The Grand, The Dam, Vegas, and so much more~!

The last part of our trip is CRAMMED with things...and we haven't had internet since Flagstaff...so here is my blog about the Grand Canyon, the Hoover Dam, Las Vegas, and in between!

The Grand...
Canyon is SO beautiful! I dont think post-cards really do it justice. We got there in time to watch sunset (there were clouds but it was still beautiful). The next day we woke up early to do a 3 mile hike down into the canyon (a couple of riders did a 12 mile hike...i have no idea how they had so much energy). It is so beautiful to see the different rock formations and layers of rock. In the afternoon I found a less touristy place and journaled and wrote postcards while watching a storm come in. Oh and in the evening we saw elk!!

The Dam...
Our ride to Las Vegas was 106 miles with the Hoover Dam at mile 70. It was beautiful but the gorgeous mountains blocked the wind, making it extremely hot. I've never felt so hot in my entire life..especially once we got to the dam and had to climb back up the other side. We soaked our jerseys, skin, and hair with water...and drank tons of water. We heard it was 110 degrees in at the bottom of the dam!

Las Vegas-
On the way into Vegas we stopped for a thunderstorm in front of us...and after it subsided the streets were flooding!!! I went through a foot of water (wading I picked up my bike) to make it to dry land. By the time we got to Vegas we were all exhausted. And our leaders had played a trick on us- they told us we didn't have a host, when actually we had a sweet hook-up and stayed at the Imperial Palace (a really fancy hotel). A BED!!! I hadn't slept in a bed in months (or since the motel on the 4th of July)!!! Other than that I didn't look around Vegas much, I think the city was my least favorite...the few times I did leave the hotel room, I was approached by drunks (one who told me she just slept with her best friend, and another whose yellow thong I saw as she fell down an escalator).

So Much More:
-On the ride into the Canyon I hit my all time high speed- 47.6!
-We did two back-to-back centuries (110 and 106)!
-We also survived a dust storm! A couple of days ago my friend and I were sweep on the longest day- 110 miles! Around mile 80 we started noticing a rain and dust storm behind us...we couldn't figure out if the rain was causing the dust or the dust causing the rain. Anyways, we kept looking at it until it finally caught up to us around mile 102. We could have pulled off the road but decided not to (our vision was alright, and it was the best tail wind ever!). A dust twister went by, and it was really cool to see.

-Final note...I can't believe we only have 3 days left, it seems unreal! The last couple of days our mileage goes way down, so we have more time to bond and pack and such...Then Im helping bring the van and trailer back to the east coast on a road trip!

Im sorry if you really just read that whole ramble~!
~allie