409 miles on Day 7 landed us right on the Las Vegas strip after waking up on a campground it’s safe to say we ended and started our day at opposite ends of the spectrum. From dams and canyons to playoff hockey, today was a good one.

We woke up and re-packed the car and switched around some of the stuff in the car and in the ‘turtle shell’ as we call it.

It is VERY dry out here, there are tons of dried up areas where water should be and high fire risk warnings are posted in various towns.

Our first stop was the Glen Canyon Dam

This thing was MASSIVE. It was such a gorgeous morning, temperatures hadn’t started to climb above 75 yet.

This site offered tours of the dam as well, but we opted to self explore and added another cancellation stamp to our collection.

In the educational center there was information on surrounding national recreation centers and parks. We chose to head to Horseshoe Canyon, only a short three mile drive away.

Page AZ – $3.07/gal – H2O gallon $1.67

We stopped for gas in this small town and people were not friendly at all. It was probably the first time we had a negative experience with people in a town, maybe it was just the gas station we chose and the people who went to it?

We continued on..

Horseshoe canyon was a gorgeous site .. you do have to work a little to get to it. It’s about a mile trek, uphill both ways (seriously) through loose sand and occasional rock for a little relief. It is totally doable, it just may time some a little longer than others and there is plenty of room.

My Gem HATES heights and that I keep taking photos where he has to look straight into the sun with those baby blues.

The views are worth the small trek for sure.

On our way back to the parking area we saw signs that they are working to improve the visiting area with new viewing spots. Maybe a more sturdy walking path for those who need it? Although we did see some pretty awesome people pushing themselves to get there.

We came and left at JUST the right times, as we pulled our into the road the line of traffic to enter was wicked long and very few parking spots left.

We had been watching ticket prices to game one of the Stanley Cup final in Vegas – tickets were insane all week. The most expensive in history. We decided we were going to Las Vegas regardless and wait to see if ticket prices drop along the way since there were still so many available on third party sites (which I could go on a huge rant about, but I digress).

We hit the road towards Las Vegas. More gorgeous views from the west coast highways.

This picture above doesn’t do it justice, but in this one area the mountain/rock was about six different colors from light grey to that bright orange we have been seeing.

A quick pit stop for a quick lunch and picked up a memory card that we forgot to get for our GoPro in this cute little town below.

Shopping centers, restaurants, roadways were PACKED around here – lots of Memorial Day travelers.

Back to some ‘normal’ highways with multiple lanes and more than one car every three miles, ahhh such a relief – Cut right through mountainous areas. With lots of downhills and decreases in elevation.

Tickets to the game dropped so we pulled the trigger and bought them and booked a hotel on the strip for $30/night through Priceline. WINNN.

VEGAS HERE WE COME.

There was a little bit of traffic, but not nearly as bad as we were expecting. I was hoping to shower before heading over to the game since traveling makes me a greasy mess (haha), but per usual the check in line was a damn mile long for the hotel. We changed real quick in the bathrooms and checked our bags with the bell service.

The arena is right on the strip in the thick of it all. Only a quick tram ride away from the Luxor, where we were staying.

Streets were PACKED with people locals and tourists. Viewing parties were at a lot of bars near the arena, and there was a HUGE crowd outside with concerts, your typical Vegas streets photo opp people, etc.

Lil Jon was performing outside as we headed into the arena.

Fans are intense around here, and some pretty aggressive. We bandwagon-ed it and bought Knights tees – we were both sticking out like sore thumbs in our normal clothes 😂.

Our seats were AMAZING.

In true Vegas fashion everything was a show from the dramatic theatrics before hand with CGI and videos from tons of famous stars, during the game performances, and advertisement plugs for all things MGM.

Michael Buffer (the boxing announcer) did the starting lineups and his let’s get ready to ruuummmbleeeee. Gladys Knight performed God Bless America at half time. And a few others performed throughout.

There was a lot of action and goals being scored. It’s awesome Vegas is so excited about their teams and they definitely have a ton of talent, but as a few people we chatted with said it’s not so much about the hockey with the fans and arena it’s more about the entertainment.

Overall it was an amazing experience and absolutely worth it.

Vegas will forever hold a special place in our hearts as it is where we got engaged. A lot has happened in this city since, but it still brings a smile to our face and happiness in our hearts.

A couple throwback photos up there for you.

With this view from the top of our Pyramid hotel – good night and good luck,

JBJ