Red and cream buttes and side canyons of the Grand Canyon stretch away in late-afternoon light, seen past a pine branch and the rim railing. — The Grand Canyon from the South Rim in late-afternoon light, March 28.

Spring 2012 · California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona

Two Canyons and a Bend

A spring-break loop out of Los Angeles: Las Vegas, Zion, Horseshoe Bend and the rim of the Grand Canyon.

When: March 23–31, 2012
Route: Los Angeles → Las Vegas → Springdale → Horseshoe Bend → Grand Canyon
Length: 9 days, 8 nights

This trip was planned twice. The first plan, a Las Vegas hotel for the week of March 19, fell through because of work. The second came together a few days before we left: a weekend in Los Angeles, then the rest of the week on the road. There were four versions of the loop, with Sedona, Zion or Bryce in them, and we chose Las Vegas, Zion, the Grand Canyon and back.

Seven of us made the loop, from the first night in Las Vegas to the rim of the Grand Canyon.

The route

Drive Ferry Flight

1Los AngelesMar 23–31
2Las VegasMar 26–30
3SpringdaleMar 27–28
4Horseshoe BendMar 28
5Grand CanyonMar 28–29

Highlights. Showing 30 of 78 photos.

Day 1Friday, March 23

Buns for the road

1Los Angeles

Breakfast for the drive down was fresh buns from San Francisco's Chinatown, bought the day before. Then we were on the road south, past flat green farmland, to Los Angeles.

Seen from the passenger seat, a man in sunglasses and earbuds drives along a sunny freeway past flat green fields. — Someone in the passenger seat caught the driver, earbuds in, one hand on the wheel.

Seen from the passenger seat, a man in sunglasses and earbuds drives with one arm on the wheel; rows of orchard trees and a highway sign pass beyond the window. — Seven seconds later: rows of orchard trees and a highway sign outside the window.

We were still booking rooms along the way. Could we all fit into one room with two queen beds and a rollaway at the parks, or should we get two?

The practical bits Drove south to Los Angeles, our base for the weekend.

Day 2Saturday, March 24

Dinner at Ocean Star

1Los Angeles

In the evening an old friend took three of us to dinner at Ocean Star in Monterey Park, with the teapots already out at a big round table.

The practical bits Dinner at Ocean Star, 145 N. Atlantic Blvd, Monterey Park: second floor, free parking underground.

Day 3Sunday, March 25

Dim sum, and a room at the Rio

1Los Angeles

Dim sum in the morning, at a restaurant in Monterey Park near Barnes Park, and we were back before noon.

A toddler in a rainbow-striped hooded jacket looks at the camera across a restaurant table, one hand a blur; a woman sits eating behind her. — A rainbow-striped hood at the dim sum table, one hand a blur.

A little girl in a rainbow-striped hooded jacket sits in a red and gold banquet chair holding a napkin, with a plate of noodles on the round table and an older woman eating behind her. — A minute later: napkin in hand, a plate of noodles on the round table.

In the afternoon we settled on the Rio in Las Vegas for the next night, over two other hotels, neither on the Strip. A message from home said to pack warm jackets: the weather was turning cold. We would leave for Las Vegas around noon the next day.

The practical bits One night at the Rio All-Suite in Las Vegas, booked that afternoon for the next night.

Day 4Monday, March 26

Windmills at the Bellagio

1Los Angeles 2Las Vegas

On Monday we set off across the desert to Las Vegas, and the first night belonged to the table: dinner at a Chinese restaurant, from the first pots of tea to the last empty soup bowls.

We stayed a long while. Dishes came and went on the lazy Susan, phones came out, and one small diner ended up at the bar rail.

Around a round table with teapots and menus, an older woman in a white jacket talks with a woman in black and a man in a checked shirt; a small girl in a striped jacket peeks in at the left edge, with a lit bar and framed photos behind. — Tea and menus at the round table, a small face peeking in at the edge.

A wide view across the round table, with rows of teacups and bowls and a lazy Susan, while a man in a checked shirt and an older woman in white talk and a waiter in a vest passes behind. — Teacups in rows, the lazy Susan in the middle.

A woman in black smiles at the table beside two small girls in rainbow-striped jackets, with beer signs, framed black-and-white photos and empty tables behind them. — Rainbow jackets at the table, beer signs and framed photos behind.

A red pot, a clay pot, a plate of chicken, gai lan and teapots crowd the lazy Susan while two women talk across the table. — The dishes arrive: a red pot, a clay pot, chicken and gai lan.

An older man in glasses, a young man in a dark jacket and a small girl in a rainbow-striped jacket sit at a round table of dishes in a busy restaurant with TV screens on the walls. — In the thick of it, TV screens on every wall.

A small girl in a rainbow-striped jacket sits at the bar rail looking at the camera, with the busy dining room, a red banner and a stack of newspapers behind her. — At the bar rail, the dining room busy behind.

An older woman in a white jacket stands talking on a phone behind a smiling woman in black, with a red pot on the table and a Heineken sign glowing on the wall. — A phone call at the table, the red pot still out.

An older woman in white leans over to look at a phone held by a smiling woman in black, with the emptying table and quiet restaurant behind them. — Looking at a phone together as the table empties.

A man in a dark jacket and an older woman in white stand over their phones while a woman in black rests her forehead on her hand; the top of a child's head shows at the bottom of the frame. — Phones out all round, one head resting on a hand.

A girl in a striped jacket looks off to the side beside a woman in black reaching for a bowl; the table is covered in used plates and empty soup bowls. — Empty soup bowls and used plates: the table after the feast.

A close portrait of a little girl in a rainbow-striped fleece looking straight into the camera, with a woman in black eating beside her. — Straight into the camera.

Three men at the table over bowls of soup: a man in a checked shirt talking, an older man in a dark jacket lifting a bowl, and a grey-haired man in glasses with an iPad in front of him. — Soup for three of the men, one with an iPad propped in front of him.

Afterwards we walked through the spring display at the Bellagio Conservatory: giant painted eggs among the daffodils, a Dutch windmill over a brick bridge and a lit carousel. Small faces leaned over the rope at the path's edge, and one got a lift over to see the swan.

Giant painted Dutch-style eggs with windmills and daisies sit in a bed of daffodils and tulips, with a small sign asking visitors to stay on the path. — A small sign in the daffodils asks everyone to stay on the path.

Crowds line the rope along the path beside beds of white hyacinths and pink tulips; two small girls in striped jackets lean over the edge with a woman in black. — Crowds along the rope beside white hyacinths and pink tulips.

A lit carousel with painted horses glows behind beds of yellow daffodils and pink flowers, with a giant egg at the right. — The carousel glowing behind the daffodils.

A white swan sculpture sits in front of the brick windmill tower and arched footbridge, above a bed of orange lilies. — A white swan in front of the windmill tower and the arched footbridge.

A girl in a striped jacket stands at a red velvet rope beside a stroller while a woman in black bends over the second girl, in front of a bank of magenta flowers. — Waiting at the velvet rope, in front of a bank of magenta flowers.

A woman in black carries a girl in a striped jacket and looks at the swan and brick footbridge, while a second girl in a ponytail stands at the rope. — A lift for a better look at the swan and the footbridge.

There were white swans and a cygnet on the pond, beds of orange tulips, a picture made entirely of flowers and giant parasols hanging from the glass roof. We were still there just before ten.

Looking up at a yellow windmill under a glass roof hung with orange and red parasols, lit purple. — The yellow windmill under the parasols, lit purple.

A Dutch windmill stands above an arched brick bridge, with a bed of orange tulips in front and large red parasols hanging from a glass roof. — The whole scene at once: windmill, brick bridge, tulips and red parasols.

A garden cart of potted spring flowers stands beside the pond and brick bridge, with giant flowers and bees overhead and a swan glowing at the right. — A garden cart of potted spring flowers by the pond, with giant bees overhead.

A lit white swan and its cygnet float on the pond in front of the domed hall, with a clog sign in the flowers. — A swan and its cygnet, lit on the pond.

A big carved wooden frame on an easel holds a picture made entirely of flowers: a red house, hydrangeas and green hills. — A red house, hydrangeas and green hills, all made of flowers.

Pink chrysanthemums and orange tulips spread in front of a brick building with a blue door and, beyond, the swans and the arched bridge. — Pink chrysanthemums and orange tulips in front of a little brick house with a blue door.

A woman and a man stand behind a stroller with two small girls in striped jackets, in a marble hall lit blue and purple, with parasols hanging from the ceiling. — Under the parasols with the stroller, the hall lit blue and purple.

A man in a dark jacket and a woman in black stand behind a stroller with two girls in striped jackets on a marble floor inlaid with a medallion, the Conservatory glowing behind them. — On the medallion in the marble floor, the Conservatory glowing behind.

The practical bits Checked in at the Rio (one night). That evening we booked two rooms for the next night at the Quality Inn in Springdale, at the gate to Zion.

Day 5Tuesday, March 27

Off to Zion

2Las Vegas 3Springdale

Bags piled at the hotel entrance, four of us standing guard over them: that was the start of the morning as we left Las Vegas. We also took pictures in Las Vegas Chinatown.

An older man in a cap and an older woman stand with two small girls in striped jackets beside a pile of suitcases, a pink rolling bag and a case of bottled water on a mosaic floor. — Guarding the suitcases, a case of bottled water among them.

Then it was northeast into Utah and up to Zion and Weeping Rock, the alcove where water seeps out of the cliff. We slept that night in Springdale.

The practical bits Quality Inn at Zion Park in Springdale, one night, two rooms with two queen beds each.

Day 6Wednesday, March 28

Horseshoe Bend, then the rim

3Springdale 4Horseshoe Bend 5Grand Canyon

Morning sun lit the red cliffs right behind the parking lot of the Quality Inn in Springdale, and all seven of us squeezed into its little breakfast room.

An older man in a grey jacket takes a photo in a motel parking lot; beyond the beige buildings a sunlit red and cream sandstone cliff rises into a clear sky. — Morning sun on the cliffs above the Quality Inn, a man in a grey jacket lining up a shot.

Sunlit cream and orange cliffs and buttes rise above the trees and motel roofs, seen from the parking lot in the early morning. — Red and cream cliffs above the motel roofs and trees.

Pale sandstone peaks and green cottonwoods rise over a roadside fence in clear morning light under a blue sky. — Pale sandstone peaks over the cottonwoods.

Red rock buttes glow in early sun over a row of evergreens and the motel's green sign at the edge of the lot. — Red buttes glowing over the evergreens, the motel's sign at the edge of the lot.

A grey-haired man in a grey jacket and track pants stands in the parking lot photographing the red cliffs, with the RV Park and Quality Inn sign behind him. — The RV Park and Quality Inn sign, a grey-haired man and his camera in front of it.

The wood and stone front of the motel with a lit "RV Park Quality Inn" sign, an open door and a red rock cliff above. — The front of the Quality Inn at Zion Park, sign lit, red rock rising behind.

In a small breakfast room with wood paneling, an older man, a woman in black and two small girls sit at a table while a woman in a white jacket stands by and a grey-haired man photographs them. — The breakfast room: small, wood-paneled, and full of us.

Around a table of foam cups and paper plates, a grey-haired man gestures while a woman and a little girl eat and an older man looks on. — Foam cups and paper plates: the motel breakfast.

Then we went the long way round, east through Page, and by early afternoon we were walking up the sandy trail to Horseshoe Bend. The Colorado River loops almost all the way around a sandstone point a thousand feet below the rim. After the river views we wandered out onto the swirled red sandstone flats.

A woman in a white sun hat carries a little girl up a wide trail of orange sand through desert scrub; other walkers and a parking lot are behind them. — A ride up the trail of orange sand.

A wide straight sand trail through low sagebrush with a lone walker ahead, a small shade shelter and red cliffs in the haze. — The wide, straight trail through the sagebrush, red cliffs hazy in the distance.

A woman in a white sun hat and three others, including a small girl in pink and a child in green, walk up the orange trail from the parking lot with the desert flats behind. — The rest of our group walking up from the parking lot.

A green river curves around the foot of towering red sandstone cliffs, far below the rocky rim in the foreground. — The first look down at the green river below the cliffs.

The Colorado curves around a huge sandstone point far below the rim, with green banks on the left and the far canyon walls beyond. — Two seconds later: dark water and the far canyon walls.

From behind two rocks at the edge, the dark river bends around the base of the sandstone point below. — Looking down from between two rocks at the edge.

On a ledge of banded orange sandstone, an older man in a dark jacket helps a small girl while a man in grey bends beside them and a woman in a white hat and a child in green look on. — Our group on a ledge of banded orange sandstone.

A woman in a white hat and a child in green stand on a wide flat of swirled red sandstone, with a low horizon and cloudy sky. — Out on the swirled red sandstone, under a cloudy sky.

A view back over orange desert and scrub toward a gash in the sandstone, with tiny walkers on the trail. — Looking back: orange desert, a gash in the sandstone and tiny walkers on the trail.

We came into the Grand Canyon from the east. By mid-afternoon we were at the rim, somewhere near Desert View, lined up at the railing for a group photo.

A man in a navy rain jacket stands at a railing with the layered canyon and the Colorado River winding far behind him. — At the rail, the river winding far below.

A smiling woman in a black jacket with a white hoodie collar holds a camera at the railing beside a girl in a striped jacket, with the tan and red canyon wall behind. — Camera in hand at the railing, the tan and red canyon wall behind.

A man in a navy jacket looks out over the railing while a woman in a black jacket holding a camera and a girl in a striped jacket and green pants stand beside him, with the red canyon wall opening behind. — Three at the railing, the red canyon wall opening behind.

An older man in a navy jacket leans toward a small girl in a striped jacket while a woman in black stands with another girl in green pants, at a railing above the canyon and river. — Leaning down for a word at the railing, the river far below.

An older man and an older woman in dark jackets pose at the rail with two girls in striped jackets in front of them, the canyon and the river below and a hazy sky. — Posing at the rail, the canyon and the river below.

Four adults and two small girls stand at a railing on the canyon rim, with layered cliffs and a flat plateau stretching behind them. — The group photo: layered cliffs and a flat plateau stretching out behind us.

From late afternoon until dark we worked our way along the viewpoints near the Village, where the pines and pinnacles turned blue and rose in the dusk.

A man in a navy jacket holds up a pink phone at the railing while other visitors, one carrying a baby, look out at a snow-dusted rim with pines. — A phone held up at the railing, snow dusting the rim beyond.

A man in a navy jacket with a camera in his hand stands at an iron railing looking out at a hazy canyon and a rock outcrop. — At the iron railing, camera in hand, the canyon hazy ahead.

A pinnacle of banded rock with twisted pines juts into the canyon, with a few tiny visitors standing on a far viewpoint. — A pinnacle of banded rock and twisted pines out over the canyon.

Against an iron railing, an older man in dark clothes carries a sleepy girl, a man in a navy jacket carries a girl in a striped jacket and green pants, and a woman in black stands at the right, the canyon fading in the dusk behind. — A sleepy end to the day at the railing, the canyon fading in the dusk.

Late light turns the canyon layers blue and rose behind a sandstone tower topped with a single pine. — Late light turning the layers blue and rose behind a tower with a single pine.

A young man in a dark hooded jacket stands on a rocky path at the canyon rim at dusk, with a gabled wooden building to one side and the canyon fading blue behind. — On the rim trail at dusk, the lodge buildings behind.

Seen from behind, a man in a navy jacket with a camera looks out over the darkening canyon from a rocky path with dry brush. — Looking out over the darkening canyon.

A man in a navy jacket with a camera stands beside a woman in a green hooded jacket on the rim path, with the canyon and a red butte behind them. — On the rim path, a red butte behind.

Indoors after that: a lodge lobby with a wall of dreamcatchers, a busy food court, and by eight, pizza.

A wall of Native American dreamcatchers and feather displays in glass cases above a two-seat sofa and a computer kiosk, in a wood-paneled lobby. — Dreamcatchers and feathers in glass cases above a two-seat sofa.

A tiled hall with stone pillars and a canyon painting over serving counters, where a few visitors and a stroller wait in line. — The food court: serving counters under a big canyon painting.

Three staff in green shirts and caps work behind a glass-fronted serving counter under a menu board of entrees and sides. — Staff in green shirts behind the glass-fronted counter, the menu board above.

A little girl in a striped jacket looks up from her paper plate at a table with a pizza tray, while a woman eats across from her. — Looking up from a paper plate and the pizza tray.

The day's pictures got a title, "Don't jump! It's one mile deep!", and a later set of shots from the rim, "Grand Canyon antics," includes one called "The Jump."

The practical bits Breakfast at the Quality Inn. Drove east through Page to Horseshoe Bend, then to the South Rim from the east. Slept at Maswik Lodge, one night.

Day 7Thursday, March 29

The long road back

5Grand Canyon 2Las Vegas

The only picture from the day was taken in the back seat, somewhere on the long road back to Las Vegas.

A close, grainy shot of a little girl in a pink top buckled into a car seat, looking at the camera. — Buckled into the car seat, houndstooth cover and all.

The practical bits Grand Canyon to Las Vegas; one night at Circus Circus.

Day 8Friday, March 30

Pony rides in Griffith Park

2Las Vegas 1Los Angeles

By early afternoon we were back across the desert and at the pony rides in Griffith Park in Los Angeles. The ponies went round a covered ring, each led by hand, and the dirt track circles a tall redwood with the stables and hills beyond.

Under a shade roof a girl in a green cardigan and red pants reaches out toward a smiling woman in red while another girl rides a pony behind; a man and a girl in blue stand at the back. — A moment before the ponies set off, one rider reaching toward a smiling woman.

Under a shade roof, a little girl in a green jacket rides a pony and reaches toward a smiling woman in red; another small girl rides a second pony behind, led by a man. — Under the shade roof: the first pony under way, the second close behind.

A girl with braided pigtails in a green cardigan looks off to one side, seated in a saddle, with a second girl in a brown cardigan and pink-striped leggings on a pony behind. — Braided pigtails, a green cardigan and eyes on something off to the side.

The pigtailed girl in the green cardigan sits on the pony looking off to the right with a serious face, the other girl on her pony behind. — A serious face on the pony.

From behind a pony with a shaggy blond mane, the girl in a green cardigan rides ahead of the other rider under the shade roof. — Riding in from behind a shaggy blond mane.

A close view of a girl in a brown cardigan with colored dots, mouth open as if speaking, on her pony under the shade roof with other ponies behind. — Mid-sentence in the saddle, other ponies waiting behind.

A pony carrying a small rider walks the dirt track along a white fence past a big redwood, the parking lot beyond. — A pony and its small rider on the dirt track past the big redwood.

A girl in a green jacket and red pants rides a brown pony along the track with a green lawn and trees behind. — The girl in green and red on a brown pony, lawn and trees behind.

The curving dirt pony track and white rails circle a tall redwood, with a rider on the near lap and more ponies farther round. — The curving track and white rails around the redwood.

A pony with a small rider in green and red walks toward the camera on the track, other riders in a line behind it under the redwood. — Coming toward us, the other riders in a line behind.

The pony ring at the end of the lap, with two workers in blue shirts walking by, a covered stable area and hills behind. — The end of the lap: workers walking by, the stables and the hills.

That night the pony pictures went into an album called "Ride 'em, cowgirls!"

The practical bits Drove from Las Vegas to Los Angeles that morning; one more night there.

Day 9Saturday, March 31

Home with a van full

1Los Angeles

The last morning began with a pickup, bags waiting by the door since the night before, and then it was the long drive home.

A few days later a DVD of the trip was finished and in the mail.

The practical bits Los Angeles to home in a day, in the van.