When I first suggested this trip to Chris, he was less than enthused about the whole Vegas thing…until I pointed out that we could take a day trip to the Grand Canyon. Even better, we could do it on a small group tour that included stops at Hoover Dam and along famous Route 66. Sold.

After a quick photo stop at Hoover Dam, it was on to Seligman, Arizona, on historic Route 66. That place is straight out of the ’50s. John Lasseter saw a bunch of old cars there that had eyeballs painted on the windshields, and that gave him the idea for the movie Cars. Pretty cool.

We finally made it to the Grand Canyon in late afternoon. It’s truly astounding what a raging river can do to solid rock. We hiked along the canyon rim for an hour or so, which was amazing because the cloud cover kept temperatures down and made for great photos. Then we sat to watch the sun set, which was a total bust because the cloud cover kept the sun from ever coming out. Can’t win ’em all.

One more day in Sin City…