Sedona, Grand Canyon North Rim, Zion National Park and Las Vegas.

[LexusAllTerrain]

Part One.



It was 11:00 am when I finally was driving on I-10, after a couple of delays I was on my way to Sedona Az. were I would camp at night, I had plan to do Schnebly Hill the next day!
We got to Sedona at around 7:00 pm I was ready to have dinner, which I had plan to cook hot dogs wrap in bacon for the evening! It took only a few minutes to set up camp and I was ready for my food! The nigh was cool and we had a few mosquitos flying around, it seems the main attraction to the mosquitos was my ARB light, but we were prepered for them. We had a good night sleep and we were ready for the next long day that would take us thru Vermilion Cliffs on our way to the Grand Canyon North Rim.







The rest of the pictures are here!
http://lexusallterrain.smugmug.com/Travel/Lexus-LX-450/Monticello-Canyon-Nov-2011/20105717_xTJCHw

 

[LexusAllTerrain]

Vermilion Cliffs-Utah

Part two.


It was early in the morning when we were finally ready to go thru Sedona, after a nice hot breakfast we were on our way. We wanted to make a short stop in town so we did, but we knew we had a long drive to Vermilion Cliffs, so we pressed on, we had schedule a stop at Navajo Bridge, a friend of mine just did the Arizona Strip and I saw some of his pictures and I knew I wanted to go there!

 

[LexusAllTerrain]

Grand Canyon North Rim

Part Three.



It was getting late, however we still had a short drive thru the mountains to get to the North Rim, this was a great scenic drive, I missed taking alot of pictures because we wanted to get there before the sunset. well it is very different to the South Rim; it is more like in your face look that is the best way to describe it. We were planning on camping on the park campground, but it was full to capacity, so we had to camp out of the park's area.The Grand Canyon- North Rim rocks!









Rest of the pictures are here.

http://lexusallterrain.smugmug.com/Travel/Grand-Canyon-North-Rim/23471485_pJ57Fx

 

[LexusAllTerrain]

Zion National Park.

Part IV.



Time to get to Zion National Park; I knew they had the longest tunnel in the USA and the rock formations were incredible, so I had to see for my self.
On my way over I found a nice cave, buffalo and a great scenic drive! when we arrive at the park it was hot almost 120 degrees we wanted to take the touring bus, but my wife was feeling a little weak! We took a small walk in the parking area, had some ice cream and we were on our way!












The rest of the pictures are here!

http://lexusallterrain.smugmug.com/Travel/Zion-National-Park-2012/23471772_7gdXfb

I also found this on my way to the park!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6Fn13Xdhcqg

 

[LexusAllTerrain]

Las Vegas

Part V.




On our way to Las Vegas, it was 120 degrees and my A/C is cutting out, engine is running rough...

After making a stop at St. George Ut Walmart, we are now on I-15 on our way to Las Vegas, it was 120 degree temperature it was a dry heat. Between Arizona state line and Nevada, I notice the vehicle was lacking power my a/c was cutting off I was doing 75 mph. I had to slow down to 60 mph and my a/c started to cool down so we kept our speed between 55 to 65 untill we arrive to Las Vegas downtown. We arrive at rush hour, bumper to bumper when I notice the engine was running rough I did not wanted my vehicle to stall on the interstate so as soon as I had a chance I got off the highway. It took us a couple of minutes to reach our destination with less then optimum conditions with the a/c cutting off. We pulled to our destination unloaded our luggage and when to park our vehicle with trailer on the designated parking lot.

After we check in at the casino, since I did not wanted to deal with the vehicle we took a taxi to move around it was time to play.

Dancing with the Stars show was our destination, we have been fans of the show for many years and we had to meet LACEY SCHWIMMER.

The next day I woke up early and was worry about the vehicle, so I decided to check for a blown head gasket!








The rest of the pictures are here!

http://lexusallterrain.smugmug.com/Travel/Lexus-LX-450/Dancing-with-the-Stars-Live/24194387_tFs68s

 

[ssichler]

Great pics. We loved Zion. That tunnel was a blast with an almost 30 foot trailer.

 

[austintaco]

What was the issue with the vehicle?

Great Pics!

 

[LexusAllTerrain]

Part VI.



It is 7:30 am and I am worry about my vehicle, I get down into the parking lot and look under the hood, I notice some oil spill all over the bottom of the distributor, however I check the antifreez on the radiaror first , looks clean, then I check the motor oil, it also looks clean. Then I concentrate on looking for oil in the distributor, I take the cover off the distributor; then the spark plug wire boot from the reverse wire. I notice some oil inside the boot and also some monor oil inside the distributor, I clean very well the boot, and when I ttook the clip off it broke.
Now I know I have to get another clip from the dealer, I put the parts back together and it worked, problem solved. I clean the bottom of my oil sending unit and I found the origins of oil leak, small but there; once I get home I will address this problem since it is a very small leak. I get on the phone and order from Toyota the clip that I need and I have to special order to arrive in 3 days; I know with out the clip on the boot I will not get very far, so I placed my order and had fun while we waited for the part to arrive.

I guess i was very lucky it did not turn into some thing bigger like a blown head gasket since this engine is notorious for! Overall it was a great trip, and now I am ready for the next one.






The rest of the pictures are here!

http://lexusallterrain.smugmug.com/Travel/Lexus-LX-450/Dancing-with-the-Stars-Live/24194387_tFs68s

 

[LexusAllTerrain]

Great pics. We loved Zion. That tunnel was a blast with an almost 30 foot trailer.

Yes sir, I know what you mean, I have a video that I took from inside the tunnel!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_O4xUEKFTA

 

[LexusAllTerrain]

What was the issue with the vehicle?

Great Pics!

Small oil leak from my pressure sending unit, I guess overtime it build enough oil to get to the inside of my spark plug cable boot!

 

[RockyMtnFamily]

Re: Grand Canyon North Rim

Thanks for sharing your pictures and trip report with us. It looks like you got a picture of one of the employee cabins where I lived during the Summer of 1988. Lots of good memories up there on "The Rock"

I look forward to seeing more of your trip reports.

Kevin

 

[LexusAllTerrain]

Re: Grand Canyon North Rim

Thanks for sharing your pictures and trip report with us. It looks like you got a picture of one of the employee cabins where I lived during the Summer of 1988. Lots of good memories up there on "The Rock"

I look forward to seeing more of your trip reports.

Kevin

Thank you!

San Antonio Riverwalk and Padre Island Seashore next month, got to have some beach time each year!