June 24-26 - Thursday/Friday/Saturday - Las Vegas

June 24-25 - Thursday/Friday

We are at the convention now and staying on the 8th floor of the LV Hilton. It is enormous. Our room has a fabulous view of other sky scraper hotels and a space needle. Our room is over a perfectly manicured golf course and the horizon is delineated with a rocky mountain range.


Yesterday we heard Colin Powell speak about how important it was to inspire and support the youth of America and how the Promise to America organization that he founded and the Kiwanis Program both supported promoting youth leadership and development of character. He was very candid and an excellent speaker. Tonight Jay Leno will entertain us.




Paul G. Palazzolo, President Kiwanis International Board



This is an International Organization and there are people here from all over the World. They introduced them at one of the session yesterday and had a parade of flags represented the countries that belong to Kiwanis International. Amazing!





Jay Leno

They also announced a new philanthropy that they are partnering with UNICEF for - Combating Maternal and Newborn Tetanus, which kills poor mothers and newborns in 40 countries around the world. For a $.60 shot prior to giving birth both mother and newborn can be protected. Unicef will provide the health workers, education programs etc to the countries in need and Kiwanis will provide the financial support for the vaccinations. Maybe some manpower, but I am not sure about that.

I am about to leave for the day to find Donald who went to a 7:00 am meeting. He had room services at 5:30 am because the restaurants were not going to be open in time for him to eat before the meeting. I slept in. I needed the re-grouping time.

My email this morning included one from the gym I go to saying classes were cancelled until further notice due to the power being out. They must have had a powerful thunderstorm - poor Samantha. She always hides during storms.



More on Friday

I read and slept most of the day.

I met Donald for lunch where Cory Johnson a motivational speaker spoke. He is a Kiwanian who was born with cerebral palsy and suffered a stroke at the age of eleven. His message was that we all have handicaps of some kind and that no one should be define by their handicap. He told how Kiwanis turned his life around. As a camp councilor he had opportunities to take leadership roles which allowed him to see his self-worth. As an adult he was president of his local Kiwanis club and was elected as his state’s lt.-governor.

At 8:00 pm we had the Jay Leno program. The pre-show was an excellent singer who sang some of the “rat-pack” or Frank Sinatra songs ( Just as you look Tonight, New York, etc.)

Leno talked almost an hour and we laughed the whole night. He has lots of energy and perfect timing of course. Irreverent, hilarious he took his material from the news.

After the show we came back to the hotel and walked around. Donald bet a couple of dollars. At one point he had $11.30, but in two more plays he lost it all again.

Saturday – June 26

We got up early to go to breakfast at the convention. It was good and we met some very friendly people. After breakfast, Leave It to Beaver’s Jerry Mathers spoke. He was in K-Club as a high school student and is now in Kiwanis. He spoke mostly about his life as a child star and was quite interesting.

Donald was not able to go to any more events in the morning. We came back to the room and hung the card on the door and he slept the rest of the morning. I read and did some email. Afterwards he felt so much better.




We then took the convention bus to the Paris Hotel and Casino. Wow, it was impressive. We had a grand lunch at Le Café. We both had Chinese which was what we felt like since we have been eating more than usual. We walked and explored and went up in the Eiffel Tower that is built in and out of the hotel. We had our photo taken and then took the monorail back to the Hilton and had a birds-eye-view of the Strip.

Tonight will be our last night here and we will eat in the hotel and have wine and a dessert. Tomorrow we fly back to Charlottesville.

Remember: "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas!"

June 23 – Wednesday - Death Valley

Today we set off north from Henderson on Route 95 out of Henderson and Las Vegas. The ecology got drier and drier and we drove down and down. Very little lives here but the hills and rock formations are amazing. At the bottom the glowing white valley was very flat and shimmered in the sun.



We passed by the 20-mule team borax canyon and on the way back Donald entered the one lane, one-way road into the canyon. It turned out to be about 4 miles of rough dirt and with high sides only as wide as the car. You could see the white crusty borax that had crystallized on the surface in places. At one point there was a curve and an incline that peaked and dropped quickly. It was a sharp enough of a drop that you could not see the road ahead until you dared to trust the road and let the rental car drop on to it. Donald ploughed ahead and finally we came back out on to the main road.


We visited the Furnace Creek Visitor center where the elevation was minus 190 feet below sea level. The temperature was over 105 degrees, so the cool visitor center was a welcome respite.

We were able to return to the hotel in Henderson by 4:30 so we both went swimming and then supper in the hotel.

June 22 - Tuesday - South Rim - Day Two

We were on the road by 9:00 am again, after a good breakfast at the hotel. We traveled north to the south rim of the Grand Canyon again. We stopped at the National Graphic IMAX Theater and visitor’s Center in Tusayan, Arizona, which is only a mile or so from the parks entrance. Donald bought popcorn and sodas to enjoy during the fantastic film that depicted the history and uses of the Grand Canyon. Aerial videos taken from a helicopter gave a stomach churning bird’s eye view of the Colorado and the canyon walls on its border.

At the Grand Canyon we visited the Grand Canyon Village, a lookout and geology display and viewed the canyon from many locations. We got lost traveling the village roads that were designed to supply services to the cabin and lodge residents. The map was very confusing.



After much discussion we took the free bus to the Lookout Station at Yavapai Point and the Geology museum. Mather Point was closed for repairs and the other points to the west were open only to bus tours.

The bus driver gave us an update on the Flagstaff Fire: 10,000 acres burned and only 10% contained. The winds are constantly blowing and helicopters are frequently seen flying towards Flagstaff.





We headed out about 1:00 retracing our tracks to Williams, Arizona, and then we took Rt. 15 to Henderson,Nevada,for the night.

The route took us to Hoover Dam where construction slowed traffic to a crawl, but it made it easier to take pictures from the car. The dam is quite an impressive sight. They are doing reclamation on the dam.



The highway from there to Henderson had lots of construction that by way of a high bridge will no longer go over the dam. The two lanes will be converted into a 4 lane divided highway. They were building bridges and overpasses that appeared to go to nowhere but they will connect to local roads I presume.



We got to Henderson about 7:00 and checked in. We searched for a restaurant and ended up at Panda Express. Not good! Okay, but strange egg rolls. We were very tired!

The computer reported that the local temperature was 97 degrees at 8:30 pm and 8% humidity making it feel like 90 degrees. Strangely (for us) opposite Charlottesville weather.

June 21, 2010 – Monday -North Rim and the Navajo Bridge

We were on the road by 9:00 am. We traveled south from Kanab on a road, alt 89, with soft shoulders and no banking curves. We traveled through the Kaibab National Forest where there were areas showing the damage done by a 2006 forest fire. We saw a few deer. We soon arrived at the North rim of the Grand Canyon. We visited the bookshop and walked the rim and took lots of photos. I avoided going down hill very far, but Donald went as far as all the lookout trails went.




In order to go to the South Rim we had to go back the same route through the Kaibab Forest to Jacob Lake and then back on alt 89. It was backtracking, but we saw new things as we traveled along the same road. In one of the fields a small herd of bison were grazing very close to the road.






The route sharply turns south at the Navajo Bridge. The bridges cross the Colorado River prior to carving the Grand Canyon. The shiny metal bridges, one for cars and one for pedestrians, were very high over the river where we could see the rapids and tour boats which looked very tiny from the height of the bridge. On the river bank Indians had set up display tables with jewelry and other crafts.



We continued south on Route 89 to Cameron where we picked up Route 64 and entered the North Rim National Park. Our first view of the Canyon was at the Desert View where we hiked along the rim. The Watch Tower at Desert View was being repaired, but people were still allowed to go up into it. We took photos, but skipped climbing the tower. We were excited to be able to see the Colorado River that looked very green. We stopped at almost every viewing area along the South rim. It was five pm before we got to Grandview. We decided to leave and drive to Williams, Arizona, to the hotel since we were hot and tired.


Our plans will be different tomorrow. We are not going to Sunset Crater, some national monuments and Flagstaff. Flagstaff is on fire. According to the radio, 900 acres have already burned and the fire is 0% controlled. We could see the smoke from route 89 as we traveled south today. Instead we will go back to the South Rim in the morning and then visit Grand Canyon Village since we had to leave without seeing it today. Then we can travel to Henderson, Nevada in the afternoon.

We had a great supper tonight at the Doc Holiday restaurant attached to this hotel. Donald had steak with bourbon and mushrooms and I had codfish.

June 20, 2010 - Sunday - Zion and Bryce

Up at 8:30 and ready to go. Donald slept 15 hours straight!

We did get enough sleep. When we got to the hotel in Washington, Utah about 4:30 pm yesterday, we both laid down for a nap. I awoke about 2:00 am, still in my clothes and thirsty. I did email for a couple of hours and then read my kindle book for another hour. I then slept until 8:00 am. We didn't even have supper, but we had a late lunch and were not hungry.

Today we had a normal day on local time. After a good breakfast at the hotel, we got on the road by 9:00 am and traveled on Rt. 9 along the Virgin River. The mountains are beautiful.

In the low lands suddenly there is grass and livestock. Sixty foot or longer pipes with large wheels about 20 feet apart sprayed water and were moveable across the length of the field. We saw ostriches, bison, longhorn cattle, cows, donkeys and horses. Amazing to see after miles and miles of arid desert and sagebrush.




The Tunnel in Zion connects the park's South and East regions. See the window into the tunnel?













In Zion we lucked out because the tunnel road was closed for construction Monday through Friday, but it was Sunday, so we were able to go through. The road to the tunnel was rough, steep, with many switchbacks, which made it hazardous, but spectacular.

The tunnel was built in 1927 to connect the southern part of Zion National Park with the eastern area. It was completed in 1930 and is an amazing 1.1 miles. Carved through the sandstone it is dark, narrow and has a low ceiling and curves. Large campers are only allowed to go through with an escort and at only certain times. Four openings to the canyon provide occasional glimpses of the sun and fresh air.

We stopped at an overlook and Donald hiked down into the dry wash and continued up into a crack in the mountain that was about two arm lengths apart. Occasionally he was able to touch both walls at the same time. He said he walked about two-football fields distance from the car. It would have been an easy walk if it was flat, but it was down into the gully and then up a mountain. He returned coughing and sputtering from the dust, heat and exertion. He exclaimed, “Don’t let me do that again!”

On the other side of the tunnel the topography was different. Sand stone hills are wind swept and smooth with amazing cross-hatching exposed.

We then traveled route 89 and turned north to Springdale and then to Bryce. We stopped at a diner in Hatch, Utah, for lunch that sported a ‘50s look and we had to have burgers.




We entered Bryce and traveled the whole length of the park stopping at almost every lookout. We walked the trails at several of them and took lots of pictures. It is spectacular with the amazing multicolored layers and interesting sculptures. Arches, grottoes, and hoodoos are everywhere in the canyon.













We saw it all and traveled back the way we came, but continued south to Kanab, Utah to stay the night. We had dinner at a restaurant, but sat outside where the temperature was perfect, 73 with a gentle breeze and about 10% humidity. We had a buffet with barbeque, ribs, shrimp and salads. It was quite good.

It is 10:03 pm and Donald is watching TV. Tomorrow the Grand Canyon North and South Rims.

Note: In Las Vegas it is 3 hours different from Virginia, but in Kanab, Utah it is only 2 hours different. Maybe they do not believe in daylight savings time??

June 19, 2010 - Saturday - Washington, Utah

We arrived in Washington, Utah yesterday about 4:30 pm Utah time and we both went to bed. It was suppose to be a nap, but it stretched into an 8-hour night. So it is now 2:10 am and I am catching up on email while Donald is back to sleep.

We are just south of Zion National Park and we traveled through quite a varied terrain between Las Vegas (LV) and here yesterday. There was in particular a spectacular pass through the mountains and the gorge of the Virgin River. We wanted pictures, but our cameras were still packed and there were no places to stop. We will have them ready today.

We left Charlottesville, VA, at about 5:30 am, after my having to be "wand searched" because of course I set off the alarm with my bionic knee. Our flight left earlier than we planned because the one to Detroit was canceled and they redid our tickets to Atlanta. This took forever at the ticket counter, but we got to Atlanta fine. We found out later that one bag had the ticket of someone else going to Detroit and then to Las Vegas.

However we arrived in LV at 10 am their time with only 3 of 4 bags. After waiting at the carousel for an hour and in line for baggage claim for an hour more we found out that the fourth bag was due to come in at 1:30 pm. We left to get the rental car and came back to find the bag. We were so happy to see it when it finally arrived.

We were so lucky that our bag finally got to where it was suppose to go with someone else’s ticket on it. It could have gone anywhere, but had the right final destination. I hope the other person found their bag at the baggage claim!

We didn't leave LV until 2:30 or so. We drove up the strip, which is quite different from what I'd expected, but were relieved to hit the road north.