Day 16: Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon, Arizona & New Mexico

Before we left Sin City, we had to stop at Gold and Silver Pawn Shop (the pawn shop on the hit TV show "Pawn Stars"). Klay absolutely loves that show and I like it too. We walked in to the amazingly crowded pawn shop, which looks just like it does on the shop. Klay watched something about the filming of the show a while back and because the show has become so popular, they only allow the people in the shop that they're talking to while they film (so they completely clear out all the other customers). The guys on the show only come out for the filming because they get swarmed with fans. After visiting it in person, we see why. There were so many people at the shop (they even have their own gift shop with t-shirts, mugs, blankets, etc. with Rick, Corey, Chum Lee and the Old Man's faces on it. The gift shop nearly took up half of the store.

The guys were in New York or so we were told. But it was definitely cool to walk around and see actual items that were purchased on the show. Klay would say "I remember that episode." That was a cool little pit stop on our way out of the city.

We headed south to the Hoover Dam, which was only 30 miles from Vegas. The dam is huge and tourists and travelers crowded the walkways taking pictures of the massive structure. It was designed from 1931-1935, and many people died during the construction of it. We kept joking that "The Cube" was below (as seen on "Transformers"). It was a pretty neat place to stop. We parked and had to walk down to be actually on the dam. I had to go to the bathroom, and the long walked like to kill me. Note: When visiting the Hoover Dam, go to the restroom before you actually get to the dam!



After viewing the site, we headed to the south rim of the Grand Canyon (about a 4-hour drive from Hoover Dam). The Grand Canyon is what it promises--grand. It's crazy how large and immense it is! It was definitely worth the drive. We walked a bit on a trail enjoying the spectacular view when Klay's nose started to bleed. We had to walk all the way back to the car to get some napkins for him.

It was around 5 p.m. when we finally reached the Grand Canyon so after walking around the time flew by. We wanted to get to New Mexico tonight. After 15 days of travel, we're now officially tired of being in the car. We're just ready punch the rest of this trip out and stay in a house!

After stopping off a few more times and enjoying the site of the Grand Canyon, we headed and went through Flagstaff. I started driving (Klay was tired) to try to see how far we could get. After 5 more hours of driving, we landed in Albuquerque, New Mexico around 1 a.m., where we stopped and are staying in a hotel.

Ready to relax until we leave in the morning!

This trip has been crazy!

See how it all ends "From the Road..." as we round up the end of the trip!