If the sky is clear, anywhere away from sources of light should be excellent.
Wanna see the Andromeda Galaxy? Or the Orion Nebula? You’re in luck, because both will be visible when you’re there (assuming you have clear skies). The moon will be almost new and will not interfere with stargazing.
The Orion constellation will be very prominent in the south-southeastern sky around 8-9 pm (it’ll be visible for hours, slowly moving west and setting after midnight). It is easily identifiable by the three stars in a row that form Orion’s Belt. Hanging below his belt is his sword, another line of stars. The middle “star” will look like a fuzzy patch.
That is the Orion Nebula. It should be visible to the naked eye; binoculars will help. It’s a huge cloud of dust and gas about 1350 light-years away. New stars are being formed there.
Now turn around and face northwest. Cassiopeia should be visible, looking like a stretched-out “M”. The lower of the two points (the less stretched-out one) points left to the Andromeda Galaxy, about the same distance away as the width of the “M”. Barely visible to the naked eye as a fuzzy patch (smaller than the Orion Nebula), binoculars will make it easier to find.
The Andromeda Galaxy is about 2.5 million light-years away and will one day collide with the Milky Way. For the best viewing, get as far away as you can from any light source and give your eyes time to adjust to the darkness.
Save Zion for May 20th…that’s when there is the Annular Solar Eclipse.
Perfect…see my post above…May 20th.
Perfect…see my post above…May 20th. I will be in Vegas and driving the rest of the way to a cloud-free site either NW or North of Vegas.
It looks like the eclipse won’t be at the park until May 21st at 1 AM. Or am I misreading that?
The times given are UTC. Eclipse will be visible at Zion park not too long before sunset.
(Note that it’s rare to have a solar eclipse visible at 1 AM local time.)
Since you’re driving in from CA, stop by Hoover Dam on the way and see if they have guided tours inside the power plant. That’s what I want to see!
Last time I was there, they offered two different tours. They both go down to a viewing room built in one of the diversion tunnels (where the water flowed while the dam was being built) and a balcony that overlooks the generators in the powerhouse. Then the deluxe tour breaks off and goes inside the dam itself. You go through some of the maintenance tunnels and look through a vent right in the face of the dam. I thought it was worth it.
That was the source of my confusion ;).
I’m in Vegas every two weeks for work, so I’ve done the Hoover Dam thing-- very interesting.
My concern now is that I can’t get off work early on Friday-- so we wont be hitting the road until 5 or 6 PM. I’m a little concerned about driving in the possibly snowy middle of nowhere in pitch blackness. I’m pretty sure that’s how almost every horror movie ever starts.
Yikes…500+ miles, 8 hours on good road conditions and 5/6 pm start time…here’s hoping the road conditions are good and the coffee is at full blast…
Mapquest says 4.5 hours, 273 miles. But, of course, I appreciate the good vibes anyway 
In fact, the directions from MapQuest are:
Seems straightforward enough, I hope it’s not too easy to miss the roads in the middle of nowhere in the dark. Fortunately, my car does also have GPS that will scream at me.
My sources give the best route as Rte 93 SE to Kingman, I-40 east to Williams, Rte 64 north to Grand Canyon Village: Distance = 278 mi, time = ~5:20.
This wouldn’t be my all-time favorite route to do in the dark, but (presuming decent weather) it doesn’t sound desperate.
ETA: Looks like the Mapquest route, with a slower average speed.
I take solace in the fact that there shouldn’t be any traffic at all-- so that’s a plus. Give me hours on an empty road over traffic any day! I’ve been known to drive the 5 hours home from Vegas after work on the regular, so this is more or less the same. . . just another direction. Plus, the boyfriend will be with me to share driving duties if I get sleepy.
I am going to be a responsible adult and stop to get an emergency car kit (something with road flares, thermal blanket things, etc) in it, just in case we do break down and it is -192817 degrees.
My bad…I did the route from Bakersfield to South Rim. The second half of your route is mostly above the 5000’ elevation…that’s where it got tricky for me…after Ash Fork.
Any particular reason why? Especially treacherous road or something?
Ok…our wires are crossed.
I assumed you were coming from Bakersfield, not Vegas…hence 500 miles.
I-40 after Ash Fork is above 5000’. My previous post I said I was at the Grand Canyon last year for New Years. It had snowed the last couple days before New Year’s, and I did drive in that storm the afternoon/night before NYE. Because of the elevation, it snowed in heavier amounts afterAsh Fork and into Williams, although there are other places before Ash Fork (a couple of summits in the 5500’ range) that were hazardous as well…plus there was traffic as well.
We spent the night in Williams and drove into the South Rim the following day (near noon - 2pm…the “warmest part of the day”)…the high was 16 degrees on New Years Eve and highway 64 was still icy/snow but we were able to stay in the ruts of previous vehicles to avoid putting on chains. The snow in the Canyon was a beautiful addition to the landscape there. That night, the temperature got down to -29F when we went to the local bar there to drink with the locals for New Years.
Just don’t stop at deserted gas stations and ask toothless old men for directions and you’ll be fine.
A couple of pieces of advice (please forgive me if any of them are blindingly obvious):
As has already been mentioned, the south rim is at 7000 feet or so. People have warned about the cold (and it does get chilly) but there are a couple other things to remember. Sunscreen. Most people don’t think about it much because it’s winter, but at 7000 feet, sunscreen is your friend. Also, the weather in that part of the country can change in a hurry. It can go from surprisingly warm in the afternoon to hypothermia-inducing in a remarkably short period of time. And the reverse as well. So do the usual (dress in layers, etc). The other thing to remember is how easy it is to dehydrate at that elevation. So lots of water. OK - lecture over (hope I didn’t sound too much like your dad).
If you’re interested in the geology of the Canyon, here is a really interesting podcast from NPR’s Science Friday about its formation.
Sounds like a great way to spend your birthday. Have fun!
If you have the time, the Hualapai tribe has a road that goes to the bottom of the canyon. There is a toll on the road, but I do not recall it being that much. It’s gravel, but it’s not a hard road to drive. The views for the last several miles are great, and it’s the easiest way to get to the bottom.
Here is a site with some info on it(first good google hit) http://www.amwest-travel.com/awt_grand_canyon_hualapai.html