- Bus ride to the popular Hopi Point of the Grand Canyon
- Walk along the South Rim to Mohave Point
- Continue to Las Vegas on Highways 69, 40 and 93
- Stroll along the strip and let it sink in
At night the deer chewing can be heard next to the tent. After some searching, we find a parking space for our car and take the free shuttle buses to the popular Hopi Point. Here the visitor has one of the best views over the immense gorge. Ancient trees stand right on the precipice. Grand Canyon is undoubtedly a natural wonder, but not as fascinating to me as the tangled rock formations of a much smaller Arches, Bryce or Capitol Reef National Park. In the end, you see roughly the same thing again at all vantage points, without anything really striking. The real fascinating thing is the dimension, which can hardly be grasped, after all, the visitor only sees a fraction of the whole. A hike into the lowlands of the canyon, including a strenuous ascent, brings you closer to sheer size than just looking down from above. In wonderfully sunny weather we walk on to Mohave Point. There we board the shuttle bus back to the packed car.
Go on! At lunchtime we drive towards Las Vegas. We drive towards Vegas via Tusayan, Williams and Kingman. Arizona and New Mexico still have a lot to offer, but this time we won't have enough time. Our journey now takes us west to the coast of California.
We make a stop at Hoover Dam, where we look down from the new bridge to the dam after the obligatory safety check. Lake Mead, or rather its remnants, is dammed behind it. If the level continues to drop to the same extent, electricity can soon no longer be generated with the generators.
We reach Las Vegas in the evening. Gambling metropolis and oasis in the desert. We booked a room at the budget-friendly Hotel Fortune within walking distance of the Strip for 34 CHF a night. We march on foot to the Strip, the city's lifeline. Here the luxury resorts and casinos are literally lined up next to each other. The sea of lights pulls us under its spell. We eat delicious Italian at one of the artificial indoor plazas. Then we march along the strip, which is pretty busy on Sunday evenings. The evening goes by quickly with so much gazing and amazement, without us having made it to a bar or casino. Many shops are open until midnight, and some are even available to consumers 24 hours a day.
