Leaving Las Vegas - Flagstaff

Riding on our jet lag, we again got up early and went over to “Paris” for breakfast. The early morning is really the best time to take a stroll outside. We marveled at the size of Caesar’s Palace and found the French bistro “Mon Ami Gabi” in a perfect fake French setting in the "Paris" hotel complex. We sat down outside and had a wonderful breakfast. I always wanted to try Eggs Benedict – and so I did. It was indeed very good. The breakfast set me back almost $100. Good that our visit to Las Vegas is short. They really know how to milk you.

Walking through the casino in "Paris" in the early morning, it was quite depressing to see the lonely fellows staring mesmerized into the electric light of the slot machines, playing at this hour.

Paris with classy "French" bistro

My Eggs Benedict

Happy waffle breakfast

We picked up our rental car in the airport and our road trip could begin. Driving to the Hoover dam just outside Las Vegas, the car thermometer climbed to a soaring 109 F (43 C). We went out to have a look at the dam which was built in the 30's to regulate the water of the Colorado river and also produces electricity. But our visit was very short because we all felt like we were dying in the roasting sun - M in particular had a hard time coping with the heat.

The Colorado River flowing from the dam

Oh, it's too hot

We continued to Flagstaff to spend the night before going to Grand Canyon. It was interesting to see how the landscape changed from a dead arid desert around the Hoover dam (at about 500 m altitude) and then getting progressively more green and inhabitable towards Flagstaff (about 2000 m altitude), which looked a bit like Maine with pine forests and mountains in the background.