4 August 2013, The Four Seasons, Las Vegas, Nevada

It's 4 am and I am wide awake. All I have to do is unplug our shore line and drive into the sunrise.  

For me, the early riser, this is actually the very best part of RV travel.  I don't have to drag comatose teenager out of bed, feed young son breakfast, wait for husband to drink two cups of coffee and read the New York Times.  I just slip under the wheel and go.

We have a date with a helicopter at 1:00. We are going on a tour of Lake Mead, the Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon.   

I rode with a cabdriver that spooked me. He said he used to be a long haul trucker and the I-15's slow but steep ascent over the Mojave Desert was bad - to turn off the AC and watch my temp. I had visions of overheating, or somehow being delayed and missing our 1:00. Note to self:  do not make exorbitantly expensive non-refundable plans that will be negatively affected if arrival to the destination is delayed.  It was a nail-biter. Paul was oblivious.

Planning this trip three months ago, I actually had some common sense in addition to a great suggestion from uber traveler David Levine to make reservations at a hotel.  I thought we might want to sleep in a nice bed. I was worried that we might have a hard time time cooling off the RV in the 100+ weather. I thought the RV park looked like it was in a sketchy part of town. Turns out I was right on all accounts. The Four Seasons was a wonderful respite for these weary travelers.

I just love The Four Seasons' thoughtful touches.  Alex freaked out when he went into the bathroom and this awaited him:

He thought perhaps a psychic was at work.  And, in a few minutes when there was a knock at the door and this was delivered:

Both boys were sold on The Four Seasons!

Maxwell set up shop in front of the TV. Poor thing hasn't seen television in 9 days. The rest of us took showers and prepared for our adventure.  

Alex's first limousine ride to the heliport:

After a short video we all hopped on board.  

Did I mention that it was hot? 104 degrees hot.  It may have been hot but the chopper ride was cool. Very cool.  We flew over Hoover Dam. 

Beautiful Lake Mead. It is a gorgeous lake. At some point it is 489' feet deep.  

Finally, the amazing, indescribable Grand Canyon!!

We had a light lunch and time for some pictures and then we were off again.

In the distance you can see where the muddy Colorado River dumps into Lake Mead.

We returned to our elegant, well-appointed room where Paul promptly passed out for twelve hours. 

Maxwell and I went in search of dinner while we left The Folder (Origami) and the exhausted one.  It was eye-opening for Maxwell to see $80 steaks and $50 Wagyu burgers. We settled down at a semi-reasonable (ha!) place.  

We walked through Mandalay Bay, Excalibur, New York New York and Monte Carlo at which point we reached full saturation. The fountains of Bellagio would just have to wait until another trip.