USA 2022

Thu May 19

Fly to London Heathrow

Drove to Malaga via Sue Berenson’s to drop Bowie off, fast track through airport security, and landed (late) at London Heathrow around 15:30. Checked into the Heathrow Ibis. Had some beers, and then an indifferent dinner. Duvets on the bed and no a/c meant a broken night of sticking various limbs out to keep cool!

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Fri May 20

Get antigen test, then fly from London Heathrow on BA0275, departure time 16.40, arrive McCarran (Las Vegas) at 19.20.

OK, breakfast, then sat around reading. Eventually we walked in the rain, the 0.4 mile (west) to Katalyst Health at the Heathrow Marriott for our ‘Fit to Fly’ antigen tests. We had an 11:30 slot, but got there early and were seen straight away. Sitting in the foyer of the Marriot waiting for our test results, we were sufficiently impressed with the hotel (and sufficiently unimpressed with the Ibis) that we booked into the Marriot Courtyard Hotel a few doors along, for our return trip.

We checked-out of the Ibis, and decided as we had plenty of time, that we’d save a couple of quid and take the Airport Shuttle Bus for T2 and T3. It arrived at the hotel 30 minutes late, went all round the houses to various other hotels before eventually heading for the terminal buildings. He took us to terminal 2 first and then swapped drivers. After a ten minute delay, the next driver got in and immediately took the tunnel out of the airport. I had to point out that we hadn’t stopped at T3 yet and he looked most put-out, and grudgingly took us back.

It’s difficult to see the point of these shuttle buses when they take so much time, and are only marginally cheaper than a direct taxi, and are subject to delays and cock-ups that could mean people missing their flights.

Anyway, it turned out that our flight was delayed by an hour because the caterer had “dropped the food delivery for our flight”, and we had to wait for replacements. The flight was with British Airways and had been rearranged from a Gatwick to Las Vegas flight where I’d booked us seats with good views. I wasn’t impressed to find our seats on this flight were over the wing. Otherwise, I felt the BA’s Premium Economy service was good.

We landed at Las Vegas at around 8pm, got through immigration quite quickly, picked-up our luggage, and headed to the arrivals concourse, only to find there were no courtesy phones or even public phones; and predictably, our smart phones didn’t work. So we prevailed on two ladies to use their phone and call the hotel (the Hilton Garden Inn) to arrange for their shuttle to collect us.

We stood where we were told to stand and waited for an hour, before prevailing on another traveller and calling the hotel again. They apologised and said we’d be picked up within 10 minutes. After another 30 minutes, we gave up and got a $30 taxi. At the hotel, we were too late for dinner, and we didn’t fancy the walking in the dark the 400 yards to the nearby Italian restaurant. The staff were very apologetic saying they sent the first car to the wrong terminal, and the second car went to the right terminal, but picked-up the wrong people!

They said they couldn’t reimburse us for the taxi, but did compensate us by upgrading our breakfasts from continental to ‘Full American’. Oh, and giving us some alcopops!

Sat May 21

Pick-up rental car, SIM card, then drive to Hurricane

We phoned Enterprise Car Hire to organise a hotel pickup, but was told they were ‘too busy’ to do it, so we had to pay $35 for a taxi instead. The car hire guy asked us if we wanted insurance at $28 per day, and thinking this was collision damage waiver, we declined. So he said we’d be driving the car with no insurance… I found this hard to believe, but it appeared that we were talking to a trainee working from a script and it was hopeless to argue, so we very reluctantly agreed.

Then he asked if we’d need ‘liability’ insurance for another $12 per day. I was dumbfounded that insurance at $28 per day ($10,000 pa) didn’t include 3rd party liability, but short of walking away and trying somewhere else (who may well have the same charges), we felt we had little choice but to add another $500+ to our bill.

So what with hotel miscommunications that cost us a $30 taxi fare and our dinner, no hotel pickup by Enterprise, and now a doubling of our car hire bill… this wasn’t the best start to our holiday!

We then went across the road to Wireless Toyz for a SIM card. He recommended a T-Mobile SIM for $40, that in the event didn’t give coverage in most of the hick towns we ended up in. We then went next-door to a 7-Eleven to stock-up on crisps, water, Oreos, etc., and headed out north-east on the I-15.

We decided to detour to Valley of Fire SP where we went in 1997. We spent a nice couple of hours there, before continuing to Hurricane, where because of the various delays, detours, and because (unknown to us) we’d crossed a time-zone, we found we were having lunch at 5pm!

We went back to the same place… Las Lupitas a nice Mexican restaurant, around 8pm for dinner, but found that for some reason, we didn’t have much appetite!

Stayed in the Econo-Lodge… good basic accommodation, and included a rudimentary breakfast.

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Sun May 22

Hurricane to Zion NP, then drive to Bryce Canyon.

Still on European time, we had a very early breakfast, and set Google Maps to take us to the entrance to Zion National Park. Then we found ourselves driving on some very strange roads, and then I noticed that our ETA was in about 21 hours time! Somehow it had changed itself to pedestrian mode! We resumed our journey on proper roads, into the park and parked near the Virgin River, and took the shuttle-bus into Zion Canyon.

We got off at the end of the shuttle bus route at the Temple of Sinawava, and did the lovely riverside walk into the ever-narrowing canyon, taking loads of photos and enjoying the wildflowers. We turned around where the canyon had narrowed to the point that the path turned into a ford.

We’d had the benefit of an early start, but by now the path was getting quite busy. We took the shuttle back to the lodge and had a well-earned pint each of a very nice micro-brewery beer. We sat and ate crisps (and Oreos) for lunch, before taking the shuttle again.

We returned to the car and set off east towards Bryce Canyon, and soon found ourselves in a queue waiting for our turn through the Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel. I’d turned the engine off and in an unfamiliar car, I was slow off the mark and so I had no-one to follow into the tunnel – which we discovered had no lighting, and the headlights were not automatic… I was groping around in an unfamiliar car trying to find the lights, whilst attempting to navigate a pitch-dark tunnel! I clipped a kerb at one point before finding the lights and continuing the journey. That was a sobering experience that could have gone badly!

An otherwise uneventful drive to Bryce Canyon Resort, stopping briefly at Red Canyon to checkout the almost Disneyesque geology, but unfortunately, as we gained elevation, the weather had become overcast and cooler.

By the time we got to the Bryce View Lodge, we’d gained sufficient height that it was quite chilly… as we stood queueing outside the office, it even started raining, and I had to get our cagoules out of the car.

We were looking forwards to Dinner at the nearby Ebenezer’s Grill, but when we walked in: a) we noticed there was a Country and Western band playing, and b) we found to our astonishment that there was a $20 charge that we’d have to pay them! Thanks but no thanks! It was a chilly evening, but we walked the 500 yards or so to Ruby’s Inn, where we had to wait for a table, but eventually had a very good steak and a bottle of wine. Then an early night.

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Mon May 23

All day at Bryce Canyon

Woke up to grey skies and a temperature of 1 degree C! We’d gone from 1200m in Zion NP to 2400m at Bryce canyon, but it was still a bit of a shock. Yesterday in Zion was shorts and tee-shirts and 30+ degrees!

A nice breakfast at Ruby’s Inn, but again had to wait for a table.

We then drove under bleak skies, and on empty roads the few miles into the park itself. We parked next to the overlook at Sunset Point and walked to take our first ever look at Bryce Canyon… we were not disappointed!

The views were awesome. We carried on along Bryce Canyon Road, driving between the various viewpoints with the car’s heater on full!

We got as far as the Natural Arch, and then drove back via Bryce Point and Upper Inspiration Point to the General Store where we bought coffees to go with our crisps for an al-fresco lunch.

We went back to our room for a siesta, and woke up in mid-afternoon to blue skies. So we walked to the shuttle stop at Ruby’s Inn and took shuttles back into the park to reprise the morning’s viewings… but now in bright sunshine. We got off at Upper Inspiration Point and had a lovely walk along the Canyon Rim Trail to Sunset Point.

Back to Ruby’s Inn in the evening for another nice steak and wine.

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Tue May 24

Leave Bryce Canyon. Take Scenic Highway 12 to Bicknell

Breakfast at Ruby’s again, then left Bryce Canyon Resort quite early. Briefly headed west to checkout Red Canyon again, but under blue skies. Then after a few miles and in the middle of nowhere, the traffic just stalled… queues of cars and truck as far as the eye could see, so we did a three-point turn and returned to our itinerary, and the Scenic Highway 12.

A few miles down the road we saw a sign for Mossy Cave Trailhead. It was still quite early, and the car park was nearly empty so we pulled over, and took the trail. It was a delightful walk alongside a small creek with a nice waterfall, surrounded by hoodoos and interesting geology.

We then detoured into Kodachrome Basin, but based on what we could see from the road, we decided not to pay the $15 entrance to the park itself.

Continuing our scenic drive on Highway 12, we stopped at various viewpoints, until we eventually reached civilisation at Torrey.

We were reminded that this was Utah when we stopped at a supermarket to buy some beer, and found they didn’t sell alcohol. We eventually found a general store and Lin bought some cans of Corona. We stopped at a historic marker between Torrey and Bicknell, and binged on beer, Pringles and Oreos.

A few miles later we reached the Aquarius Motel in Bicknell and were disappointed to find no amenities there. The restaurant next door, that I’d spotted when we booked the motel had closed down, and the little place the motel manager suggested for breakfast was little more than a tea and cake shop.

We had a rest at the motel, but still had some time to kill before dinner, so we drove the 9 miles into Torrey to checkout dining options, then headed east on Highway 24 past Capitol Reef SP, and stopped at Chimney Rock, and took photos of some Native American petroglyphs on the cliff wall.

On the way back, we stopped at the Broken Spur hotel and restaurant for a nice dinner, and Lin bought herself a surprisingly cheap ‘hoodie’ in the hotel gift shop.

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Wed May 25

Drive to Moab via Highway 70, Cisco and the Colorado Gorge

Detoured to Torrey and the Broken Spur again for breakfast, then bought fuel, and headed west to pickup Highway 72, where we drove north for about an hour without seeing another vehicle!

We eventually intersected the I-70, which we took eastwards for about 140 miles until we saw the Cisco turnoff. Cisco became a ghost town when the interstate took away most of the through traffic. It has a small general store and not much else. We stopped at the general store (Buzzard’s Belly), bought beers from the friendly lady serving, and sat outside to drink them. I also bought myself a Buzzard’s Belly tee-shirt!

The lady told us that the distant snow-covered peaks were the La Sal Mountains that I’d already place-marked for an afternoon trip later in the holiday. From Cisco, we took Highway 128 for a scenic drive at the bottom of the gorge alongside the Colorado River.

We eventually arrived at the Virginian Motel in Moab in mid-afternoon. A nice motel in a quiet cul-de-sac, but only 100 yards from bars, shops and restaurants. It even had a grassy picnic area at the back of the motel.

After checking in, and unloading the car, we went into the so called ‘World Famous Woody’s Tavern’. The staff seemed busy doing ‘make-work’, but we eventually got served, and sat outside with our beers. Later we made the mistake of going to the Moab Diner for dinner… it was a ‘family’ restaurant, so it was noisy, crowded and didn’t serve alcohol. We went back to Woody’s and drank Vodka’s and Tonics until bed time. It was a very hot evening, and Moab had a nice buzz, even if there were too many SUVs treating the high street as a drag strip.

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Thu May 26

All day around Moab

Back to the diner for an OK breakfast, and then walked across to the huge Walker Drug and General Store to stock up on Corona, Sierra Nevada Pale and more Pringles.

We then drove to Deadhorse Point SP which had a $20 entrance fee. Disappointingly there was very little there for the money, other than the (admittedly impressive) viewpoint, some distorted Juniper bushes and a few wildflowers.

Even with a trip to the visitor centre, we were in and out of the park in less time than it took to drive there. We stopped off on the way back for pics of the Monitor and Merrimac Buttes.

When we got back, we used the motel’s picnic area for our usual lunch of beer and Pringle’s, and then drove back up the Colorado Gorge and for a little more exploring.

Afterwards, we wandered around Moab for a while, and then headed back to our room for nap. In the evening, we went to the Fiesta Mexicana Restaurant for a nice Mexican dinner + (large) Margarita’s. Then back to Woody’s for a nightcap.

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Fri May 27

All day around Moab

A crap breakfast back at the diner, then drove to Arches NP for our 09:15 time slot, but still had to queue for half an hour to enter the park. At the entrance station, the warden told us we’d been paying too much to enter the national parks… considering we’d been to Zion, Bryce, now Arches and next the Grand Canyon, someone should have offered us a combined ticket, but as we’d already pre-paid for Arches, there was nothing she could do.

We spent an enjoyable couple of hours in the park driving and walking, and saw some stunning landscapes and rock formations.

We left the park, and after several days of looking at desert landscapes and lots of geology of a reddish persuasion, we decided that a change of scenery might be nice (as well as a change of climate). So we setoff on the 55 mile La Sal Mountain Loop. We found pristine lakes, and alpine meadows, and lots of wildflowers, and even saw a mule deer, and virtually no traffic… a very nice change of pace.

In the evening, we went to the cosmopolitan looking Zaks and had a disappointing meal, with indifferent staff. On the way back, we found a nice arty shop where we bought cards and a print from Kathy Cooney, a local (Moab) artist.

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Sat May 28

Drive to Hanksville via Wilson Arch, Looking Glass Rock and Goblin Valley

An overcast day. After our usual breakfast at the diner, we detoured south on Highway 191 to checkout Wilson Arch and Looking Glass Arch. Then returned to Moab for a quick stop at the impressive (and busy) Moab Rock Shop (how do they think of these catchy names?), before picking up the I-70 westbound.

We turned off on Highway 24 and headed south. We took the Goblin Valley turning and stopped at the Temple Mountain Campground for our usual lunch. I took some photos of the Temple Mountain Pictographs, and some wildflowers, and then we continued towards Hicksville Hanksville where we had a reservation at the OYO Hotel.

When we got to Hanksville, a shock awaited us… the OYO Hotel didn’t exist… it was just a building site. We went into Duke’s Slickrock Grill, just across the road and the guy explained the OYO Hotel had been washed away in a flash flood the previous year! And yet Booking.com as well as the OYO Group had happily accepted our booking back in January.

The nice folks in Duke’s gave us cups of coffee, made some calls, and let us use their mobile phones (my T-Mobile SIM had no signal!) to try and find alternate accommodation. This was a sparsely populated part of the world and I was pouring over maps to see if our plans could be salvaged, but the problem was there was very little slack in our itinerary, and to make matters worse, it just happened to be Memorial Day weekend so most local places were full.

It was looking like we’d have to go all the way back to Moab, and possibly miss Monument Valley. But luckily, and after an hour or so of high stress, the guy again called the nearby Whispering Sands Motel, and found they’d had a cancellation, so we were saved!

Afterwards, I complained to the OYO Hotel Group, and eventually got an email with an apology and an award of $1.00 compensation. What a shower of bastards!

We had a nice (and substantial!) meal back at Duke’s in the evening.

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Sun May 29

Hanksville to Gouldings Lodge in Monument Valley via Goosenecks SP and Mexican Hat

Breakfast at Duke’s, and then headed south on Highway 95.

We stopped at Hog Springs Recreational Area to stretch our legs (and some photos), then again at the Hite Crossing, and the awesome Valley of the Gods…

…and eventually Goosenecks State Park for stunning views of the Goosenecks on the San Juan River.

After turning onto Highway 163 at Mexican Hat, we started to see the buttes of Monument Valley in the distance. It was very windy, and there was a lot of dust in the air, but Monument Valley on the skyline was an awesome sight as it got closer.

We continued to Gouldings Lodge and checked in, but we were disappointed to find that they’d put us in a remote annex near the gas station. The room lacked any seating, but otherwise was OK, and there was a table and chairs in the shared reception area just outside our room.

We had a rest in the room, and then went out for more Monument Valley pics in the late afternoon sun. We came back and it was too hot and dusty to sit outside, so we sat in our reception area with beers until the ice machine suddenly started it’s ice-making phase, and the noise drove us back into our room.

As dinner time approached, we drove back to the main building some half a mile away, and made our way to the restaurant, where some surly guy told us there were no tables and we’d have to wait. As far as we could see, about half the tables were unoccupied so we were puzzled, but nevertheless they kept us waiting for 20 – 30 minutes. We were eventually seated at our table, but had a further wait for drinks, and then over an hour wait for our (very basic) food to arrive. And Lin had to wait another 15 minutes for hers. Many delays, surly reception guy, unhelpful serving staff… so no tip!

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Mon May 30

Gouldings Lodge to Page

Surprisingly, the breakfast at Gouldings Lodge the next morning was good and the staff were fairly accommodating, so this time they got a tip! After breakfast, we drove back along Highway 163 to Forrest Gump Point for the classic photos of Monument Valley.

And then we drove into the nearby Navajo Tribal Park to get amongst the buttes. Sadly the roads were very poor so we got as far as John Ford Point before deciding to head back, but what we did see was pretty impressive.

We headed south and west towards Page, and apart from a quick stop for photos of Agathla Peak, an ancient volcanic core, it was a largely boring and uneventful journey. One surprise is that I expected the chimney stacks of the infamous Navajo Power Plant to start dominating the horizon as we got closer to Page. But they didn’t, and I eventually found they were pulled down in 2020 and the plant closed!

And good riddance because the Navajo Power Plant was famous for it’s air pollution that reduced visibility for hundreds of miles in every direction, even as far as the Sierra Nevadas.

We had time to kill before we could check into our room at the Rodeway Inn, so we drove to the Wahweap Overlook near Lake Powell. We knew water levels on the Colorado River had been falling for years, but were unprepared for quite how bad it was. This is a pic from our road trip in 2009…

…and this was taken in May 2022.

I would guess the surface area is now less than 50% of what it was thirteen years ago. We visited the Glen Canyon Dam visitor centre and bought a DVD of the Grand Staircase area.

We bought beers in the nearby Safeway, and then checked in at the Rodeway Inn, had a nap. Then in the evening, we walked to the Fiesta Mexicana 200 yards away. I don’t think we made the connection at the time, but this was the same chain as the one in Moab. Presented with the option of Margarita’s at $8 a time, or a pitcher for $22, we of course went for the pitcher. We had a nice meal and somehow found our way back to the motel!

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Tue May 31

Lower Antelope Canyon

A very basic breakfast in the motel reception area, then lots of time to kill before our check-in for the Antelope Slot Canyon tour at 2:00pm. We wandered around the local park, read our Kindles, bought wraps in the local Safeway, and ate them sitting on a wall because the motel’s one garden bench was occupied.

We turned up at Ken’s Antelope Canyon Tours a little early. We had to check-in which involved passports and having our temperatures taken (in case of Covid). We sat around in the heat, drinking water, and eventually our tour was called. There were nine of us in our group, and we waited under cover for the previous tour to clear before heading down the steps into the canyon.

The tour was hugely impressive; there were some steps and some ladders, but it wasn’t particularly arduous… apart from just being on our feet for more than an hour, and in the 38°C heat. Tired and thirsty, we went back to the motel for beers and a rest.

We returned to the Fiesta Mexicana for dinner, this time sitting outside. And of course another pitcher of Margaritas!

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Wed Jun 1

Page to Grand Canyon North Rim

Another underwhelming breakfast at the motel, then drove south down the east side of the Echo Cliffs escarpment towards Bitter Springs, and then north up the west side of Echo Cliffs to Marble Canyon.

We parked at the visitor centre and walked across the Navajo Bridge, looking down on the Colorado River, and saw a Californian Condor on the superstructure of the adjacent road bridge.

We continued west alongside the Vermillion Cliffs (see title pic at the top of this article), until we got to the amenities at Jacobs Lake where Lin and I had coffees and shared a substantial ‘sandwich’, and bought dried apricots. From Jacobs Lake, we headed south into Grand Canyon North Rim.

When we got to the entrance station, we related to the warden what had been said to us at Arches NP, and she waived us through with no fee. Made us feel a little better!

We drove into the park and saw a nice shady picnic area, so we stopped for beers. We continued to the lodge, checked-in and unloaded the car. Then we walked back to the lodge and picked up the trail to Bright Angel Point, a 20 minute walk with fantastic views. Of course we then had a couple of well-earned beers.

We had 8:00pm dinner reservations in the lodge, and turned-up early in the hope that they’d let us in, but no. In the event, they didn’t seat us until 8:20pm. Had an OK but expensive meal, but with views to die for! Walked back to our cabin in the dark.

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Thu Jun 2

Grand Canyon North Rim

No waiting for breakfast in the lodge… it was a buffet style meal of scrambled eggs, sausages, etc., and Lin had two fruit plates. There was no toast so I had ‘biscuits’ (like British scones) and jam to follow the hot meal. We went to the General Store to use the internet and catch-up with the outside world.

We then did the drive to Point Imperial; at 8,800 feet, it is the highest point in the national park. Then onwards to Vista Encantada, Roosevelt Point, Walhalla Overlook, and finally Angel’s Window.

We stopped on the way back at the Roosevelt Point picnic area for our usual lunch, and later saw a coyote wandering across the road. Back at the lodge, we walked down to a nearby overlook. We went back to the cabin for a rest, then sat outside and had beers on the bench. We returned to the lodge and read our Kindles for a while.

Dinner was late again, with many people sitting around waiting. Had an OK meal with a nice (but expensive) bottle of Pinot Grigio.

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Fri Jun 3

Grand Canyon North Rim to Las Vegas, return car. Then fly to London Heathrow. Dep Las Vegas 21:30, arrive LHR at 15:30 (Saturday)

Breakfast in the lodge with a window table. We went to the General Store to use the internet and check-in for our flights, but for some reason, the app wouldn’t give us the boarding passes. A fairly boring drive to Hurricane where we stopped for hot-dogs and rather nasty coffees. We then parked outside the Econo-lodge from our second night, because we still had the internet code. Sadly, the BA app still wouldn’t work.

We headed towards Las Vegas on the I-15, while looking out for rest areas… but there weren’t any! At one point, we left the interstate and pulled onto a piece of waste land for a rest, but it was 40+ degrees outside… we’d have been cooked, so we carried on towards Vegas.

Google Maps took us off at the wrong exit for Las Vegas and deposited us at the wrong street address for the rental agency. We eventually found Enterprise Car Hire about 30 minutes before they were due to close. A customer service rep asked what our experience of Enterprise was, so we said we were not happy about being ‘forced’ to pay the exorbitant insurance costs, so he knocked $200 of the cost. Which made us feel a little better.

We took an Uber to the airport, sat around and then queued for ages for waiting for the check-in desks to open. And BA staff acknowledged that they’d had problems with the app. Near our departure gate, we paid $20 for two (admittedly nice) beers, and gave the guy several handfulls of our small change to give to charity. We met an ex-service man from Groom Lake Airforce base (Area 51) while queueing for check-in.

Uneventful flight back to London, but seats slightly improved.

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Sat Jun 4

Arrive London Heathrow, stay at Courtyard by Marriot

Rainy and cool in London. Took taxi to Marriot Courtyard Hotel. Nice room, with big beds. Went to rooftop bar for drinks, and then decided to stay there for dinner (expensive) and more drinks (also expensive).

Sun Jun 5

Fly from London City Airport to Malaga. Drive home

Booked with South Ealing Taxis to take us to London City Airport. He couldn’t take a debit card so we had to stop at a garage to use the cash-point. Exciting take-off from the City airport because of the short runway!

Landed in Malaga too late to pick-up Bowie, so drove home.

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