I went for a seven day trip to the Grand Canyon with my mom in September of 2007. Mom really wanted to see Bryce Canyon, so we decided to fly to Las Vegas and make a loop that included the north rim of the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park. After that, we would drive to the south rim of the Grand Canyon and stay there for two nights. We also planned a couple of days in Sedona, Arizona.

The first day, we landed in Las Vegas about five o'clock in the evening. The flight announcement told us that it was 98°. We thought that was awfully hot, and didn't look forward to getting off the plane in that heat. Coming from Missouri, we thought we knew what 98° would be like. The dry air of Las Vegas, however, made 98° feel WAY better than it would have at home.

We landed and collected our baggage, then called the hotel to come and pick us up at McCarron Airport. I had reserved a room for the first night at Terrible's Hotel and Casino in the "Tower" for $63. They had less expensive rooms in the older portion of the hotel, but they were all booked up when I tried to make my reservation through Expedia.com. I could have gotten a $45 room at the Tropicana, but all the reviews said it was really old and run down. Still, I was tempted. It was the Tropicana after all.

At Terrible's we were dropped off at the front door by the complementary Terrible's van. We had to drag our suitcases through the casino, dodging slot machines and players before we got to the front desk. There was a door right next to the front desk and I don't know why the van driver didn't just drop us off there. In any case, we checked in, and again wound through the casino to get to our room. It was on the ground floor right next to the casino and very noisy with all the dinging from the machines. We asked for another room and got one on the sixth floor, which was very nice and had a good view over Las Vegas.

After relaxing in the room for a few minutes, we headed down to the second-floor restaurant to see what delectable food items they might have. We weren't very hungry, having traveled all day munching peanuts and crackers. We finally decided on the sampler platter, which was really an appetizer. I was a huge appetizer though, and cost $12. That was actually a pretty good price, since we split the food and each had a drink for a very low-priced dinner. Everything on that plate was fantastic and we had more than we could eat.

Return to 7 Day Grand Canyon Itinerary Page