Since we saw Tim McGraw's video "Everywhere" we definitely wanted to travel to Arizona one day. The actual planning started in August 1999. From there on we've read lots of guidebooks, seen TV travel reports, talked to people who've already been there, and so on.   Day 1   On Friday, May 26 the time had finally come. We took our free flights on Canadian Airlines points from Toronto via Dallas to Phoenix, on American Airlines. It was the first time for us flying AA, and it was the first time we saw a so called "super-cell", a quite impressive mass of clouds producing tornados beneath it. The pilot even had to make a detour to avoid flying through this grey wall of clouds. Finally in Phoenix we picked up our rental car from AVIS. As usual we got a Pontiac Grand Am. This time a red one with quite a lot of miles already on it. After packing all our suitcases into the trunk - we always rent bigger cars to not being forced to put stuff on the backseat - we drove off to the east end of the Phoenix area, to Apache Junction, where we checked in at the Holiday Inn Express. The first impressions on Phoenix were "hot but dry", "no grass just sand" and "cacti and palmtrees along the interstate". Due to the jetlag - 9 hours from Vienna (Arizona doesn't use daylight savings time) we went to bed quite early.   Day 2   The next day, which was Saturday, we got up quite early at around 4.30am, so we had enough time to stroll along the deserted hotel pool and take a look at all the plants at the pool area. After an early breakfast we hit the road, actually Highway 79, south-east towards Tucson. The sun was beating down as we left the last houses in the rear view mirror and rolled into the desert. Hundreds of large Saguaro-cacti stood there in the flat landscape as far as the eye could see. We never thought that there were this many cacti to see and quite lucky to come that time of the year, where small blooms could be seen on top of them. At the shoulder of the road other cacti, looking like elephant ears grew like weeds. After about 90 minutes driving we stopped at Biosphere 2.   Biosphere 2 is one of the largest living laboratories in the world. It is an air tight greenhouse covering 3.15 acres and 7.2 million cubic feet of volume. Within Biosphere 2 there are several different biomes which researchers use to experiment on Earth systems on a relatively large scale. Inside Biosphere 2 there is a rainforest, a million gallon salt water ocean, a coastal fog desert, and four other wilderness ecosystems. In 1994 Biosphere 2 was converted from an experiment to test the feasibility of humans living in a closed eco-system to a large scale ecological laboratory and Western branch campus of Columbia University. We took a very interesting guided tour through many of the facilities with an amazingly loud-voiced guide.   Then we were on the road again, south to Tucson. On the way to our hotel we stopped at a shopping plaza to get some Taco Bell fast-food. Then we drove through the lovely looking suburbs to our next hotel, the Holiday Inn Express just off the Interstate 10, where we left all our luggage, freshened up and drove on to the Old Tucson studios on an amazingly beautiful backroad through rolling foothills with more Saguaro cacti. We stopped on several viewpoints to take photos of these, for our standards, unusual plants. We arrived at the Old Tucson studios shortly after 4.00pm, this meant reduced entrance fees. Sixty years ago the first movie called "Arizona" had been filmed at this location, since then dozens of flicks and mini-series have been produced at this location. Old Tucson Studios continues that tradition of action with live shows featuring singing and dancing, thrilling stunt shows and Old Tucson Studios' legendary gunfights. Plus you can wander through the old settings. We enjoyed one show at the saloon with Cancan-dancers and a stunt show about the filming of a western - both with lots of involvement from the audience. They just approach you and pick you out. Resistance is almost futile. After that we took another road back to our hotel, where we had supper at the "Waffle House" just across from the hotel. This was not the original plan, but due to the fact, that both of us weren't that hungry, there was no point going to a proper restaurant. That was the original thought, but ... Lianne, the not-that-hungry but I'm-gonna-have-something anyway birthday girl, now has one more bad story to tell about her husband taking her out on that day of the year to just a "greasy spoon".   Day 3   The next day, May 28th, our road lead us to Sedona. But before that we drove a few miles south to visit the Mission San Xavier del Bac, a beautiful white church building located within the San Xavier Indian Reservation, built in 1797 by the Spanish. Because it was Sunday morning, the church - and even the spaces outside in front of the main doors - was packed with people, mainly Natives. In respect to those believers we neither took pictures near the church, nor went into it.   Then we drove back north on the I-10 to and through Phoenix and a further couple of miles on the I-17. We didn't want to drive just Interstate to Sedona, our final destination for this day. Instead we took a scenic tour through the desert. Again - lots of cacti, heat and sand. Midway between the I-17 and Wickenburg a small road which lead to Lake Pleasant. That is where all the cars with boat trailers and other watersport vehicles we saw on this days journey were heading to. This road was completely jammed, so we drove straight through to Wickenburg, where we had salads at the Country Kitchen Restaurant. From there our drive led us on Highway 89 north.   The road up Yarnell Hill in the Weaver Mountains climbs 2,500 feet in six miles. The serpentine divided highway provides lots of splendid views - despite the absence of cacti, which we left behind just a few miles after Wickenburg. From Yarnell we had a lovely drive through the sylvan horse country of Peeples Valley, then up a gorgeous, curving mountain road through the tall pines to mile-high Prescott. North of Prescott, Route 89A provides a series of twists, beautiful vistas and frightening drop-offs, the road ascends to the summit of 7,500-foot Mingus Mountain, then drops back 2,500 feet to where the rickety homes and businesses of Jerome cling to the mountainside.   Jerome, a former mining ghost town has become a major tourist attraction, although looking from parking lot into the area we found the open air museum was just a big junkyard, so we didn't buy a ticket to see rusted tools and cars and hit the road to Sedona. This village lies nestled in between mountains of red rock. Arriving at sunset these red giants provided a breathtaking view, which we also could enjoy from our hotel room at the Holiday Inn Sedona, just off Highway 179. Our hotel was located way out of the village center, there were no restaurants or fast food places in sight, but that bothered only Christian, so he got himself just Gyros with fries from a snack-bar (the only food place in sight) just across the road to take out and eat it while watching The X-Files in the hotel room. Lianne was pretty tired, she caught a cold because of the air condition they use in every building, so she was already asleep when he munched on his supper. By the way, in south Arizona we had temperatures in the 40s Celsius all the time, even at midnight the temperature didn't drop below 30. And in the shops and restaurants it's sometimes 20 degrees cooler with a constant flow of air. So catching a cold is pretty easy.   Day 4   Waking up on Monday morning we weren't quite sure, if we could drive the route we planned for today. The day before the 89A north was blocked due to forest fires, but as we went downstairs to the breakfast room a sign on the reception said, the road is open again. So after having our complimentary breakfast we packed our stuff again and drove back into Sedona, where we took a road up to a gorgeous viewpoint. We could overlook the whole village and the surrounding red rock formations. After we drove into the "city centre" to take some more pictures we took the 89A north through the beautiful forests of Oak Creek Canyon, Arizona's first designated Scenic Highway. We couldn't see any fire damage in the forest, but lots of blocked side roads and fire equipment, firemen and police. And warning signs on the viewpoint parking lots saying "no smoking". The road further meanders beside the creek through a breath-catching gorge of rose and purple cliffs.   After an extended stop at a large parking lot overlooking the canyon valley, where be bought some genuine native art, we drove further north through Flagstaff and then took the Interstate 40 east. After about half an hour on the I-40 we took the exit to the meteor crater. This crater was formed 50.000 years ago when a gigantic meteor, weighing several thousand tons, slammed into the desert and immediately evaporated. The crater is 170m deep. We visited the museum with a couple of interesting exhibition items and of course walked on the edges of the crater. About 40km further east we drove off the I-40 again to have lunch in Winslow. Christian wanted to have his "Mucho Nacho Grande" at Taco Bell. After this hot meal (hot means spicy here) we fired up our Pontiac and drove east on the Interstate and than on old portions of the legendary Route 66 to the south entrance of the Petrified Forest National Park.   225 million years ago a forest was swept away by floodwaters rich in silicium. During the millions of years the wood turned into stone. We took a 45 min hike along a self guided path looking at all those logs, which looked like wood from far, but like rocks from up close. Lianne enjoyed this part very much, as she was a schoolkid she had the dream of becoming a paleontologist. Most of the wood that turned into stone is to be seen near the south entrance. Then we drove the 46km scenic tour through the Painted Desert , which also lies within the parks borders. It looked like huge concrete piles were painted with horizontal stripes in different shades of white and red. Very strange. After lots of stops at viewpoints and the visitor centre at the north entrance we reached the I-40 again. We stayed on it a few miles, then drove north on a road which went just straight ahead. No turns, just straight. Just as we reached the horizon on top of a hill, there was again a straight line of asphalt.   Finally we reached Ganado, where we planned on visiting the historic Hubbel Trading Post built in 1878. As soon as we parked our car - in a completely empty parking lot - an officer approached us saying, that the site is closed for today. On our watches it was 5pm (Mountain Standard Time), but, as we were in the Navajo Nation Territory, the local time was 6pm. We didn't know, that the Navajo had their own time zone, now we do. So we drove on further north through the vast country of the Navajo to Chinle. There we were greeted by a huge cow walking slowly across the main street. Chinle didn't look too inviting to us - lots of run down houses. At the other end of the village we reached our destination for today, the Holiday Inn. We checked in, put the stuff in our rooms and had a delicious dinner at the Garcia's Trading Post and Restaurant, a part of the hotel, which is owned and run by the Navajo Nation.   Day 5   The next day, Tuesday May 30th, we had an excellent warm breakfast buffet at the hotel, then we loaded the car and drove the South Rim Drive of Canyon de Chelly. This was the first red sandstone canyon we ever saw. It was quite impressing to drive along the 34km long road, all alone, no other tourists in view, listening to the only radio station available in Navajoland, KTNN, with a mix of country music and traditional Native American tunes. Canyon the Chelly, with its 300m high, or from our viewpoint - deep, walls was a place of great tragedy, as 1864 all the fields and livestock of the Navajo were destroyed by the US cavallery. Now the Navajo "own" the north-eastern part of Arizona, along with some neighbouring parts of New Mexico, Colorado and Utah. We drove the whole street down to its end, where in the middle of the canyon stands a huge needle-like rock . The natives once believed, that on top of this "Spider Rock" the home of a man-eating spider is located. From the viewpoint a hiking trail leads down to the bottom of the canyon, where the "White House Ruins", rests of long gone cultures can be seen. We didn't even think on walking down there, we used the zoom on our cameras instead. Then we drove back to Chinle, put some gas in our Pontiac and headed north. This was also the day of the "famous milk jug incident", where a huge empty plastic milk jug was laying there in the middle of the street and I gave Lianne the advice to drive straight over it, there's supposed to be enough room beneath the car. Well there wasn't, the thing got stuck on the exhaust pipe and for a couple of miles our car was really noisy and smelly, until we finally could remove it at a parking lot while standing above a huge water filled pothole. After this incident, we drove just a couple of yards, and got stuck in traffic because of construction work. And this was not the only construction site. Bad thing was, that these stops were mainly on places without view on red standstone rocks. Good thing was, we had air condition and water to drink.   After we finally left the Highway 191 and turned into the 160 East we saw a small one pump gas station and trading post, where we both had ice-cream. From there we drove on the 160 though New Mexico - actually not even 1 mile - to the Four States Corner, where the borders of Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado meet. The park is owned by the Navajo and they charge a small entrance fee. As we parked our car we could see dozens of historic cars and their also pretty "historic" owners. They must have had a meeting there or something. In the middle of the parking lot there's the main attraction, the state borders. You can see people jumping from one state to the other, while their friends shoot the video. Of course, we too have a funny picture - Lianne with her feet and hands touching 4 different states. Besides that and a few stands where Navajo are selling their art there is nothing much to see, so we got into the car and drove to Cortez in Colorado. At the check-in at the Best Western Turquoise Inn & Suites, where we booked our "Non Smoking King Room", the lady at the counter wrote something on a small piece of paper and shoved it over to us saying "this it what it would cost you more to have a suite", and it was only 10$, so we said "sure" and got this apartment style room with a living room with microwave, fridge and TV, a bedroom with jacuzzi and TV, and a bathroom for only 89$. We liked the room so much, that we decided not to go out for dinner. Instead we just walked across the street to a huge supermarket and got everything for making sandwiches. So we sat there in "our" living room, munching on our self-prepared supper and watching GAC (Great American Country).   Day 6   The next day, Wednesday, May 31st we drove a couple of miles to the Mesa Verde National Park. Along the highway we could get quite a good view of the snow covered Rocky Mountains in the East, which was the direction we were heading. After a couple of miles on the Highway 160 we turned into the road to Mesa Verde National Park, which preserves a spectacular reminder of the 1000 year culture of the Ancestral Puebloans. Archeologists have called these people Anasazi, from the Navajo word that means "ancient". After a wonderful drive and a short stop at the Far View Visitor Centre, where we got lots of information about the park, we took a self guided tour to the Spruce Tree House cliff dwelling, a spectacular remainder of a long gone culture. It takes only 15 minutes to hike down to the site from the parking lot, but quite a lot longer to walk back up. After lunch on one of the many viewpoint parking lots - we had leftover sandwiches and Philadelphia-bars for desert - we fired up the Pontiac and got on the road to Moab in Utah.   Our path took us back through Cortez, and then north-west. As we had to drive south again on the Highway 191 we did not drive via Monticello but took an alternative route via Lisbon Valley, which was supposed to be a paved road according to our Rand McNally map. Well it was for the first 10 miles. Then the road changed to just gravel. As we thought things couldn't get worse there was a - probably forgotten - construction site, where we had to drive just on dirt for about one mile. The scary part was, that on the 20 miles of gravel road there was no sign of civilization at all. On our way we passed two guys from the US government who had a flat tire and were just replacing it with the spare one. We asked them if we were still on the right way to Moab. Well we were, the friendly government employee stated "Boy, you really are exploring the country", and gave us a bit of relief by saying "Don't worry, we are right behind you". But all went well, we didn't have any breakdowns whatsoever. Only Lianne was not pleased about this scenic tour. Good thing though, we didn't have any food and only half a litre of water on board. It was big relief for us as we finally got back on the Highway 191 north. After a smooth drive on a "real" road, passing "Hole in the Rock", where some guy actually built his home into one of the red sandstone rocks, we finally made it to Moab. The car was pretty dirty and the fine dust got into the small spaces between the doors and the trunk lid. We checked in at the Super 8 Motel at the north side of the village. After a short rest watching a part of the "Muppets from outer space" movie, we drove downtown, where we did some window shopping and then had dinner at "Jay's Pasta", an Italian restaurant.   Day 7   The next morning we had - again - gorgeous weather. We went across the parking lot to Denny's for a good American Breakfast. We had two different "Slams" with pancakes, eggs, bacon, syrup and other good stuff. Good thing that there was this restaurant, because Super 8 does not offer anything to eat, they don't even have vending machines selling snacks. We also were not too impressed with the quality of rooms they are offering, therefore this was the first and last Super 8 motel we will ever stay in.   After loading up the car and checking out we drove a short way north to the entrance of the Arches National Park. From there we took the 48 mile round trip paved road. It travels through spectacular scenery and leads to major park features. Hiking trails of varying length and difficulty lead to and through arches and into the heart of the park. After numerous stops at viewpoints and short walks to arches, balancing rocks and other natural sandstone sculptures, we finally got close to the famous Delicate Arch. There are two ways to get a glimpse of this natural wonder. To be able to actually touch the arch visitors have to hike almost 5 km with an elevation gain of 146 meters, no shade, open slickrock and exposure to heights, and an obligatory one litre of water per person to take with them. We voted for the far easier option. We drove to another parking lot, where a short trail of only 100 metres leads up to a viewpoint, where we got a distant view of the arch. So instead of time and energy we took advantage of the zoom functions of our photo and video cameras.   In the early afternoon we left the national park and drove back into Moab, where we had lunch at Wendy's before our 400km drive to Page on Lake Powell. As we rolled along the Highway 191 we passed Monticello and Blanding before we again got into road construction, just as we entered the Navajo terretory. This working site was quite huge and for a pretty long distance. We had to drive on just red dirt and gravel. This part of the road was far worse than the "scenic tour" we took yesterday - besides the fact that this time we were surrounded by dozends of other travellers. At Bluff we left the 191 and took the Highway 163 through Monument Valley. There was not much traffic on this street, there were even some other tourists sitting in the middle of the road and taking pictures of themselves with the red sandstone monuments in the distant background. We had a beautiful drive and we too stopped at various places - due to the lack of parking possibilities just at the side of the road - for taking pictures and video.   At the south end of Monument Valley, in Kayenta, Highway 163 ends, and we took the 160 East for quite a while. After about 50 km we turned north the Highway 98 to Page. Compared with the drives we had so far the one from Kayenta to Page was a bit boring. Early evening we arrived at our Hotel in Page, the "Best Western At Lake Powell". Lianne was not hungry and stayed at the hotel while Christian drove down a few blocks to Taco Bell. There - as it first seemed - from India, with the typical beard and the turban on his head started talking - first in English, and then in perfect German slang used in the 12th Viennese district. It turned out that he and his wife - both from Vienna - once visited Arizona and liked the climate so much, that they returned and bought themselves a gas station in Page. On this day he was on his way to the nightshift. We could talk for quite a while, because both of our meals were being prepared fresh and we had to wait for them. Back at the hotel Christian nibbled on his "Mucho Nacho Grande" while Lianne tried to blank out the smell while watching TV.   Day 8   The next morning we had the weirdest breakfast of our trip. It was a complementary one, but you had to go to a counter and tell the lady behind it, what you wanted and she handed it to you. So you stand in line with fellow tourists and when it's your turn you say like "2 slices of toast and 1 cup of coffee with cream please". Because of the fact, that the breakfast room was full of bus-tourists from Germany - and there just was toast and 2 kinds of muffins available - we pretty soon took off.   The first stop was the Glen Canyon Dam and the power station. Glen Canyon Dam was engineered and constructed as part of the Colorado River Storage Project. The main purpose of the dam was to provide water storage for the thirsty southwest, and secondly, to generate power for growing communities. We did not take a guided tour inside the dam, because for security reasons visitors are not allowed to carry any bags, purses, backpacks with them and they do not provide lockers, so the only option for us would have been to leave our things in the car. And this for us was no option at all. So we took pictures from outside the visitor centre and from the Glen Canyon Bridge, and we visited the small museum at the visitor centre. By the way, it took 17 years for Lake Powell to completely fill for the first time. The electricity produced can provide enough energy to serve the needs of approximately 1.5 million users.   Only a few hundred metres from the power plant lies the entrance to the national park. The road along the shore provides unusual views - sparkling, clear, blue water laps against towering, sheer, red-rock canyon walls and sandy beaches. And power boats and wave runners zip about while houseboats slowly wend their way deep into side canyons. We parked our car at the Wahweap Lodge, which is the only facility available at the lake. We expected shops, fast food restaurants and hot dog stands. There were none whatsoever. We had dinner at the panorama restaurant, then we strolled through the beautiful hotel gardens, always with one eye on the water and the red rocks. We did not take a cruise, because the ticket prices are outrageous, a two hour tour would have cost $ 40.00 per person. We decided to spend the money on a nice dinner or on a shopping trip somewhere later in our journey. After our walking tour we took the car and drove further along the shoreline, not without stopping quite often at viewpoints.   Back in Page again we drove to one of the plazas, where we first went into a clothes store and then a trading post, where genuine native art is sold. As we looked for gifts to bring home, we heard a saleslady talking to another customer about a Pow Wow which was suppose to take place that very evening. A Pow Wow is the Native American people's way of meeting together, to join in dancing, singing, visiting, renewing old friendships and making new ones. So we asked the saleslady about this event and she told us lots of interesting information, for instance that non-Natives are allowed there and the Navajo do not mind if you use your camera or video. Other tribes are very strict on this, for instance the Hopi, who believe that you steal their soul by taking pictures of them. But this was the land of the Navajo. So we got driving directions and almost immediately - it was about 6.30 pm and the Pow Wow was scheduled to begin at 7pm - drove to the baseball field just outside the town, where we already saw hundreds of Navajo from all over North America parking their cars and heading to the field wearing already the colourful clothes with even more colourful feathers on them. After paying a small entrance fee we passed several concession stands where all kinds of handmade art was sold we took seats at the side of a round arena. Apart from a handful of other whitefaced people we were the only non-Natives within hundreds of spectators.   The event started with a flag ceremony. Then the dancers lined up outside the dance arena and entered the arena, dancing one behind the other to the Grand Entry song of a drum group. Then there were dances of different age and gender categories, where only the dancers of that particular category may dance. From each category a winner was chosen. We stayed there for almost three hours until the cold wind got through our clothes so we decided to drive back to our hotel in Page. Despite the fact that we had not eaten since noon Lianne again was not hungry at all, so Christian got himself a "Zinger" from KFC and scarfed it down in front of the TV.   Day 9   The next morning, Saturday June 3rd, we drove to a Denny's about half a mile from the hotel for breakfast, where we had a delicious American style warm breakfast. After rushing back to the hotel, getting organized, packing our stuff and checking out we filled up our Pontiac - not at the former Austrian resident's station, this one was on the wrong side of the road - and headed South to our next destination, the Grand Canyon National park. The drive was a pretty scenic one with a couple of stops at viewpoints. At one of the viewpoint parkings we bought a genuine dream catcher as a souvenir for our family at one of the small booths you can find at almost any scenic road. We got away there just in time before a tour-bus spit out a load of German tourists, with all the accompanying noise. A little later we stopped at the famous Cameron Trading Post. Perched on a bank of the Little Colorado River, this reddish-brown complex includes motel buildings, a restaurant, a gas station, a post office, a small grocery store, a huge gift shop where we spent over an hour, and an art gallery. After having lunch - Christian had an original "Navajo Taco" based on Frybread - we left the Highway 89 and turned into Highway 64 heading for the east entrance of the Grand Canyon National Park. On our way we stopped at another viewpoint where Lianne drove our car through an unexpected pothole as big as the front wheel itself. Glad that nothing happened to the car we took a look at the gorge, and bought some pottery at a souvenir stand.   As we finally got to the entrance of the park we were surprised, we were alone! We could easily park our car in front of the welcome sign and take the obligatory tourist photo. After a short drive we got to the tollbooth, where - as always - a friendly ranger handed us interesting brochures and leaflets. The first viewpoint along the East Rim Drive is Desert View, just after the east entrance station. It is possible to look out over a huge area of the Grand Canyon to the north and west, the Little Colorado Gorge to the east, and the colourful Painted Desert to the north-east. Even the Colorado River itself can be glimpsed - the contrast between the greenery alongside the river and the stark reddish rocks is quite striking. It is so amazing, standing there looking down on this gigantic canyon, a mile deep - you have to actually be there, photos or videos can never catch this natural wonder. There is also a an old building at Desert View, the Watchtower, a 20 metre high stone tower built in 1932 - but what's the point gaining another 20 metres? A few miles west we visited the ruins of ancient inhabitants of that area. After a couple of more viewpoints and lots of photos we drove to our Hotel, the Holiday Inn Express, just outside the south entrance of the park. We checked in and got ourselves ready for watching the sunset at Grand Canyon. So we again drove into the park and parked the car near the bus station for the free shuttle buses. The road (the West Rim Drive) continues several miles further but it is narrow and has limited parking so it is closed to private vehicles during peak season. Before we tried to catch the best spot for watching the sunset at Hopi Point - amongst about hundreds other tourists - we got off at two more viewpoints, where we could enjoy nature all by ourselves, at least for a couple of minutes before we were again joined by other travellers. Only one man made building could be seen - the rusted remains of an abandoned mine. At Hopi Point, minutes before sunset we finally found "our" spot, on a cliff about 100 metres from the parking lot and from the other visitors. We patiently waited until the sun went down and finally disappeared. It was a beautiful spectacle of light, as with every moment in time the colours of the canyon changed. After that we even more patiently waited for the 3rd bus to pick us up - we preferred staying a bit longer instead of riding a crowded bus. As we finally arrived at our car and drove back to the hotel it was already pitch dark. Again, the only hungry person was Christian, so he got himself a burger at Wendy's, which he scarfed down in front of the TV. We had the local news on, where they reported on a young Belgian tourist who died of dehydration while trying to hike down the canyon, his friends couldn't do anything to help him.   Day 10   Sunday morning we packed our stuff and drove south through woodland. In the far distance we could see several smoke-clouds from the many wildfires that tormented Arizona this summer. Our first stop was Williams on historic Route 66. First we took a look at an exhibition train of the US postal service, which was touring through the US, then Lianne got herself a root beer float at "Twisters", a "back to the 50s soda fountain". A middle aged Swiss couple on their Harley, whom we had passed earlier on Highway 64, also took a break at this cafe and gift shop. A photo from us which they took is now displayed in our "vacation gallery" at home in our apartment. After Williams we took Interstate 40 west until we reached the Seligman exit, from where we took Highway 66, which leads along the historic Route 66, to Kingman. We have to admit, that we expected more from this stretch of highway. Besides Seligman, which presents itself like visitors expect it to be, with all the old buildings, motels and marquis signs. But after that its just a long boring drive on an empty highway. Sometimes we could get a glimpse of the "old" Route 66 which is very rarely visible as stretches of 100 metres of old tar beginning and ending somewhere in a field left or right of the currently used road. After more than 100 lonesome kilometres and barely no civilization we finally arrived in Kingman, where we took our lunch-break at a Burger King.   The last stage for today was the divided four-lane Highway 93 north-west to Las Vegas. This drive was not a bit more exciting than the one we did in the morning. Nothing to see except desert - no buildings, no cattle, nothing. And the highway just runs in a straight line, like it is shown in the Rand-McNally map. You just drive on to the horizon. Lianne used the time to grab some sleep, she drove so far the whole day. Finally, at the border to Nevada, there was some change of scenery. The street turns into a two-lane highway and runs up hills until it reaches a viewpoint parking, overlooking the Hoover Dam. We used the time to get some refreshments, but stayed in the car with the motor and the air condition running. We figured this was the hottest day we had during this vacation. The sun was beating down like we never experienced it before. Combined with the wind it was like in front of a gigantic blow dryer. After a short break we drove on down the hill across the actual dam and up again the hill towards Boulder City and further to Las Vegas. On our way to our hotel, the Key Largo, a member of the Quality Inn franchise, 3/4 mile from the Las Vegas Strip, we had to stop at a WalMart, to get some more clothes for Lianne and spring water. For only 39.99 we got a spacious room with a kitchenette area and a bar. The room was located within the secluded park and pool area. After unloading the car we immediately drove off to Las Vegas Boulevard, also called "The Strip". The hotel also provides a free shuttle to and from the Strip, but we wanted to be independent. So we drove our Pontiac down Flamingo Road and turned right at the MGM Grand onto the Las Vegas Boulevard, where we just parked at a small plaza for about one hour and then decided to park directly at the MGM Grand Hotel. At this point we didn't know that parking is free, at any hotel. This evening we explored the southern part of the Strip, took the free monorail to Bally's Hotel and walked back to the MGM Grand passing the Paris Hotel, where the Eiffel Tower is located right next to the Arc de Triomphe. With all these new impressions we forgot the time and as we reached the MGM Grand, which by the way is located just opposite the New York New York. We were quite hungry, but as it was almost midnight, we didn't want to eat a regular dinner. So we first went through the World of Coca Cola, a museum and gift shop with everything bearing the Coca Cola logo, and then to the adjacent M&M's world. There we had just cookies, with the main ingredient M&Ms, and milk. After that we had to run through the whole casino at the MGM to get to our car and then drove back to the hotel. This evening we began to realize, that the planned time of one and a half day in Las Vegas would not be enough to see everything.   Day 11   The next morning we had breakfast at the hotel, it was the first place in North America where they don't even have non-smoking areas, good thing that not many guests used that freedom at that time. This day we again took the car and drove first to the Hard Rock Hotel, where Lianne bought herself some merchandise at the adjacent Hard Rock Cafe. We took some pictures of the hotel, and also a parked car, a Chrysler PT Cruiser, a type of car we have never seen "in person" before. Then we were off to the MGM Grand Hotel parking. We then took the monorail to Bally's from where we walked a pretty long way - with a short stop at a Starbucks to get some Frappucinos - on the Las Vegas Boulevard right to the Stratosphere Tower. The top of the tower has a roller coaster, the High Roller, and the world's highest thrill ride - the Big Shot experience (a 49-m free fall). Unfortunately both rides were closed for renovation, but the view from the top of the tower is amazing. There is this huge city in the middle of a endless desert. Meanwhile it was lunchtime so we had a proper meal, if you are a kid: sundaes at Haägen Dazs. We then took a trolley shuttle for $1.50 each to the Treasure Island, where they have a huge show in front of the hotel several times a day - the Buccaneer Bay show. Cannon and musket fire are exchanged in a dramatic pyrotechnic battle between the pirate ship Hispaniola and the British frigate H.M.S. Britannia in the middle of Buccaneer Bay. But not today, because they had to cancel it for security reasons due to high winds. So we took a closer look on the inside of the hotel, before we went on to the Mirage, where we had a glimpse of one of Siegfried and Roy's white tigers.   Then on to Caesar's palace, where they have a pretty impressing shopping arcade. These stores seem to be built along ancient Roman streets - a replica complete with ornate fountain and changing sky in a temperature-controlled environment. The hotels in Las Vegas are sure an amazing sight. Dinnertime we spent at the WCW Nitro Grill at the Excalibur Hotel. It was monday night so they showed "WCW Monday Nitro" on several big screens, with the volume turned to the maximum. Christian kind of likes to watch wrestling once in a while, so he sure enjoyed his stay there, and of course his steak. Lianne was very brave to get through the time we'd spent there but she too enjoyed her meal. The food was really excellent. Then we went to the Luxor, a 30-story, black reflective pyramid with upscale Egyptian decor throughout, where we almost lost our way. Las Vegas' hotels are so huge and your way always leads you through never ending halls full of slot machines. Before we went back to the car we also took a closer look at the New York New York. This architectural extravaganza approximates the New York City skyline, complete with a 48-story Empire State Building, a 42-story Chrysler Building, a 46-m Statue of Liberty and a 90-m-long Brooklyn Bridge, making New York New York the tallest hotel in Las Vegas. The hotel is encircled by the Manhattan Express roller coaster which looked pretty scary.   This day we also spent some time at the MGM playing slot machines. Lianne went to get some Nickels - it's more fun to play just for 5 cents because you can play longer - and one of the staff members asked her for ID. "Lady, you don't seem to be 21" was seen by Lianne as huge compliment for her. By the way we did lose about 10 Dollars this day, but it was fun and we never really expected to go home with more than we arrived. This day again was a really long one. Due to lack of time we missed lots of other attractions, for instance we didn't find time to go into the Venetian, and we did not see the Fremont Street Experience north of the Strip - more lights than you've ever seen converge to form a canopy above this area. We only drove by in the car and got a short view of it. At least we have a reason to go back.   Day 12   Tuesday morning we packed our bags, checked out and hit the road again, heading for Phoenix. Until we reached Kingman, where we had a delicious lunch at the local Cracker Barrel, we had to drive the same highways as two days before. After 20 miles on the Interstate 40 we took the highway 93 which lead us straight to Wickenburg. This 100 mile long drive provided no spectacular views whatsoever. In Wickenburg we finally got to see cacti again, we started to miss them already. After getting some cold drinks at a gas station we took the Highway 60 which leads to the Phoenix area, passing Sun City. The inhabitants of this suburb are in average older than 50 years and their most important means of transportation is their golf cart. After dozens of traffic lights we finally arrived at our last hotel of this journey, the Holiday Inn SunSpree Resort in Scottsdale. After checking in and getting organized we took a short drive through Scottsdale and ended up having dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe. By the way, Scottsdale is recognized as a number one resort town with more than 300 days of sunshine, coupled with natural scenery, over 500 restaurants and golf courses everywhere. After buying some souvenirs at the Hard Rock Cafe and a short walk we drove back to our hotel.   Day 13   The next morning, we had an excellent warm breakfast buffet at the hotel. Obviously it was off-season, because the restaurant was almost empty, and the room charge was only $ 65 per room and night including breakfast. We did not plan much for this day except to take it easy and do some shopping. But first we drove into downtown Phoenix, which does not have much to offer except the Heritage Square, where some old Victorian buildings can be seen. This day it was again extremely hot and we were a bit tired so we soon left downtown and drove a couple of miles to Tempe, where we spent quite some time at the Arizona Mills shopping centre. We bought ourselves, amongst other things, an additional large suitcase. For dinner we wanted to go to one of Toby Keith's "Hatch Valley Chilli Company" restaurants but as we got to the one location at Baseline Road we were very disappointed, this one was closed for good. Because it was too far a drive to the other location we looked for alternatives close by and found an "Applebee's" restaurant. We'd never been to this restaurant chain before. After quite a late dinner having homestyle meals we went into the Wal-Mart just across the street and bought our grocery to bring home with us, like squeezable grape jelly. And so our last evening in the Phoenix area ended.   Day 14   Thursday, June 8 was our last day of vacation in Arizona, we packed our stuff, checked out and drove about 30 minutes to the Sky Harbor Airport, where our plane left for Chicago at 2.13 pm. From there we had to take a connection flight back to Toronto.   This vacation was one which we will provide pleasant memories for a long time. We saw so much in such a small period of time. We drove 4030 kilometres. And we learned many new things too, for instance about the culture of the Navajo, how the Petrified Forest and the arches in Utah were formed, we stood there on top of the Grand Canyon, we saw dust devils along the Route 66, we could admire the beauty of a sunset in Sedona. And we never expected the cacti to show up in such large numbers and in such huge sizes. We experienced 45° Celsius with very low humidity, and were surprised that you don't sweat like crazy, but you sure are constantly thirsty. Both of us agreed that this weather is much better than the one we have back home in Vienna during the summer.   We are very satisfied with the way this vacation went and for the forthcoming years will think back to many of the great moments we experienced during these 14 days.