Halloween in Vegas? Must be time to go home.

When I emailed family our itinerary for this trip, my sister-in-law Shelby commented "Halloween in Vegas...should be interesting."  What?  Ugh.  That thought had never occurred to either of us when we were planning.  Maybe because we don't have kids, we don't think much about Halloween until a few days before when we need to buy candy for all the little monsters in our neighborhood?  Regardless of our lack of awareness, Halloween would be our last night in Vegas.  Many of you, I know, would have been delighted with this prospect.  Not being fans of crowds, drunk people, costumes, and/or crowds of drunk people in costumes, we were less than thrilled.  It's official, we're old and unfun - and we're really ok with that.  It is 7 pm, and we've been safely tucked in our hotel room for a good 25 minutes, with no plans to leave until we have to head to the airport in the morning.  

We had a nice last day here in Vegas, though we were minimally productive.  I was up by 6 am, and read until Andrew managed to drag himself in to a conscious state at almost 9.  The only objectives for today were to find a magnet for Andrew's collection, and to spend the last of our free $10 in the casino, so we were in no hurry.  

About a block from our hotel is a place billing itself as "The World's Largest Gift Shop".  Intriguing.  A cab driver recently told us that, if you can afford a billboard, you can call yourself whatever you want and most will believe it.  I think that is pretty sound logic, actually.  While this place was, in fact, large; I am suspicious that there is no other gift shop larger in the entire world.  What I will give them, is that they undoubtably have the largest collection of junk that no one needs.  All of it with "Vegas" stamped on it somewhere.  We found Andrew's magnet and, luckily, talked him down from a sudden and pressing need for a scorpion-trapped-in-a-hunk-of-acrylic paperweight.  Whew!

We then had a burger before hitting the casino for the last time.  We don't spend much time in casinos, but I have found a particular game that I like and that I tend to win on (regardless of what casino I'm in).  Now, keep in mind that these are penny slots, so I'm not going to be able to retire any time soon.   However, I did get to play for several hours AND I ended up $10 in the black.  Win-win!  The game is "Invaders from the Planet Moolah".  When you're next in a casino, look for it and see if it's lucky for you, too!

  

We had dinner tonight at a little Mediterranean place downtown, and then took the car back to the rental company.  We actually could have returned it in the morning but we didn't rent it from the airport and, with a 7 am flight, it was just easier to take it back today.  

So, that's it for this one.  We will get a cab to the airport about 4:30 am, and will get back to MSP around noon.  This was such an amazing trip and we saw some truly beautiful sights.  We also really enjoyed the physical challenges of this particular holiday.  Finally, we agree that we really need to spend more time in our beautiful national parks. 

Thank for reading.  See you in March, in Utila.

Vegas - take two.

What goes around, comes around, I guess because here we are back in Vegas.  We arrived about noon yesterday (Wednesday)  - it was a quick 160 mile drive from Zion on the I-15.

.  We had a quick bite of lunch and then checked in to our hotel at The Stratosphere.  Andrew got a very good deal on Priceline for the room, and even after we paid $15 to upgrade to a "Select" (probably code for suckers) room, it was still cheap by hotel standards at about $55/night.  Our room is on the top floor of the bank of rooms, and looks right out on to the tower where we can see the Sky Jumpers.   It's a very posh room compared to the rustic cabins and bunkhouses we've been in for the past 10 days.  We were especially excited to see TV again, as we didn't have a TV in Zion and the wifi was too slow to stream anything.  

View from our room

 We spent the rest of the afternoon going up the tower to take a look around.  They have some crazy rides up there that Andrew is considering.  I find it odd that a guy who doesn't like heights (see the Angel's Landing post) wants to get on amusement park rides 800 feet in the air.  Hopefully he'll change his mind.   After The Tower, we spent about an hour in the casino.  They gave us each $10 for free when we checked in, so we played on that for a while before dinner and then relaxing in the room for the evening  

Sunrise from our room

Thursday morning we were up early, but lazed around the room until about 10 am.  Because Andrew hasn't been to Vegas before (and I haven't been her in 20 years), we went down to explore the strip.  If you are a lover of Vegas, I apologize for this next statement.  We just don't get it.  Help us out, folks - what are we missing here?  The streets are so jam packed with slow-moving tourists, panhandlers and people selling show tickets that it's difficult to walk.  The resorts are just big shopping malls.  I do understand that the main point of Vegas is gambling and shows, and we do like both of those things.  For about 2 hours.  What the heck do you do with the rest of your day?   

View down the Strip

The good, ol' Bellagio.  The fountains weren't on when we happened past.

One of the activities that was on my list, was the buffet at Caesar's Palace - Bacchanal.  Now, I'm not a big fan of a buffet.  I think that the concept of "all you can eat" is crazy if the food is not good.  Who cares that you can fill your plate up 6 times if you don't even like what was on the first one?  Dumb.  One of the great things about Vegas is that celebrity chefs have taken over and raised the bar for dining options.  Bobby, Wolfgang, Gordon, Nobu, and Thomas have all realized that folks will pay a premium to eat at restaurants bearing their name and quality.   It was just a matter of time before someone applied this concept to the Vegas buffet.   The cost is quite a bit higher than the standard buffet, but the food quality and presentation are much, much better.  Take a look at this video and you'll see what I mean.  Hungry now?  

Andrew pretty much at his body weight in jumbo shrimp and gelato.  I was much more adventurous and tried as many different things as I could.  Sadly, what I could hold was not nearly as much as I would have liked to taste.  My favorites were the brisket slider, the lobster chowder, the smoked salmon vichyssoise, and the pork belly.   I especially loved that many items were already set out in little portions which helped to ensure you got to taste more things.

Some of my favs:  at 12:00 - lobster chowder;  at 4 o'clock - Manchego cheese;  at 11 o'clock - pork belly.  On the small plate to the right - brisket slider.  

The gelato station.  I had the green tea; Andrew had the salted vanilla and the black sesame seed.

Crepe station...

...resulting in this beautiful bananas Foster crepe.

After fully mastering the deadly sin of gluttony, we made our way back to our hotel to recover.  Seriously, we may never need to eat again.  Ugh. 

Tomorrow is our last day of this trip - we fly home early Saturday morning.  Nothing much is planned but will definitely post some final words about our most recent adventure, so come on back!

Last day in glorious Zion

Today is our last full day in Zion.  We've really loved it here.  Determined to do something productive with ourselves, we hauled ourselves out of bed at 7:30 (gasp!), and got organized for a hike to Angel's Landing.  Angel's Landing is one of the two most famous hikes in Zion (The Narrows is the other).  Perhaps infamous is better, actually.  Not only is it a difficult hike (you climb 1500 feet, or almost 1/3 of a mile up in just 2 linear miles) but the last 1/2 mile section is along the spine of the mountain.  Six people have died from falling off Angel's Landing in the past 10 years.  It's serious business.  Forearmed with all of this information, we set off anyway.  No one ever accused us of being especially clever.  From the Lodge, it was an easy 0.6 mile hike to The Grotto, which is the trailhead for Angel's Landing.

The start.  So nice and flat.  That would soon end.

Gorgeous morning.  About 38F/3C with a slight breeze.  Chilly in the shade, but perfect for an uphill hike.

Not long after the trailhead, things started getting steep.  Really steep.  Nearly 45 degrees angle steep.  Oh, and switchbacks - my favorite.  We puffed our way up three or four of the switchbacks-from-hell at a time and then stopped for "a photo".  That was our code for "dying; must stop and rest".   This section of the trail made me wish I was back hiking out of the Grand Canyon.

It's difficult to tell from this photo, but the incline here is close to 45 degrees.  

After about a 1/2 mile of torture, things leveled off to a more reasonable 10% incline and we were able to catch our breath and enjoy the scenery.  The trail was now moving through a narrow canyon (or maybe a big crevasse?) and the rocks were amazing to look at.  

Yay!  A "flat" section.

Holes caused by water and frost

All too quickly we were out of the gentle slope and looking up at the dreaded "Walter's Wiggles", a section of the trail named for the first Superintendent of Zion who helped engineer this lovely stretch of trail.  Once again, 30-45 degree inclines in a short linear distance span.  Take a look at this photo to get the full impact of it.  We officially hate Walter, by the way.

Our photo taken from near the top of Walter's Wiggles

The good news is, Walter's Wiggles spit you out at Scout's Lookout.  It was beautiful and sunny up there, and Andrew took a couple of great pics: 

I love these shots with the sun spots

We'd now come 2 miles up the trail.  The last 1/2 mile is what people talk about, however.  For good reason.  As I said earlier, people have died.  And, as my friend Jeanne recently reminded me, dead is serious.  Here's the warning sign.  In the bottom left corner it reads "Your safety is your responsibility".  Meaning the NPS is not liable if you're stupid enough to climb this section.  Turns out, we're at least stupid enough to attempt it...so up we go!

The sign just before the last (and worst) section of Angel's Landing.  This section was no joke.

Looking up at the last section of the climb.  There are chains staked in to the rock here to give you something to hang on to; the trail is that narrow.  Unfortunately, the chains are missing in quite a few spots.  

I'd love to tell you that we made it to the top, and even share a picture of us looking triumphant in our defeat of Angel's Landing.  That picture is missing, however, because we didn't make it to the top.  We made it half way before the "trail" turned in to a balance beam with 1500 feet of nothing on either side.  Andrew, who is terrified of heights, threw in the towel.  Because I am a loving wife, always concerned for the well-being of my partner, I generously turned around to be sure he got down safely.  And if you believe that, my friends, I have some oceanfront property in Arizona that I'd like to sell you! 

Turns out, down was actually more frightening than up.  Let me assure you that gravity is not your friend when you're on this narrow of a trail.  As graceless as it may have appeared, we shimmied down most of the steepest parts on our assess, and I'm ok with that because I am alive to admit to it.  

For those of you who think I may be exaggerating about this section of the trail, or who think you would be brave (or stupid) enough to conquer it - watch this video and then reassess.  The really, really crazy thing is, I read a lot of reviews where people took THEIR CHILDREN (as young as 10) up this trail.  I can only assume they either did not like that particular child, or they had plenty more at home to choose from.  This is why we should support Planned Parenthood, people.  Not everyone should bear offspring.

Having survived MOST of Angel's Landing (I wonder if they sell that t-shirt in the gift shop?), we turned around and headed for home.  With those steep inclines, down was tough on the quads and knees, but we had our trekking poles to help take some of the weight off.   Having just outfoxed the grim reaper, we were obnoxiously chipper on the way down.  We chatted with those coming up and offered them sympathetic looks and words of encouragement.  Andrew's advice to fellow climbers:  stop at the chains.  

Looking down at the trail

View of the first set of switchbacks from about the 1/2 way mark

As long as I live, I would never tire of looking at these rocks

We made it to the back to our cabin exactly 2 hours and 45 minutes from when we started.  Total distance travelled was 6.2 linear miles and 1/3 of a vertical mile.  We showered and drove in to town for a well-deserved lunch and some shopping.  We're planning to do as little as possible the rest of the evening.  

Tomorrow we drive back to Vegas...see you there!

Another beautiful day in Zion

It's no wonder that the Mormon settlers called this place Zion.  Truly, it's one of the most beautiful places I've ever been.  A person could never create something so perfect as Mother Nature.  

As I said yesterday, our plan today was to hike up to Angel's Landing.  You know what they say about best laid plans, right?  Yep, that didn't happen.  Instead, we lounged around the cabin until almost 10 am, then drove in to Springdale for brunch and some window shopping.  Two hours later, we were back in the cabin lounging.  Seriously, we were total slugs!  Andrew had a nap.  I cleared out my work email and read.  Rough.

By 2 pm we were moving again and feeling a moderate amount of guilt for our complete lack of accomplishments.  With that as motivation, we perused the park guidebook and found a few short hikes that we felt would give us a something to say about our day, but not tax us terribly.  I'm pleased to report that we managed to stay upright for 3 different trails, covering about 4 miles in all.  We saw some truly stunning scenery, and I'll let the pictures speak for themselves...we'll shoot for Angel's Landing again tomorrow.  :)  

The Weeping Wall

Andrew took this picture from behind the Weeping Wall.  See the water drops?

The Virgin River

More Virgin River

The way the rocks fall amazes me

Us on top of Canyon Outlook

Zion National Park

After buying out half the Bright Angel Lodge gift shop (rare for us, as you know, to spend more than $10 on souvenirs), we said "hope to see you soon" to the Grand Canyon.  I discovered that, even though it looks close on the map, the drive to Zion from Grand Canyon is 350 miles.  Turns out it takes a while to drive around that pesky hole.   We arrived at the East Gate of the park about 3 pm, and were at the Zion Lodge 30 minutes later.  

You probably remember that Andrew is in charge of booking our accommodations when we travel.  Ok, fine - Andrew is in charge of all of the bookings when we travel.  All other planning too, for that matter.  I am responsible for packing my own suitcase (and Andrew's, too, typically - I'm not a complete freeloader) and getting in the car.  Yes, I'm very, very lucky.  There is a good reason Andrew is in charge of hotels, however.  He's very, very good at finding the best places.  Case in point - our Zion Cabin.  I know I gushed over the cabin at the Grand Canyon - because it was adorable.  This one, however, is the most fantastic thing I've ever seen.  I literally squealed with delight when I opened the door.  

Front porch.  There's a bench on the right where I drank my coffee this morning.  

Yes, that is a fireplace.  And hardwood floors.  And an open beam ceiling.

Seriously.  It's so precious it's ridiculous.

After the appropriate amount of time spent admiring the cabin, we got back in to the car to drive to Springdale.  Springdale is a little town just outside of the south entrance of the park.  For the most part, it caters to the park visitors with lots of quaint hotels/B&B's, organic & sustainable restaurants and boutiques promising to make you look like a true outdoorsman for a mere $1000.  The shops remind me a lot of this book that I recently read called "Stuff White People Like".  You should read it.  It's very funny because it's completely true.  At minimum, however, check out what they have to say about performance attire here.  

Sadly, we don't have $1000 to spend on a new outfit.  In fact, my entire ensemble for hiking the Grand Canyon (boots, socks, pack, shirt & pants) cost about $300.  And that's because the boots and the pack each cost $100.  If you add in my sunglasses, the grand total comes to $311.  Instead of shopping, we hustle off to the Zion Laundromat so we have some clean (cheap) hiking clothes to wear.  

While the clothes are chugging away, we meander in to the candy store next door.  Oh, you know you would have, too.  It was right there.  We show some modest restraint and leave with 4 salted caramel chocolates, a bag of lemon ginger chews, and two pop.   We then sit on a bench outside the laundromat, drink our pop, and watch the well-dressed white folk go by.  

Did you know this even existed?  Yum!

Clothes finished, we got a bite to eat on the patio at Oscar's, then drove back to the Lodge.

Sunday morning was beautiful here!  Blue sky, temps around 70F/21C, and a light breeze.  We're still a bit limpy from the Grand Canyon climb, so we chose a short hike from the guidebook and headed out.  We covered about 4 miles in 2 hours.  Every inch of it was stunning.  Again, Andrew took some fantastic photos...

The next four photos are of a waterfall coming over the ledge at Emerald Pools...

Look close for the water droplets in the middle of the pic.

Ugh - more stairs.

Upper Emerald Pool

FYI - the shirt I'm wearing here was FREE from a race we ran last year!  Subtract $15 from my previous total, if you would.

Beavers!

Isn't this incredible?

The hike was not particularly strenuous but, as I said, we were still recovering from previous aches so we made our way back to the Lodge after just a couple of hours. 

The trail leading to the Lodge

We made a quick stop at the Lodge snack bar to grab a hot dog, then back to the cabin to shower.  You'll not be surprised to learn that Andrew then had a nap.  I read & worked on this post.  Tonight we're planning to go in to town for dinner, and that's about it.  

Tomorrow we're hiking to Angel's Landing.  Check out photos here, and come back to see if we survive!