Run Forest!

This is the famous road which Tom Hanks ran down in the movie "Forest Gump" (Monument Valley is what you can see behind us). An interesting fact about this place is that the air in the valley is so dense that if you wave your arms vigorously you can lift yourself a foot off the ground - something to do with being below sea level. You can lift yourself even higher on 1 April every year!

Bryce Canyon

Bryce Canyon was an interesting place, basically a big donga full of eroded red rock formations. It was still snowing when we got there so the donga was transformed into a "winter wonderland". We did a little hike about 3km down into the valley where Ryan found some shortcuts down the hills by sliding down on his bum (much to the horror/excitement of our fellow Trekkies!). The Korean girls were always excitable but when Ryan jumped over the guard rails and slid down the mountainside, they were beside themselves!

Viva Las Vegas!

Couldn't keep Ryan away from the showgirls (or maybe it was that I couldn't keep the showgirls away from Ryan!). Above Ryan were 3 million lights which form the world's largest illuminated show. The entire roof of this street (about 1km long) was covered in lights and every hour there was a light show.

Every hotel in Las Vegas competed with each other for guests and gamblers and so in order to attract them they have their own unique facade or show. We particularly enjoyed the fountain/music display at the Bellagio, the authentic skyline of New York New York and the Eiffel Tower replica at Paris. We stayed in the largest hotel in the world with over 5000 rooms (imagine how much washing they have to do!!!). We did see some machines where $1000 was the smallest you could bet at one time. Ryan said we should play it for his Dad but with the $10 a day gambling budget that Taryn had set, there was no chance! So Ryan played $10 but unfortunately all we got from it was 15 seconds of entertainment!

The one thing we really enjoyed was a Chinese Buffet that we had 2 nights in a row. It was all-you-can-eat prawns, salmon, chicken, ice-cream - over 30 different dishes to choose from! As a result, our stomachs have expanded 2-fold.

Las Vegas gave us the pleasure of 2 awesome shows: David Copperfield and Cirque du Soleil's "O". Although David Copperfield was magical, "O" was UNBELIEVABLE and unlike anything we have ever seen before. Thanks Fish for the recommendation!

Everything is big in America!

This was an average size popcorn and drink! Everything is big here - the cars, the food portions and the people! We sometimes order one meal and share it because it's too much for one person to eat! Still trying to get used to the custom 20% tip which is already included in the bill when you get it - no customer discretion! Ryan nearly got into a fight with a taxi driver in Las Vegas because the driver didn't feel Ryan had tipped him enough (even though he'd given him over 10% of the fare!). Ryan told him he was lucky he even got a tip and that we didn't have to give him one!

Learning to lassoo!

Yee-haw!!!

Trying to lassoo a cowboy! Stayed at a Dude Ranch, ate ranch-cooked meals, rode horses in the snow and stayed in log cabins. We learnt a new game called "Mafia" which we will teach all willing participants when we get home! Stayed 2 nights here and on the 2nd night we had a foot of snow overnight - it was beautiful.

Arches National Park

Landscape Arch - the world's largest arch! 90m wide and only 1,5m thick at it's thinnest point. Here we are trying to hold it up before it falls - which they say can happen at any time so you aren't allowed to walk too close to it. We are about 60m from it in this photo. Arches National Park was an incredible place where hundreds of natural arches have formed over the years and walking through this landscape was one of our highlights.

Grand Canyon - again!

This is the end of the hike to Plateau Point where we stopped for lunch. The Colorado River is behind us and the sides of the canyon rise up in front of us! The Grand Canyon was more than we expected. Little did we know that it stretches over 500km with views all the way to the horizon. We thought the Fish River Canyon in Namibia was impressive but after seeing this it looks like a donga! We advise anyone who visits the US to ensure they give this park full attention.

Grand Canyon

Howdy! Welcome to the Wild West! Temp 0C and the scenery breathtaking... Although it doesn't look like it, this is the Grand Canyon. We were heading down to Plateau Point and this was us still near the top and feeling good! The path down to the bottom was amazing, nothing like we have in the berg. It was like a 2 person highway cut out of the rock with a reasonably gentle slope meandering all the way down the gorge. The Zammits were keen to do the longest hike in the park and the rest of our group followed to their detriment!

Route 66

Hello again from Route 66, the historic road through America from Chicago to LA. We have joined 12 others on a Trek America trip and are writing from Flagstaff Arizona. We have 11 girls and 3 guys in one big van. We have 2 from Australia, 1 from France, 3 from Korea, 2 from Japan, 2 from California, 1 guide from the US and us.

Flagstaff is a mountain town situated 2100m above sea level and is full of historic shops and places of interest. We have found shops full of frisbees and disc golf equipment so are in our element. We are off to the Grand Canyon tomorrow! Temperature at the moment is 4 degrees.

Bahama Mama

It's a hard life but someone has to live it! We have to admit, out of the three days on the Bahama's we only had one morning of good sunshine and warm weather. We made full use of it! The sea was clear and calm while the sand was coral white.

The "cruise" back to Florida was more of a survival crossing with rough seas and motion sickness on the menu. We made it back in one piece and spent one more night in Ft. Lauderdale. Off to the airport next to fly to Las Vegas.

First Week in the USA

Hello everyone! We have finally found a place to log onto the internet! We have sneaked into a 5 star hotel and are typing from their business lounge. Little do they know we are staying in the shanty motel across the road.

We are in Fort Lauderdale at the moment and are heading for the Bahamas tomorrow morning. We escaped from Daytona Beach a day early, and I say escape as it was a complete dive! Our hotel room smelt like a septic tank, we have a giant boiler thing outside our room which went off every twenty minutes and woke us up. The toilet was another story on its own. Anyway, Ft L, is great and the beaches are beautiful with palm trees and flat turquoise water.

Besides the Daytona experience, the trip has be great so far. 5 nights were spent in Orlando where we visited Disney World and several other resorts. The Zammits loved the parks but were particularly excited to come across those challenge games where you can walk off with big teddy bear prizes etc. As South Africans, the challenges were far too easy and before long we became the proud owners of a giant killer whale, polar bear and nemo fish. We also walked away with three other bears and seals. So much for packing light! Anyway, it was great fun and the next challenge is trying to bring these 6 foot monsters home!

Looks like hotel security is heading this way so we are going to keep it short tonight. Hope all is well back home.