Camping tour of California, Nevada and Arizona

Stick 13 randoms in a van with a tour leader and a couple of tents and what do you get - an awesome week, visiting some amazing places and some great new friends. Signing up for a Trek America tour before I left NZ meant Id had a good couple of months to look forward to it but it definately lived up to expectations - and then some

Yosemite National Park
Saw Half Dome, El Cap, Seqouia Forest (the largest living things on earth - one fallen one was wider than my old room!), also saw Bridalveil and Yosemite Falls but the highlight was definately the 8 mile hike to the top of the Nevada Falls!! It was a pretty tough hike but we'd allocated most of the day for it, which included time for a sunbathe at the top. We came back down the Mist Trail and walked through the mist - and rainbows - coming off the Vernal Falls which was amazing!
Las Vegas
Okay, this place is amazing! We drove through the Nevada Desert to get to the 110degree heat but it was definately worth it for the limo ride in a Hummer Limo for 2 hours down the strip when we first got there, followed by a stop in at the Bellagio and dancing the night away at The Beach! We had a free day in Las Vegas the next day and it was another solid 14 hours of walking around trying to cover all the casinos with their amazing themes. We saw Caeser's Palace (complete with Statue of David), The Mirage (with a white lion and aquarium), The Venetian (set up to look like Venice complete with gondolas), The Wynn, Circus Circus, The Stratosphere, The Sahara, Riviera, Paris, MGM, New York New York, The Pirate Show at Treasure Island, Excalibur and finally Luxor. Even managed to get in a couple of hours tanning at the pool in!

Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon was amazing - words cant really describe it so heres a couple of pictures (for more check out my photos online http://kiwigirlnextdoor.spaces.msn.com) In one day we managed to watch the sunrise, take a helicopter ride down into the canyon and hiked a mile down to Ooh-Aah point. A pretty wicked place to hang out and spend a day!