Welcome to Arizona. Show us your papers.

Sorry we didn't post last night. We got into the Grand Canyon area really late and the only hotel we could find didn't have internet in the rooms (and our phone hotspots don't work in canyon country). So, we're posting this morning from the dining room of the Grand Canyon Inn, about 30 miles south of the park. The place definitely has a certain charm.

Welcome to Valle indeed.

Yesterday was awesome. After our buffet breakfast, we drove to the Mandalay Bay hotel where we stayed in July 2009. It has a real sandy beach and a wave pool, so we snuck past the guards and set up shop by the pool for about 15 minutes until the sweltering heat caused me to hyperventilate and Adam's belly button to fill up with sweat. So we hit the bar.

And then found ourselves at a midday poolside Matisyahu concert. 

For those of you who aren't familiar with Matisyahu, he's an Orthodox Jewish Reggae singer. And he has a rad fan base.

Around 3:30, sober but still sweating, we took off for the Grand Canyon. Unfortunately we didn't get any pictures of the drive but it was a mix of torrential downpours, the yellowest sun you've ever seen and an ominous fog that felt like driving through a Cormac McCarthy novel. We also had to go through a security check in Arizona to make sure we hadn't stowed any illegals in our car. After a brief detour at the Hoover Dam we made it to the Grand Canyon around nightfall. 

Back to the competition:

We decided we couldn't leave Vegas without playing some blackjack. All the $5 minimum bet tables were full, so we played $10 minimum and within 10 minutes, Adam has lost everything and I was $2 up. Chadé: 3, Adam: 2

Upon getting to the Grand Canyon, I chose a restaurant from our Lonely Planet book in the El Tovar Hotel that, during daytime, overlooked the south rim of the canyon. Given that it was dark and the $25 entrees tasted like samples from a Costco aisle, I quickly lost the recently-gained point. Chadé: 2, Adam: 2.

Finally, this morning, during another rain storm, Adam lost the key to our hotel room and we had to spend 10 hungry minutes looking for it. Chadé: 2, Adam: 1.

Is it possible to go into negative points? you may ask. Yes, it is.

At this point, I'm going to turn it over to Adam for his thoughts and the daily stats:

Hi. I have no compelling thoughts to share besides to say that I didn't realize one could go to a restaurant, spend $80, and eat a meal that would be sub-standard for a cafetaria school lunch. 

Stats of the day: 

1 bag of jerky eaten

1 orthodox jewish reggae concert

3 transitions from sweltering heat to torrential downpour

$80 poorly spent

310 miles driven

860 total miles 

We'll post again in Santa Fe. Adios!

- Adam and Chadé