We were soon at the Hoover Dam which is regarded as one of the engineering wonders of the world. The children were also particularly interested in some statues at the wall because they were mentioned in the Percy Jackson and The Olympians series of books. The security to drive over the wall was the most we have encountered on the trip. The traffic slowed to a crawl to pass through a security check-point and just when we thought we'd passed through we were pulled over so they could check the storage pack that we have on the back of the car - and then inside just for good measure. I wasn't too sure whether the Dam was named after the Hoover vacuum company because it sure started to suck hard to get the dollars out of your wallet. There was the $7 for public car-parking, the $8 per person (or $40 for our family) just to enter the Visitor Centre (I cannot recall ever having to pay to enter a Visitor's Centre) through to the $2 for cold water in the smallest possible bottle. The Dam is an impressive feat of engineering, though it was not as large as I thought it would be. We left Hoover Dam a tad disappointed and were soon stationary amongst roadworks marveling at lunatics working in 120 degree heat.
We arrived in the Grand Canyon National Park late afternoon and set up camp. The physical aspects of the campsite were the best that we have experienced yet. We visited the General Store for some provisions, including the firewood that appeases Matthew who just loves campfires. We spent the evening around the embers and at different times asked each of the kids to talk us through where we had been (in order), what we had done and their favorite part. It was a great time of reflection and really interesting to get the kids perspectives. We are really proud of not only how well they are handling the trip but how they are growing up and developing.
Day 21 (16 July). It was a late start after a late evening and bacon and eggs were very welcome. It was quite warm already so I put the tarp up for the first time this trip. We muddled around for a short time and then headed to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. The Grand in Grand Canyon is such an under-statement. At 227 miles long, 10 miles wide and one mile deep - it is amazing and hard to describe. The views are breath-taking and it is really impressive. We wandered for a bit and returned to camp just as an isolated thunderstorm came through the area - thank goodness for the tarp. It really cooled the temperature and made it more comfortable. All the camping kit is standing up the extremes of weather very well.
Day 22 (17 July) Hump Day - now over half-way through this epic journey. After completing the the first half of the trip we have now crossed the hump and we are now officially in the second half. It's been a long three weeks, but a great three weeks. We have seen and done so much already that it is still daunting to think that we still have three weeks to go. The kids are delighted because there is still 8 nights at Walt Disney World and the new Harry Potter World at Universal Studios in Orlando to be enjoyed. I think it will be a while before the kids could get excited about another National Park - and how do you top the world-famous ones they have just seen.
It was a hot day so pulled back from a hike. We stayed in the National Park, visited the South Rim again before deciding late afternoon that we would break camp early and get a few hours ahead of the drive to Albuquerque. We couldn't get excited about waking early on a Sunday morning and then driving for one-third of the day to get there - so thought taking off early and getting a start on the drive would be the best thing. We were on the road by 5.00pm and enjoying some real changes of scenery as we headed east on Interstate 40 before stopping early evening for the night at Holbrook which is under four hours west of Albuquerque. When we have decided to check into a hotel we have now settled on a Holiday Inn Express - you know what you are going to get (wi-fi, complimentary continental breakfast, pool, clean room) and they have been quite reasonably priced. We had no sooner dropped the bags in the room then we went down to the pool for the kids to cool off - their best part of a drive.
Next stop - Albuquerque, New Mexico for two nights.
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