Griffith Observatory

26 April 201526 April 2015 yannickmartens Leave a comment

After we had our walk on the Walk Of Fame,
we went to the Griffith observatory.

It was unbelievable crowded.

There where cars parked on the street everywhere,
some promo tents, police giving directions, and people walking.
We thought it was all for the observatory.

Because there was a road block to observatory,
we had to park on the street.

When we finally found a parking spot on the street,
it was located really far away from the observatory.

And we didn’t feel like walking the whole distance,
so we checked out the city, from our parking spot.

After we decided to go and started driving again,
we saw we had to go the same way back as we came.

Luckily we had to,
because now we saw the roadblock was gone.

We could access the observatory by car again.

We immediately found a parking spot,
close to the observatory.

You have the possibility to look at the stars,
or check out the city.

Because there was a huge line to see the stars,
we decided to just view the city by night.

We were lucky that we had a clear view,
because some days LA has a kind of fog/smog,
hanging over the city.

This is the view we had.

After we walked around, and went to different viewpoints,
we decided to go to the store and get some food,
to have a BBQ at my place.

Visiting Grand Canyon West

16 April 201515 April 2015 yannickmartens Leave a comment

After we left the Hoover Dam, drove for 2 hours,
we arrived at the west side of the Grand Canyon.

That’s the location of The Hualapai Tribe and Skywalk,
which is located outside of Grand Canyon National Park.

Because we spend a little too much time at the Hoover Dam,
it was a race against the clock again.

Normally we had a helicopter flight over the Grand Canyon at 4PM.
But when we arrived at the desk, at 4.02PM they told us we were too late.

First I thought it was a joke,
but those Indians don’t joke about those kinds of things.

The only option we had left,
was to take a bus into the Grand Canyon.

They told us that there were no other options available anymore
too see it that day.

After that news I tried to stay optimistic
and bought 2 (in my opinion) heavily overprized bus tickets.

What a tourist trap!!

When you get on the bus,
they first take you to what they cal a “typical Indian Village”.

From the moment Marlise saw the village,she got really excited.
Doesn’t she look excited?

We got off the bus and spend some time in the village.

But it was sooo fake!!

I saw a mine and I thought you could enter it and have a look inside.

So I told Marlise let’s have a look inside and then we’ll leave this village.

Marlise told me that she was going to wait outside, because she wasn’t interested.

But when I entered the mine, I could immediately see it was just a decor.

That was quite disappointing!

But luckily, they also had some nice viewpoints.

So one tip, in case you ever take the bus tour in the Grand Canyon,
just skip this touristic stop!

After seeing all of this, we went back on the bus.
The Next stop was at the Grand Canyon, Eagle Point.

On next stop you have the possibility, to get on the Skywalk and look down in the Grand Canyon.
But you can’t take any pictures on the skywalk.

So the only possibility you have,
is to take pictures of the Grand Canyon, on the left side of the Skywalk.

But what an impressive view.
It looks surreal!

There are also some Indians doing there typical dances,
while they make special noises.

I don’t know how to describe it,
but I think you know which sound they produce.

Because we didn’t want to rush anymore,
we took the time to sit down and enjoy all of its beauty.

On this stop you also have the possibility, to view different kinds of Indian tents, logdes and shacks.

While I was checking out all the tents lodges and shacks,
I saw another path to another viewpoint of the Grand Canyon.

My instinct told me to have a look over there,
so I walked towards it and check it out.

But while I was making pictures over there,
Security almost immediately came over to tell me it wasn’t possible to walk there.

So I had to go back to the tourist part.

When I found Marlise again,
it was time for some “selfies” at the Grand Canyon.

After we took our desired pictures
and after we memorized that viewpoint of the Grand Canyon,
we took the bus again, to the last checkpoint.

It was another viewpoint over the Grand Canyon.

But I personally liked this viewpoint much more,
because there were several viewpoints of the Grand Canyon, instead of one like the previous stop.

Because we saw a big flat rock, it was time to strike a pose,
with the Grand Canyon on the background.

When you look down, into the grand canyon (4000 feet down)
it’s quite impressive.

Here’s a picture of me taking a picture.

After a while, we decided to go.
So we looked one last time in the Grand Canyon, took one last pictures and left.

Because we saw enough of Las Vegas for one weekend,
and there was so much more, I wanted to show Marlise in LA,
I suggested to drive directly to Los Angeles from the Grand Canyon.

She liked the idea, so after 6 hours of driving,
we were back in Los Angeles.

Ready for a new excursion.

Visiting the Hoover Dam

15 April 201515 April 2015 yannickmartens Leave a comment

A new morning, a new day!

Because we were not sure if we would drive back to LA
after seeing the Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon,
so we didn’t book an extra night in that hotel and we had to check out.

This time it was a quick check out, because you could do it over the TV.

After we checked-out, grabbed our luggage and drove to the Hoover Dam.

Before you can enter the Hoover Dam,
you have to go through a Police Check Point.

But I can’t understand why, b
ecause they don’t even look at you, they just give a signal/gesture you can drive along.

Once we were in, we saw the Hoover Dam and it’s quite an impressive dam!

It’s huge and Vegas is almost completely relying on that dam, to get their power.

After we parked our car, some luxury cars were passing us.
I can admit the sound was awesome, because of the echo the dam created.

When the guy in the Lamborghini saw I was making pictures,
he gave me the thumbs up and made some extra noise.

After they passed us, we had a look at the Hoover Dam again and its surroundings.

There are a lot of people trying to throw money in to the dam for good luck,

but a lot of the money doesn’t even get in to the water.

So it’s a funny sight too see it lying around on those rocks.

After that, we walked towards the Hoover Dam,
to have a look on both sides.

After an hour or more, we decided we also wanted to see it from the bridge.

So we had to drive towards an other parking, where you could take some stairs to get onto the bridge.

Once your parked and walked all the stairs,
the first thing you see, is that it is an Memorial Bridge.

After that you see, your going to enter Arizona, by walking over the bridge.
And of course if you walk the opposite way, back to the car, that you will enter Nevada.