Wednesday, October 7 2026
After spending the night at the cabins at Grand Canyon West, where the only chairs in the room were locally made by the Hualapai craftsmen of hardwood and were the most uncomfortable I remember ever sitting on, to tonight where I am in Las Vegas luxury the change is startling in several ways. Obviously, the economic inequality is the first thing that comes to mind but the approach to stewardship of the earth is so dramatically different. At Grand Canyon West there was an air conditioner in the room but it only operated when someone was present and did not allow settings less than 70° F (21° C). Here, in Las Vegas, I have just had to go to the car (where the outside temperature is 86° F (30° C) at 11 PM) to retrieve a sweater as the room and casino is freezing. The saving grace is a chair that is actually comfortable to sit in while I edit the road video and type this post 🙂
The day started with a good breakfast at Grand Canyon West, followed by a bit of fun on their zipline across a small canyon. They have a much longer line but it was not in operation today. I was pleasantly surprised to find they allow hand held cameras and phones so I recorded the short ride but, for some reason, the video would not embed here so I uploaded to YouTube and you can watch here.
After the ride I drove to Las Vegas. This has no connection with the Colorado river but, since I don’t know if/when I might be in the area again and there are a couple of new attractions, I added it anyway. On the way I stopped at the Hoover Dam which is, of course, on the Colorado.
The temperature in Vegas when I arrived was 98° F (37° C), by far the hottest I have seen on this trip. I am here for two nights so the next post should be on Friday.