next two nights. Along the
way we crossed over the Hoover Dam for the umpteenth time. Hoover Dam is one of those must see places if you visit this area of the country. If
you are there in mid-summer you can get an idea of what the workers had to experience some 70 years ago when it was being built. We then
traveled down I-95 to Kingman, Arizona where we picked up the main interstate across Arizona, I-40. Kingman is an okay small city that sits at the
junction of I-95 and I-40 so there are a lot of motels, restaurants and such catering to travelers. It is also the birth place of Andy Devine, a character
actor in Westerns of the 30s, 40s and 50s. The longest section of the old Route 66 intersects the interstate here and since we had time we
decided to try it out.

Side note: during my various vacations that my son is along with me I of course will usually refer to us visiting this place or us seeing this natural
wonder. Now that for the most part is true however during car journeys it may be a stretch. A ride in a car has a similar affect upon my son at age
20 as it did on his at age 2. What I mean of course is that he sleeps…a lot. We have often gone through some of the most beautiful scenery in the
world in the American Southwest and my son has slept through it. Well, vacation is all about relaxation and he certainly is relaxed.

Now back to our journey. I drove along old Route 66 while it curved around through the Havasupai reservation. One stretch of this road includes
the world’s longest stretch of curved highway. Unfortunately, unless you detour back deeper into the reservation and down into the Grand Canyon
this curved route is about the most exciting thing on this stretch of highway. When you get close to I-40 at Seligman you pass by the Grand Canyon
Caverns but we didn’t stop because fairly or unfairly it looked like a world class tourist trap to me. After arriving at Seligman we drove through this
very little interesting town past the Historic Rt. 66 Motel where we stayed on an earlier trip. Take a look at this trip’s photo gallery for some
interesting pictures of this interesting town.

After the short pit stop at Seligman we got back on the highway and winged our way another 100 miles or so to Flagstaff and the Embassy Suites
our base for the next two nights. Embassy Suites as a chain are my most favorite hotels. There are always at least two rooms and if you have
traveled as much as I have the last couple of years you will appreciate the comfort even if you are alone. The stay here was also free courtesy of
Hilton Honors points. If you travel and it is possible try to stay at the same company’s hotels as much as possible and always sign up for the
frequent stay club. By using points at the Embassy Suites in Flagstaff I saved approximately $250.

Saturday

We had two things on the agenda for today. The first one was a trip to the famous meteor crater in (sort of) Winslow, Arizona. The crater is about
35 miles east of Flagstaff off I-40. The crater occurred approximately 50,000 years ago when an iron-nickel meteorite estimated to be about 150
feet across and weighing several hundred thousand tons struck the plain with an explosive force greater than 20 million tons of TNT. This last
sentence I borrowed from the Meteor Crater Brief History phamplet put out by the owners of the crater, Meteor Crater Enterprises, Inc. The crater
interestingly enough is privately owned at least partly by descendants of Daniel Barringer who in 1902 thought that there might be commercially
profitable mining iron underneath the crater. That didn’t prove to be true but they did develop and continue to develop the crater in a first class
manner. When Austin and I arrived they had finished remodeling the visitor center a year or two ago and the facilities and displays are first class
and as least as good as the better National Park visitor centers I have seen. There is a charge for a guided tour at $12 but it seemed very
reasonable to me.

When we were on the tour the guide told an interesting story. Apparently a number of years ago a couple of commercial pilots were ferrying a new
plane in the area and thought that it would be cool to fly down into and then out of the crater. Now the problem that came up is that the meteor crater
sits in the middle of a very flat plain. As the winds come across the plain and come into contact with the crater they form a vortex of winds across
the top of the crater. What this meant to the pilots flying the plane that day is that once they went down into the crater they couldn’t get out. Now if
you can imagine you are there that day and you see a plane fly into the crater and then have to circle in very tight loops as it tries to get out.
Eventually they either ran out of gas or whatever but they crashed into the bottom of the crater. Luckily for them neither one was killed though they
were injured. Can you imagine the conversation with their boss when he asks them, “So where is the plane?”

Well after the trip to the crater we headed back to Flagstaff. We then decided to drive down to Sedona to check that out. We took the Rt. 89A that
takes you on an extremely scenic drive through the Coconino National Forest. After a lunch in Sedona we headed back to Flagstaff.

Tonight’s adventure was at Lowell Observatory but before that of course boy’s have to eat. We decided to check out the Sizzler Restaurant thinking
it would be relatively inexpensive with some good but simple food. The food was simple but neither inexpensive or good. It was simply one of the
worst restaurants that I have ever been at. It was close to the interstate so I could see it luring in some unknowing visitors like me but I saw what
looked to be a lot of families from the local area there. I just couldn’t see how anyone would ever go there twice.

We went that evening to a showing at the Lowell Observatory. This trip was very cool in both the experience and the temperature. We stood in line
for awhile outside and then went into the visitor’s center for exhibits and a talk and a film and then wandered the grounds. They have various
telescopes set up for you to look at on the grounds and they also had their large old telescope set up to view a star cluster. We had to wait quite a
long time in line for this but it was worth it. So if you in Flagstaff follow my advice and go see the Lowell Observatory and if it is in the evening wear
some clothes. Even though we were there in the middle of the summer Flagstaff is at some 7,000 feet so it gets cool in the evening regardless of
what the date it.

Sunday

Today’s adventure was one of the main things we were looking forward to on this trip. We were going to take a day long survival course presented
by Ancient Pathways . Our instructor was Tony Nester who you may have seen on one of the various Travel Channel specials. I know this is where I
first heard about his school. The course was one day long and titled Outdoor Survival Course. It was held in the mountains south of Flagstaff and
during the day you went over emergency shelter building, how to signal, using various fire starting methods, etc.. I can’t say that you could drop us
naked in the middle of the wilderness and we would survive but I do think that at least we would now have a better chance. They have various
courses and I would definitely recommend it if this type of thing interests you. More than likely I will take another one or two of his courses in the
future.

The course took the entire day and finished up around 4 PM or so. It took about 20 minutes to make it back to the interstate for the drive back to
Vegas. By the time I pulled onto the highway and looked over my brave 20 year old son was already fast asleep. I think he woke up for a fast food
refresher in Kingman but other than that slept until we arrived back in Las Vegas when we checked into the Palms for our next two nights.

The Palms is an interesting hotel casino. One face of it is the hippest spot in Las Vegas even out hipping the former king the Hard Rock Hotel and
Casino. On the other side it has some of the best video poker gambling in the city which draws a big local crowd of decidedly no hip people which
I count myself among the species. So you have quite the mix. Not only do you have some of the most beautiful people on the planet you also have
your retired school teacher from the 2nd grade. But everyone seems to peacefully co-exist. We are staying here because I received an offer for 2
free nights along with $75 in free play so what the heck!

Monday

Today’s special event was that we were going to the Penn & Teller show at the Rio. Now this is not something I would normally go out of my way for
but I had buy one get one free tickets courtesy of Harrahs (the Rio’s new owner) and I thought that my son would like the type of humor. So in the
evening we took the fairly short walk over to the Rio from the Palms for the concert. I would have to say I approve. Penn & Teller are basically
magicians with an attitude. One of them, Teller I think, never speaks while the other one Penn talks constantly. Though it wasn’t roll in the aisles for
the entire show it was different and overall funny. I would recommend it at half price ($35.75) but I don’t know at full price. That you would have to
decide yourself.

Tuesday

Today is moving day again, this time to the Suncoast Hotel and Casino in Summerlin. Summerlin is located in the northwest section of Las Vegas
about 20 minutes from the strip. We have always liked the Suncoast despite its being this far from the strip. When you have been to Vegas as
many times as well have you don’t stay on the strip anymore because you realize that better deals, gambling and sometimes even food is located
away from it. The Suncoast is owned by the Coast Casinos and includes a very large casino with excellent video poker, the normal buffet and
restaurants, nice rooms, very friendly people and some of the absolute best cocktail waitress uniforms in the city. Not that I have noticed of course,
with my being very happily married but my son Austin told me about them.

Wednesday

The bulk of today’s adventure involved our drive up to Toroweap Outlook on the north rim of the Grand Canyon. Follow this LINK for that segment of
the trip.

Thursday

Today we are going to a Las Vegas 51’s minor league baseball game. I am a baseball fan but since moving to Rochester I have become a big
fan of attending minor league baseball games. They are a hoot. Not only do you get baseball from players who care more about the game that
themselves you get those fun, truly American promotions in between the innings. Anything to make a buck is open game during minor league
baseball games. The stadium for the baseball game is located at 850 Las Vegas Blvd just a short trip from downtown in a not perfect
neighborhood. However, there is plenty of security and the crowd is like most baseball games which mean families and other well behaved fans.

We got there in the early evening when the sun was still blazing. Unfortunately I had forgotten my hat and therefore purchased one for $25 at the gift
shop to shield my hair challenged head. My favorite son when asked told me that the hat looked good. After closer viewing by myself in the mirror
afterwards I realized that I looked like a very poor version of Forest Gump. It also turned out that after buying the hat, purchasing the requisite food
munchies that the sun had gone low enough to make the hat no longer needed. Well, it’s Vegas what’s another $25?

During the game we had the most exciting moment that either Austin or I have ever experienced at a baseball game. The player at bat hit a line
drive not 2 feet over our heads so fast that we didn’t have any time to react. That certainly made for a good memory.

Friday

Today is the day to go home. Since we are flying the red eye flight tonight, remember these are frequent flyer tickets; I asked and received a late
check out for 6 PM. We left on our US Air flight on time at 10:55 PM and eventually arrived in Rochester via Pittsburgh safe and sound though
pretty tired at 9:15 AM. This was all in all another great Father/Son trip.

Resources:

Pictures