Day 8: Las Vegas, Nevada to Phoenix, Arizona

444 km / 276 miles

There were a few sleepy heads this morning! However, the smell of sausages and eggs did the trick.

Today's drive started with a trip over that really high bridge past the Hoover dam and then we entered the never-ending valley again for just over an hour.

Trip Advisor netted us a fabulous lunch stop in Kingman, Arizona at Mr. D'z Route 66 Diner and the gas station attendant gave us perfect parking instructions.  What was not so perfect was when Micha went into his trailer to get something to see that his high kitchen cupboard doors had opened and his Corelle plates went on a field trip.  Two broken plates and glass silvers everywhere.

After lunch we spotted our first cacti - short stubby ones that we called Minion Cacti and large tree like ones with arms and short bush-like cacti with round dinner plate leaves.

The terrain began to turn into rolling hills and up we climbed.  At the summit we saw large rounded red boulders sprinkled with . . ..  cacti.  It was like being at the Coquihalla Summit with a strange twist!  My pictures do not do it justice at all.

It was surprising to see a variety of wildflowers in full bloom:  red, yellow, white and blue. The flowing roadside grasses danced with every passing vehicle.

We descended into the greater Phoenix area to see terrain that was much like the British Columbia interior - mountains with rivers complete with a train tracks.  Only difference, no water in the 'river', lots of flash flood spill ways.

We are staying at another RV Park on the northern edge of Phoenix near the Phoenix Sonoran Desert Preserve.  We hope to go biking there and I will get my fill of cacti.

The boys stayed in Micha's trailer for the night so I am enjoying a peaceful bliss bubble for one.

The Route 66 Bacon Cheese burger. 

Our first big cacti at 60 miles per hour . . .. .

An orange tree!