The Grand Canyon to Las Vegas

Hey friends! I’m popping in with a bonus Tuesday post to share a quick recap of our drive from the Grand Canyon to Las Vegas—and how we made the most of just four hours in the city.

We left the Grand Canyon around 8 a.m. (thank goodness for time-stamped photos, or the whole trip would’ve felt like a dream—or a blur). We jumped into our van, and it was freezing—just 7ºC. How do I know this? Because I took a screenshot of the weather app, and I’m so glad I did. It’s fun to look back at these details.

I also took a photo of a water bottle I left in the van. I remember it was liquid, but when I held it, the water turned into ice, just like a magic trick! One second, I was holding water, and the next, I was holding a bottle of ice. My brain nearly split in two!

We drove along the gorgeous, never-ending highway, with a landscape that looked so different from anything I’ve seen back home—until it was time to stop for a bathroom break and a leg stretch.

We pulled over in a place called Kingman, Arizona, and got a glimpse of a real American diner. I could hear people saying ‘ya’ll’ and ‘howdy.’ Haha! I loved it!!

Here I am, checking myself out in the mirror and noticing my eyebags! I was way too excited to sleep on this trip—I’d stay up late, scrolling through my photos, and then get up early to start the day. No time for sleep on a trip of a lifetime!

I’ll never forget Kingman because I had the best coffee to go with the most delicious doughnut ever! I remember I had the Boston Kreme. Now, I’m not a big fan of chocolate doughnuts, and I don’t love cream. But this doughnut completely changed my mind.

That said, I wanted to experience the same WOW doughnut moment when I got home—and nope, it just wasn’t the same. Sadly, Australian doughnuts just can’t compare.

We got to Las Vegas around midday, and since it was too early to check into the hotel, we parked the van in a car park and hit the streets of Vegas! We had actually passed through Las Vegas at night on our way from Death Valley, right at the start of our road trip. It was so cool to see it lit up at night, and now we were going to have a closer look on foot.

I can’t even begin to describe Las Vegas—it’s like nothing I’ve ever seen, and it’s huge! The streets just seem to go on forever, and Sydney felt so tiny in comparison. We must have walked for about four hours, and still, we only scratched the surface.

I guess Elvis’s song captures everything I saw and felt perfectly—bright lights, city gonna set my soul on fire! Vegas was buzzing, flashing, and completely over-the-top in the most amazing way.

We saw so many of the big-name places I’d only ever heard about in movies—Bellagio, Caesars Palace, and The Venetian, where they actually have real gondolas inside the casino!

One of my favourites was watching the Bellagio Fountains. It was so beautiful watching the water display set to Ed Sheeran’s “Perfect”. I got emotional and started tearing up. It really was a moment I’ll never forget.

I think it was around 4 pm when we checked into our hotel and had a rest after our big walk.

In the evening, we went to Popeyes for dinner before calling it a night. We had to be up bright and early for our 6 a.m. flight to Hawaii!