Heavenly Paradise@AdelineAng.com

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to travel to Musquash and Lepreau, west of Saint John.

Nestled about 30 km west of Saint John, the 5-megawatt Musquash Hydro Generating Station was built in 1922. It’s known to be the first hydro facility constructed by the New Brunswick Electric Power Commission.

The Musquash Estuary is situation on the Bay of Fundy. It boasts to be ”one of the last ecologically intact estuaries in the Bay of Fundy.”

The Musquash Hydro Generating Station.

The wooden penstock pipe has a diameter of 2.75 m.

A tiny crack on the pipe creates a neat “water fountain.”

The penstock pipe is made of wood.

Lepreau is located approximately 15 km west of Musquash. A covered bridge can be found beside the Little Lepreau Road.

With a total length of 105 ft., the Little Lepreau Covered Bridge stretches across the Lepreau River. It’s about 7 ft. above the water level. Built in 1910, this covered bridge was used to facilitate the automobile traffic. It is no longer in use.

The Little Lepreau Covered Bridge with its solid wooden structure.

Another famous tourist site in this region is the Lepreau Falls, situated in Point Lepreau. This place is ideal for afternoon picnics. Besides, the observation decks in the park allow visitors to capture images of the falls from different angles. 

A steady water flow of the falls.

The unique shapes of rocks are formed over the years.

Just as we thought we were out of troubles…

I was backing up the car in a pitch black environment. Nothing came into sight from the rear and side mirrors. I had to make my judgement based on the white sign that read “Dobson Trail 58 km” at the corner of the dirt road. Just as I thought I had the car backup far enough and turned the wheels, all of a sudden, “BAM!!”

The car was sitting at a 45-degree angle, with both rear wheels in the ditch. With my trembling hand, I pulled the hand break instantaneously. I was terrified. Trying my very best to stay calm, I approached Garth who just got out of his brother’s car. He was in shock.

No blame. No question asked. The guilt in me was kicking hard. I was afraid that Garth was going to blow up at me, since his car could have been wrecked from the accident. Instead, Garth tried to find a solution…

It was 9:30 p.m. on a Sunday night. The next day was a public holiday. We were on a dirt road with no reception on cellphones. It was dark. We were exhausted and helpless. What were the chances of us finding some help? A tow truck might take a while to come to our rescue,  if we ever managed to get hold of one. Hence, we decided to work things out without ruining the group’s initial plan (making it home for Monday morning).

I hopped into the car and started the engine. It was working fine. While Garth was pushing the car by the driver’s door, I slammed on the accelerator in first gear and hoped to get the car out of the ditch. We didn’t succeed… The car moved forward a little, but the force wasn’t strong enough. Worse still, the driver’s door was jammed on the gravel. With his sharp-wittedness, Garth jacked up the front wheel and managed to keep the door closed with enormous effort (kicking, pushing etc.). One problem solved…

Next, we filled up the gap between the bottom of ditch and the rear left wheel that was hanging in the mid-air, with rocks that we found along the dirt road. One good thing was that the rear right wheel landed on the gravel in the ditch. Here was the challenge…. With the front wheels on road and rear wheels in the ditch, Garth did an amazing “stunt” by backing up the car onto the road. He made it!!

I was keeping my fingers crossed the whole way when he did it. I was actually afraid that the situation might be worse… Sure enough, he proved me wrong. I was glad that he did.

The exterior of the car looked fine, as far as we could tell. Off we went; we drove along the dirt road for about 30 minutes. We asked for direction to get to Prosser Brook Rd. A young couple was kind enough to guide us all the way there.

To our surprise… Our friends weren’t there! After thanking the young couple, we drove to the top of the hill, hoping to get cellphone reception. It was about 11 p.m. They left us a voice message. Apparently, they were invited to wait for us in an older couple’s home, instead of idling along the dark road.

We met up with the rest of our group 10 minutes later… It had been a long day for everyone… I was grateful that they waited patiently for close to six hours, and never gave up their hope on Garth and I….

* Adapted from Google Map

The route travelled during hitchhiking, from Prosser Brook Rd. to Fundy National Park.

* Adapted from Parks Canada

The driving route (in pink) from Chignecto campground to Laverty Falls trail; and hiking route (in black) of Laverty Falls and Dobson Link.

Comfortably slipping my feet into clean sandals, I put aside my hiking shoes that were still soaking wet. Carrying my IDs, a bottle of water, a few granola bars, some cash, a cellphone, as well as a camera; I went on a journey of hitchhiking. It was totally random. There wasn’t much time for second thought. If I could help to get the rest of the group out of our dilemma, why not?

It’s still hard to believe that I actually hitchhiked. At that moment, we had no choice…

The journey began around 1:30 p.m…. Garth and I were walking along this one-lane highway under the scorching hot sun, with some occasional warm breeze. We didn’t have much luck finding a ride for the first hour.

A quiet highway with barely any cars on a Sunday afternoon.

Prosser Brook Rd. We agreed to meet up with the rest of the group here with the cars, sometime….someday….hopefully on the same day….

We didn’t give up asking for a drive. Finally, an older couple stopped for us, after they made a turn onto the highway from the housing area. It turned out that they were trying to find their way to the Moncton exit, which coincidentally, heading towards the same direction as we wanted for at least a good 30-minute drive.

At 3 p.m., we were dropped off at Hillsborough. Comparatively, this highway was a lot busier. We started walking along the busy highway.

Overlooking the Chignecto Bay.

We stopped at an ice-cream shack for a cold treat. Enjoy while we could…

After 40 minutes of wandering along the highway, we decided to seek help at the gas station.

Bingo! A middle-age couple who were on their way to the Hopewell Rocks to pick up their daughter from work, offered a drive. Hopewell Rocks, off we went!

From 4:15 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., we were busy approaching visitors who were leaving, at the parking lot. I was hoping that someone would visit the Fundy National Park after Hopewell Rocks on the same day; meanwhile, Garth was trying to find someone who was heading towards the park for camping.

Cars either had full wheels, headed towards the opposite direction (Moncton), or traveled a short distance. The construction on the way to the park didn’t either much either. People were avoiding that route due to potential slow traffic.

Finally, we decided to seek help from the help line. We might be able to get some assistance from the volunteers of the Dobson trail. Unfortunately, they could only offer some advice. “Try to approach homeowners along the highway. Chip in some money for gas, and they might offer you a drive there.” Hmm…that wasn’t much of a help.

At the same time, I contacted Miles who was spending his weekend in Grand Bay. He was worried and offered help by driving up to get us. Realizing that it was going to be a 3-hour drive for him, I kindly turned down the offer, hoping that we could work our way around it.

At the entrance of Hopewell Rocks.

The exit to Hopewell Rocks from the highway.

Eventually, we were given a ride back to the highway by a young couple from Ontario. We walked aimlessly along the highway and something caught our eyes. There was a sign that said “painter” at the lawn of a house. There was a van parked on a driveway. Just as we walked by, the homeowner stepped out of his house. I looked at Garth and asked:”Do we want to ask for help?” Since there wasn’t any harm asking, we approached the homeowner. Coincidentally, he was going to pick up his wife and was willing to offer us a drive.

“Great!” I thought. It must have been about a 35-minute drive. Instead of Riverside-Albert, he drove us all the way past Alma, to the Fundy National Park lookout area. As a token of appreciation, we chipped in $30 for gas. It was very kind of him to extend help.

At the lookout area.

We walked uphill along the road, and felt so lost.

We couldn’t get any car that went towards our way, to stop for us. It was rather disappointing. At last, we arrived at the Chignecto campground around 7 p.m. and sought for assistance. At 7:20 p.m., we were given a ride to the starting point of Laverty Falls hiking trail. We were there 30 minutes later.

Hmm…here came the big challenge. Could we make it through the woods and get to the cars before the night kicked in? We started our hike at 8 p.m. With our sandals, we literally jogged and ran along the trail. It was a 2.5 km trail to the falls. There were some wet and muddy patches along the trail, but nothing compared to what we’ve gone through on Dobson Trail.

The beginning of the Laverty Falls trail.

A steep, rocky, and rooty part of the trail. We wanted to be quick, and tried not to hurt ourselves at the same time.

We got to the falls about 8:40 p.m…

The Laverty Falls.

What was next? We waded through the falls to get to the Dobson Link trail. It was another 2.6 km of hiking. As the warm sunshine replaced by the cool evening breeze, we were afraid that we won’t be able to make it to our destination before it was dark. I was panting heavily and gasping for breath. My legs were getting tired and sore. Nonetheless, I refused to take breaks as I didn’t want us to end up stranded in the woods, and had to spend a night here.

The Dobson Link trail.

Finally…. We completed the hike just before it was completely dark, at 9:15 p.m. Just as we thought everything was about to come to an end, problems arose…

It was a hot, sunny Sunday. I had to wear a pair of sunglasses of protect my eyes from the glaring sun. There was a long stretch of dirt road that we had to hike through. It turned out to be a nice change, since we got to stay away from the muddy trail for a bit. In other words, we managed to keep the mosquitoes away from us for a while ^v^

At the time, I didn’t mind the sunshine at all, even though I felt rather warm walking under the sun for long hours. I was happy as long as the bugs stay away from me.

A big puddle in the middle of the road. Wading through it?

No. At least I hope not. There was a dry spot that we could walk along, beside the trees.

Our destination was no where to be seen. Every stride we made, was a step of faith.

23 km….

2 km more!

We came to a junction that has a “Dobson Trail” marker pointing where we came from.

We had our lunch around 12:30 p.m., when we were about half way through the entire trail. Considering the slow hiking progress we’ve been making and that some of us from the group had to be back to Fredericton by Monday due to personal commitments, we decided to abort the hike; knowing that we won’t be able to complete the hike by the end of the day.

Here came the problem… How are we supposed to leave here with our cars miles away from us? It’d be another good 30 km hike through the trail, or about 100 km hike on the road…..

Upon mutual agreement, six of us would hike for another 8 km, while Garth and I would go on a hitchhiking (known to be illegal in the province) adventure; and hopefully, we would drive the cars and pick up the rest of the group from Prosser Brook Rd. We had no clue what has laid in front of us.

In order to fulfil this great mission, we had to abandon our backpacks and hid them in the woods. We’d come back for them when we managed to drive back here with the cars. After biding goodbye to the rest of our buddies, we started our journey–a journey that knows no future. Nonetheless, I knew deep down in my heart that we’d be able to make it through…

Ben (left) and Arturo continued their hike with the rest of the group.

Water in the river was flowing steadily, sun was shining brightly. Life has to continue…

Some wild raspberries in the bushes. They were tasty and juicy. A nice treat!

My sore muscles were protesting after the long hike; 3 km on Friday night and another 15 km on Saturday. I tried to lay still while sleeping. It turned out that I had sore shoulders and arms for sleeping sideways. I didn’t get up till around 8:30 a.m. It was a good 11-hour sleep! I couldn’t believe that I slept in that late…

My hands, arms, legs… literally my entire body felt so itchy. Guess what?? The worst, and I mean the very worst mosquito bites I’ve ever gotten in my life!

There must have been at least 20 mosquito bites on the back on my hand! ITCHY!!!

I applied some “After Bite” (essentially liquid ammonia) to soothe the swelling. Thanks to Justin.

After we had everything packed up and a quick breakfast, we started our hike around 10 a.m.

19 km… Yeah!

Trees that collapsed and lied across the trail.

A unique “wooden” bridge with a tree trunk connecting one end to the other. It was quite a challenge walking on it!

More fallen tree trunks blocking the path, in a swampy area.

These brittle trunks had the tendency to break easily. Cross the swamp at your own risk!

The treacherous trail has slowed us down a lot. It was a slow progress treading along the trail; with mud, slush, puddles, and swamps. It was my wettest and muddiest outdoor adventure, as far as I can recall.

Regardless, we had a great time throughout the hike; wading through the woods, dodging tree trunks, hurdling tree roots, working through weeds and broken branches. Having said that, we didn’t feel very comfy hiking with our muddy and soaking wet hiking shoes. Oh well, we had to bear with them for the time being. Changing into a pair of clean, dry socks wouldn’t help much, as our shoes are too wet to begin with, and the same thing would happen–wet socks again.

It was a cool morning, after a rainy day on Friday. This was the perfect weather for mosquitoes and flies to go “hunting” around. Apparently, I’ve such tender skin and juicy blood that the mosquitoes couldn’t let go for me, not even a split second! Even the insect repellent that I’ve sprayed all over my body didn’t help much. As a matter of fact, mosquitoes love me too much! Unfortunately, I hated them!!

I had no choice but to put on my rain jacket and splash pants to minimize my exposure of skin areas for mosquitoes. Just as I thought I already had myself well-bundled up, they started attacking  my face! Oh no… leave me alone, you evil bugs!

Mosquitoes find their victims by tracing exhaled carbon dioxide. Hiking along the trail with my backpack that weighed at least 15 lbs, huffing and puffing was necessary during the cardiovascular activity; replacing exhaled air with fresh air.

She was penetrating my skin. Ouch!!

A slug was hanging in the mid-air from a tree branch with its slime.

…And trying to attack my backpack!!

At a crossroad, trying to find our way back to the trail.

The 17 km marker. We were getting close to the campsite.

Garth, Justin, and Ben didn’t have a good night sleep last night. The rain seeped through the top of their tent and caused a flood. They had barely any sleep, perhaps 3 hours of nap during the night. We decided to call it a day as we got closer to the potential campsite, around 5:30 p.m.

Just before that, there was a “big mess” that we first had to get over with…

A muddy stream!

We found this decent site for…

A campfire!

Robbie fixed his torn shirt with duct tape and ropes (by the sides). It was quite impressive! 

My wet, muddy, stinky pair of socks and hiking shoes by the end of the day :( 

“Watch out, water is entering your tent!” I heard the voice of Robbie as the clock struck 6:30 a.m. on Saturday. Guess what? The water from the brook overflew and flooded the surrounding areas. My tent was set right beside it!

As soon as I have all my gears packed up, I literally fled from the tent to keep my backpack and myself dry. It won’t be pleasant to get everything wet at the beginning of a hike. Fortunately, there wasn’t too much water in the tent. We managed to save it from drifting away. Pheww….

After our breakfast, we started hiking around 8:30 a.m.

Following the blue markers along the trail.

There were puddles everywhere. Wet!

Arturo is trying to keep himself balance on the log, while crossing the swamp. Justin was ahead of him.

I was behind Ben, hiking through the muddy patch.

Muddy and yucky!

Robbie and Susan were fetching us some drinking water by a running stream, with filter pumps.

There was water everywhere, owe to the large amount of rain we’ve received since the beginning of spring.

My backpack for the hiking trip.

Green ice tea? Nope. It was drinking water that filtered from the stream. It did look like ice tea though :)

Sun was shining, birds were chirping, and bugs were bugging… :(

One of the better-looking bridges.

Taking a break under the tree.

My hiking experience has been fun and rewarding thus far. My passion for outdoor activities was developed since my first mountain climbing adventure at the Mt. Kinabalu, the highest peak in Southeast Asia. It was challenging, exciting, and nerve-wrecking at times.

There are numerous spectacular sites and trails across the Maritimes. I enjoy exploring the trails on hiking/camping trips. For the past few summers, I’ve been on hiking trips to Cape Chignecto and Fundy Footpath. My attempt to climb Mt. Katahdin in Maine, U.S. was tempered by the inclement weather (hailing in August) two summers ago.

Last weekend was the New Brunswick Day long weekend. I was eager to go on a little expedition with seven other friends, on a 3-day hiking trip at Dobson Trail. It’s a trail that stretches 58 km in length, and runs from Riverview to Fundy National Park, in southeast New Brunswick.

We arrived there around 8:30 p.m. on Friday. Six of us from the group hiked in about 3 km to the campsite. Garth and I drove the cars and parked them at the end of the trail. David, who wasn’t on the hiking trip gave us a drive back to the starting point.

It wasn’t until 11 p.m. that we started our hike. It was pitch black and rain was pouring down heavily. After 45 minutes of adventure in the dark with a compact size LED flashlight, we managed to find our group at the camp site.

As soon as I changed into dry clothing, I was ready to hit the sack. I heard the steady stream flowing beside the tent and rain drops beating furiously on the tent. I couldn’t care less. I was sleep deprived. I finally dozed off around 12:15 a.m…..

I’ve always been wanting to try some Thai dishes at the Suwanna Restaurant. The opportunity arises during my weekend trip to Grand Bay/Saint John, along with Miles and friends.

This is my second visit to a Thai restaurant in Saint John. The first Thai restaurant I went was the Lemongrass Restaurant.

Suwanna Restaurant is a well-known Thai restaurant here. It opens five days a week (Tuesday to Saturday) for supper only. Reservations are highly recommended. The chances are, tables will all be booked up if a reservation is not made at least two weeks in advance.

So I did. A reservation was made three weeks in advance, to make sure that there’s a table available for seven. The meal turned out to be fantastic! The nice dining ambiance, friendly waiter, enticing menu, spicy dishes, and last but not least, wonderful desserts!

Venue: Suwanna Restaurant & Inn
Address: 325 Lancaster Avenue, Saint John, N.B.

The entrance of Suwanna Restaurant & Inn.

Sour & spicy Tom Yum Soup.

Hot bamboo shoots with shrimps and green onions.

Suwanna Chicken, with red pepper and green chili pepper.

Dragon egg plant with beef.

Ginger Chicken.

Massaman Curry, garnished with roasted peanuts.

From top to bottom: Hot bamboo shoots with shrimps, Suwanna Chicken, Dragon egg plants with beef, Ginger Chicken, Massaman Curry, and Broccoli & Beef.

Those dishes were mouth-watering. Massaman Curry has a mild curry taste to it, best served to individuals with variable tolerance for spice. The desserts were a hit!

Eugine Cake. A moist and tasty cake with generous serving of homemade whipped cream.

Chocolate Cheesecake. Very chocolaty!

Sundae with fresh raspberries, homemade raspberry sauce and whipped cream.

There are exciting activities and fun events scheduled on a daily basis at the Las Vegas Strip. Ranging from musical fountain display, fountain show, volcano simulation, and many more; they are both entertaining and astonishing.

One thing for sure: In Vegas, you’d never get bored. So much to do and see! Due to time constraint, my brother and I tried to fit these activities into our schedule for that day to the best our ability, and hoped that we didn’t miss out any that we wanted to attend.

Fountains of Bellagio. A complimentary Las Vegas show of stunning art of dancing water in the 8-acre lake, accompanied by some classical and Broadway tunes. It’s a wonderful creation of the water, music, and light.

We enjoyed it a lot. Simply breathtaking!

Water dancing with the tune of Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On.”

We went back for a second time later in the evening, for the night view of the musical fountain.

Fountain show at the Caesars Palace.

Sirens of TI at the Treasure Island Hotel/Casino. A story about pirates, accompanied with captivating melodies and fascinating dances.

This performance takes place in front of the Treasure Island Hotel in Sirens Cove; nightly at 7 p.m., 8:30 p.m., 10:00 p.m., and 11:30 p.m.

Lake of Dreams at the Wynn Resort. Spanning 20,000 square ft. with a sophisticated lighting system and 700 removable panels at the bottom of the lake, the spectacular light-and-water show attracts millions of visitors. There are thousands of underwater LED fixtures. The light and colour combination is marvelous!

Volcano at The Mirage. It erupts nightly from dusk till midnight; every hour on the hour, weather permitting. A nice view of the fascinating and blazing volcano simulation!

The MGM Grand Hotel & Casino is strategically located at the corner of S Pecos Rd. and East Sunset Rd. Billing itself as the City of Entertainment, MGM Grand certainly has a lot to offer.

The City of Entertainment.

The MGM Grand Hotel & Casino.

The Centrifuge Bar at MGM Grand.

The Rainforest Cafe has a unique tropical rainforest setting with animatronic animals and waterfalls.

Have you ever wonder what it takes for a  TV show to be broadcast? How do the producers know if it’s appealing to the audience? Getting a decent feedback from the crowd is important for a new show, prior to its broadcast on televisions. The response collected from the public can be helpful in establishing the show. The next question is, who can the crowd be? You & me!

Are you interested in watching and rating new TV shows? The CBS (Columbia Broadcasting System) Television City at MGM Grand is a research centre to gauge audience reactions on new TV shows. Participants use touch-screen computers to record their responses while watching the show in a small theatre.

Free tickets are given out at the centre. Everyone is welcome. Be sure to be there at least 30 minutes prior to the show for a ticket. The screening runs for approximately 60 minutes.

The Television City at MGM Grand.

My ticket to the TV show survey.

We visited the New York New York Hotel & Casino next. The replica of Statue of Liberty signifies the landmark of it. A Big Apple experience in Las Vegas!

A replica of the Statue of Liberty.

The entrance of New York New York Hotel & Casino.

Shopping in the “Big Apple”!

It was busy, and it always is, at the Las Vegas Strip. Busy crowd and heavy traffic. It’s truly a happening place!

The crowd at Las Vegas Strip.

The M&M’s World. Four storey of everything M&M’s!

The Harley Davidson Cafe.

The famous Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas.

Booming casinos & hotels, unique architectures, eye-catching limousines…. Everyone seems to be at a busy pace; be it a gambler, fashion lover, or simply a traveler. This place has everything to offer. Las Vegas, is a city that never sleeps.

There were lots tourists. The living cost here is high, and everything is about money. Needless to say, tipping is a big thing here. What made me mad is that, I was even asked to pay for a city map! I understand that most travelers in Las Vegas are part of a city tour or some sort, and don’t have to worry about getting around by themselves in the city. My brother and I, however, were traveling by ourselves. We somehow managed to get on two bus rides from the bus terminal to the inn that we stayed at, without having a city map and what the local bus system is like.

The advantages of staying in Las Vegas? You’ll get to stay in some stunningly majestic hotels at a very resonable rate, due to the competitionamong businesses. On top of that, there are loads of exciting performances & shows offered at no cost.

Here are two of the many hotels that we visited, the Excalibur and Mandalay Bay.

The Excalibur Hotel & Casino.

Stained glass and chandelier at the entrance.

A two-storey high water fountain beside the escalator.

A tram ride to the neighbouring hotel, Mandalay Bay.

Amazing meal deals: All Day Long Buffet for only $25!

Mandalay Bay is easily noticeable from far with its golden, shiny glass windows.

Shopping area in Mandalay Bay.

Mini water fountain near the lobby.

A 12,000 gallon, 14-foot saltwater aquarium at the lobby.

The Shark Reef Aquarium is one of the main attractions of Mandalay Bay. For a reasonable cost of admission fee, visitors get the opportunity to observe more than 2,000 animals in 1.6 million gallons of seawater; sharks, giant rays, sea turtles, moon jellies etc. You name it, they have it!

The hot weather in Vegas was something that we had to get used to, after the long and cold winter. It was around 36 °C when we were there.

The “Slurpee” from the 7-11 convenience store came to our rescue…

If you enjoy the big city nightlife, Las Vegas is the place to be at! Nice architectures, fancy performances, great varieties of food etc. can be found on the Las Vegas strip itself! Besides, it’s a shopping paradise for fashion lovers and gambling heaven for casino visitors.

Mt. Charleston has the highest elevation above sea-level, standing at 11,918 ft (3,633 m) in the Spring Mountains range. Mining is an important industry at the mountains. Snow residues can be observed at the top of Mt. Charleston even on this very day, when it’s close to 40 °C in the city!

This past winter, the weather in Las Vegas set a record low of 29 F (~ 3 °C). It was a shock to the locals as they are not used to the cold. The fact that it took 24 hours to melt away the snow was very unusual. Talking about cold winter, perhaps I should invite some of them to come visit Canada in the winter someday :P

The famous Las Vegas Welcome sign.

Designed by Betty Willis of Western Neon (a sign company) in 1959, the sign has been there for 50 years, to greet visitors arriving in U.S. Highway 91 from California. The letters were hand-drawn and placed in special, eye-catching diamond shape, outlined with neon, surrounded with chasing lights, and tagged by a row of coins spelling out “Welcome.”

This sign is one of the best known images in the world. Recently, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places by the U.S. Department of the Interior.

The desert vegetation can be seen along the highway in Las Vegas.

For shopping enthusiasts, you’d find Las Vegas an exciting city to be at! There are two major outlet stores in the city, conveniently located just off the Las Vegas strip; one on the north and the other on the south. A huge selection of name brands can be found at the outlet centre which accommodates as many as 150 stores!

Prices of merchandise were unbelievable! There is no reason(absolutely no) why someone would not go for name brands, when the prices were comparable with, or even lower than the no-name merchandise. It’s a great saving; very reasonable prices for quality products. Who would say “no” to it?

Shopping lovers, allow yourselves one full day at the outlet center. Shop till you drop!!

Upon our arrival at the outlet store in the afternoon:

The Las Vegas Outlet Center, on the south of Las Vegas Boulevard.

We must have spent at least seven hours in this building. Legs were tired from all the walking (good exercise though), hands were sore from carrying multiple bags, back was pain from long hours of standing, and body was exhausted at the end of all the excitements.

It’s worth the pain though. We had great fun picking gifts for ourselves, family, and friends. It was already dark as we left the building:

The Las Vegas Outlet Center in the dark.

What’s the difference between the three main sites of the Grand Canyon? This is how I’d look at them. North Rim, is easily accessible for visitors who would like to pay a quick visit to the canyon from Nevada. West Rim, is well-known for its Skywalk and the site is greatly developed by the natives. Last but not least, South Rim is the home of National Park (one of the first national parks in the States) and is great for outdoor enthusiasts to participate in red rocks hiking and on site camping.

Grand Canyon boasts to be one of the most scenic sites of the world; red rocks, high cliff, and mighty Colorado River. Hydroelectric generation here serves the neighbouring state, California.

Future development plan of Grand Canyon? David Jin, the founder of Skywalk on the West Rim, is developing airplane runways to accommodate international flights. Aircraft will be able to land directly at the Grand Canyon in the near future. Isn’t it bizarre?

I like the saying of David Jin:

Just like an eagle can fly into the Grand Canyon, my vision is to enable visitors to walk the path of the eagle, and become surrounded by the Grand Canyon while standing at the edge of the Glass Bridge……..

My dream was to find a balance between form, function and nature. Once a dream…now a reality.

It has been a great visit to the Grand Canyon. I’m looking forward to visiting the canyon again in the future…

Our third and last stop at the canyon was Hualapai Ranch. Here, we had the opportunity to visit the Hualapai settlement. Buildings from the early days were available for viewing; horse stable, jail, post office, barber shop, dance hall, and more.

The horse stable.

Buildings with unique architectures.

The Horseshoe game.

Getting a hair cut, bath, or just a shave?