We got to Vegas at lunchtime and checked into the Excalibur Hotel. The Vegas Strip is like nothing I've ever seen before in my life. It's non-stop people, activity, noise, nightlife, shows, casinos... It's true that Vegas does not sleep! We had a view of the airport from our hotel room and a new plane took off and came in pretty much every 30 seconds! The Excalibur was a good place to stay. Nothing fancy but it did the trick. Next time I might choose a place more central on the strip like The Mirage, but for the most part, the hotels all seemed really similar to me: hotels, restaurants, stores, and tons of people! It was incredible to me how almost everything on the strip is in a hotel. There are really no restaurants just sitting there on the strip, but there are 4-6 in each hotel. It's crazy! We did a ton of walking today. We walked all the way from Excalibur to The Mirage and back, and on top of that we walked through the Excalibur, NYNY, Monte Carlo, Ceasar's Palace, and The Mirage. My feet were in so much pain by the time we limped into our room in the evening. We had an AMAZING lunch at this Mexican restaurant at Monte Carlo called Diablo's Cantina for lunch. We had frozen margaritas, I had spicy shrimp quesadillas with tons of Mexican cheese, and Jay had a steak burrito. We were drooling over that meal the whole rest of our trip. Heck, I am STILL droooling about it. It was a cool restaurant, too. We ate upstairs which was a big open patio and there was mist spraying from the ceilings - not directly on us, but it would hit us occasionally and it was so refreshing. After a few hours of exploring the strip, we rode the roller coaster on top of New York, New York. And then for dinner we ate at an Italian place right in the Excalibur called Regale. It was nothing special but our drinks were like 100% booze with food coloring, so that was fun. LOL.

Here we are in Vegas

The Excalibur

Today we got a much later start than I originally planned, but it all worked out OK. We got up at 7am and the rental car place (Enterprise) was supposed to be able to pick us up at 7:30 so that we could hit the road by 8:00, but I called every 10-15 minutes from 7:00-8:15 until I finally called their 1-800 # to complain. Turned out the branch we were renting from didn't even open til 8:30. We ended up just taking a cab to them so that we could at least start filling out paperwork by 9:00 (they reimbursed us for the cab which was nice) and we finally hit the road about 9:45 or so. Can you believe we got a white Pontiac Vibe? How funny! Same exact car that we drive at home! About 45 minutes into the trip we came to the Hoover Dam so we stopped to see that. It is enormous! It was very interesting to see. We grabbed Subway for lunch and got right back on the road. The drive was incredible. Arizona is so scenic, and what's really amazing is that the landscape completely changes every 20 minutes or so. One minute you'll be going through spectacular rocky mountains, and then giant fields full of cactus trees, and then rolling hills full of rocks and bushes... I cannot even begin to describe all the different landscapes. It was really, really cool to see it all. I am so glad we did this trip roadtrip style because we got to see so much this way!

We got to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon around dinnertime. We were so excited; we didn't even get fully into the park before we pulled our car over and walked over to the rim of the canyon to see it. I remember the 1st time I looked out into it; it was absolutely breathtaking and something everyone should try to see in their lifetime. We quickly checked our bags in at our lodge (the Yavapai Lodge) and then immediately walked the 1/4 mile to the canyon. We hiked about 1 mile along the rim and we just could not get enough of it. You almost can't help but get a bit of vertigo as you are walking along the edge. The path is only a few feet from the edge and in many places you can go right to the very edge to look down. It's just mind-blowing. Across the canyon you could see smoke from the forest fires on the other side, and if you looked really closely down below, you could see the Colorodo River. We caught about 1 hour of sunlight which I was so happy about and we got to watch the sun set over the canyon. A once-in-a-lifetime experience. After it got dark, we had dinner at the lodge and crashed early. It was a fantastic day.

Me at the South Rim

Jay and I at the South Rim

We got up early today and the sun was shining. It was another gorgeous day. We ate breakfast at the lodge, packed up our water bottles, and walked back out to the South Rim of the Canyon. It was a 1/4 mile walk to the rim and then we hiked 1 mile in the opposite direction from yesterday. We then hiked a good 30 minutes down Bright Angel Trail which is right in the "cul-de-sac" of the canyon. We were still hemming and hawing about whether we wanted to make the drive to the North Rim, and then we ran into one of the hiking guides and asked his opinion. He strongly encouraged that we see North Rim, so we decided to hike back and head out. Either way we would have had a 3.5 hour drive up to Kanab, UT, which is where we had reservations to spend the night (halfway between North Rim and Bryce Canyon), but going to see North Rim required an additional 2+ hours in the car and we really wanted to make sure it was worth it.

The drive up and around the canyon to the North Rim was... well it was sort of what I expected, but I guess I could have never really prepared myself for it! The 1st 30 minutes was fine - we drove along the East side of the canyon and there were lots of beautiful lookout points. But then we basically drove through 2ish hours of NOTHING. The scenery was magnificant, but there was literally nothing out there. We both definitely had a bit of anxiety by the end of that stretch. Thank goodness we gassed up the car before we headed out. There were literally no gas stations or restaurants the entire stretch except for 1 sign for a Subway that was at least 15 minutes off our course, plus I didn't trust it! I don't even think there was electricity in some of the "towns" we passed. There were 2 or 3 "towns" listed on the map but then when we finally got to them, it would be like 4 shacks. Wow. Not to mention, it was all desert and rocky mountains that we were driving through and we had no cell phone reception... It definitely made me anxious. Jay said he felt like we were driving through Mordor at one point. LOL. We eventually reached a split in the highway and we had to make a decision: drive the additional 2 hours to the North Rim and HOPE to hit a gas station and place to stop for lunch, or drive 20 miles off course to Page, AZ (which we knew had civilization thanks to billboards), eat lunch, and decide what to do.

Well, we went to Page. :) Our stop there took a lot longer than I would have liked, but it was OK. When we drove into town, we saw a giant Walmart sitting there in the middle of the desert and I was so relieved... And I hate Walmart! LOL! We ate calzones at a local pizzaria and we decided to gas up and make the trek to North Rim. We had no other plans for the day, other than to check into our hotel in Kanab, and we knew we'd be spending a lot of time in the car either way, so there was no reason not to go. The drive to North Rim ended up being very beautiful, and we did in fact pass a few small gas stations and restaurants along the way, which was refreshing to see.

The North Rim was gorgeous and I am so glad we saw it. The 1 hour drive into the park turned out to be incredibly scenic and made the extra time in the car worth it. Like all of Arizona, the scenery kept completely changing every 20 minutes or so. We saw lots of deer and most of the landscape was very lush and green, although we definitely saw a lot of areas that were blackened by the forest fires, too. We only spent about 45 minutes at the actual North Rim but it was just breathtaking and definitely worth it. It was very different than the South Rim: Only a small visitor's center and some cabins to sleep in. The South Rim was a bit more "touristy." I thought both rims were wonderful in their own regards, and I certainly don't think the South rim was too "built up" - they were both just right in my opinion. The North Rim offered us the gorgeous .5 mile Bright Angel Trail which gave us a spectacular view both up and down the canyon, East and West. At one point on the trail, there was a dropoff on either side of us which was both scary and stunning! We learned that less than 15% of the people who visit the canyon actually visit the North Rim. I am so glad we did it. It was well worth it. I wish we had had more time at both rims. I would have loved to spend at least 1 more full day at each so that we could hike a few miles down the Kaibob Trails on each side.

Sitting on the edge at the North Rim

The North Rim

By the way, for those of you who are wondering, no we did not go out on the glass skywalk. That is actually on an Indian Reservation on the west side of the canyon and we did not even go near there. We were told it was not all that impressive and that it was the only thing to even do once you got there, plus we were told it was expensive and that you can't even take photos off of it. Ridiculous!

We left the North Rim around 6:00 pm and arrived in Kanab, UT about 7:45 or so I think. Kanab was a very cozy little town with lots of hotels and a few restaurants that were open late. We stayed at the Clarion Victorian Charm Inn and we had dinner at a great local place called The Rockin' V. They had a huge vegetarian menu and I ended up getting yellow vegetable curry and mouthwatering creme brulee for dessert. What a great little find. If you're ever travelling around the North Rim & Bryce Canyon, I'd definitely recommend Kanab as a great town to stay in along the way.

We got another full night of sleep which was wonderful and got up for breakfast at 8:00. The Victorian Charm Inn was set up as a Bed & Breakfast so a family-style breakfast was included. I think we were the only couple under 55 that was staying there. LOL. In fact, we noticed that a lot on our trip! There did not seem to be many couples our age at the Grand Canyon, Bryce, or Zion. I wonder why??

We headed out around 9:30am and it was a miserable, overcast morning. It was a very scenic drive, but the weather was just the pits. By the time we got to Bryce, it was starting to rain, and it continued to rain the entire day. I was really, really, really bummed about it, and I still am. As we approached the park, we drove through what I think was called Red Canyon and it was soooo cool! There were huge, weird, bright red rock formations lined up along the highway and all the dirt was red, too. I would have loved to have hiked around there a little bit, if the weather had cooperated. We got into Bryce around 11am and the rain was just starting to come down. We managed to drive to 2 key lookout points before the rain got really intolerable. The red rock "hoodoo" formations were spectacular! I would have loved to see the sunlight bouncing off them. We ate lunch in the lodge and hoped to wait out the rain, but it was no use. There was no end in sight to the gray clouds and the rain just kept pouring. The day was a total washout. I was, and still am, so disappointed. I would have loved to see Bryce at sunset, and I wanted to see all the different lookout points and hike several of the trails. I slotted an entire day for Bryce, and all we got was about 1 tolerable hour. It was absolutely gorgeous though and I am glad I got to see it. I hope that I can go back again someday and see it properly.

Me and the Hoodoos

The Red Canyon

We ended up driving down to Zion National Park a lot early than planned, due to the rain, so we got in around 4:00 or so. Driving down into Zion Park from the East was an absolutely incredible, incredible experience. If you go to Zion, be sure to drive in from the East. If you come in from the West, definitely be sure to drive up the scenic roadway to the East entrance. Wow. Just wow. The rain had let up a little as we were driving in and it was just breathtaking. I've never seen anything like Zion. I wasn't sure what to expect at this park, and it just blew me away. The red canyons and gigantic cliffs and waterfalls and the mile long tunnel through the mountainside... Words and pictures could never do it justice. You just have to go see it if you can. It's incredible. Simply incredible.

By the time we parked our car at Zion, it was all-out raining again, so we jumped on the free shuttle and took the 90-minute tour of the park. It was nice because we were able to get an introduction to the park without getting wet. We got to see an incredibly huge, muddy waterfall that our bus driver said she has never seen anything like in her 30 years at Zion! There were lots of waterfalls all over the park from the rain that aren't usually there, so that was actually really neat to see. One positive thing from all that darn rain...

We stayed at the Quality Inn right in Springdale, UT (basically right in the park) and we found a delicious pizzaria for dinner called Pizza & Noodle. We devoured our entire 12" cheese pie: it was that delicious! The rain had finally stopped and we had a really nice walk into town and back for our dinner. We even passed an Elk Farm along the way and I got to feed them. :)

Today was quite possibly the best day of the entire trip! Zion National Park was beyond words... spectacular in every way. We had a gorgeous, sunny morning which I was so grateful for, especially after all the rain yesterday. We had an early breakfast right at the hotel and then spent about 4 hours in the park. Due to our limited time, we only got to hike a few of the major trails, but I'm not sure my legs and feet could have taken much more anyways. First we hiked up to the Emerald Pools. We saw all 3 of them - lower, middle, and upper, and they were all very cool. The hike up was hard work - I think it was about 2 miles to the top - but it was worth it. The upper pool was the best, maybe because it was the most work to hike to. ;-) It was a beautiful, secluded area with a huge waterfall falling down from the cliff above us and giant rocks to rest on. The lower pool was also really cool because you got to walk along the edge of the cliff-side with the waterfall falling between you and the pool, with the sun shining at you through the waterfall. We then hiked the Grotto Trail to the next shuttle stop, and took the shuttle to the Hidden Canyon Trail at Weeping Mountain. I loved this trail, although if I thought Emerald Pools was a difficult hike, then this was difficult times 10! It was a 1 mile, 850 feet, uphill hike, and it got harder and harder the higher up we went. It started off as a smooth wide zig-zag "switchback" path, and then the path got narrower and more rocky, and then became stone stairs, and then became a cliff-side with nothing to hang onto but a chain! Yikes! I cannot believe how high up we were. It was spectacular from up there though, and I loved it. Hiking back down was actually even harder; it was really hard on my knees. Even if we had stayed at Zion all day, I would have definitely needed a break after that hike. ;-) I would love to go back there though and do more of the trails. You could spend an entire 3-4 days in that park and not run out of things to see!

Waterfall at Emerald Pools

Hiking to the Hidden Canyon

We left Zion about noon and stopped for lunch in Hurricane, UT at a Mexican place called Lupita's. We arrived back in Vegas around 2:30, returned the rental car, re-checked into the Excalibur, freshened up, and it was then that I realized that we were supposed to pick up our Cirque du Soleil "O" tickets no later than 6:30... and it was 6:10!!! I was so, so, so nervous. I thought for sure we would miss the chance to pick up our tickets and lose out on seeing the show. We ran as fast as we could, through the Excalibur, across the connecting walkway, through NYNY (and these are BIG hotels), and we were thankfully able to pick up our tickets at the MGM Grand pick-up window there - although the woman did give me a bit of attitude, because they had already printed our tickets and were holding them down at the Bellagio. Thankfully though, we got our tickets, and then we ran all the way down the strip to the Bellagio to get there in time for the seating at 7:00 and the pre-show at 7:15. We actually got there at 6:45, with 15 minutes to spare. What a fiasco. I was so organized for this entire trip, but I really thought we had all the time in the world to casually stroll down the strip and pick up our tickets in time for the 7:30 show. Yeesh.

"O" was simply awesome. This is the 4th Cirque du Soleil I've seen and it was definitely the best (with Dralion a close second). We had front row seats and we were the section right next to the center section. The entire stage was water, and it continuously changed the entire show: one minute it was a deep pool with high diving, and the next it was a few inches deep and they were running across it, and the next it was gone altogether. The time and number of people that go into making that show what it is is simply unreal. It was a real no-nonsense Cirque, with all the best stuff shoved into an hour and 45 minute show... Not a lot of filler, like in Delirium and Verekai. And the greatest part about the whole show was that at one point during the show, the one perfermer handed me a flower - a bright orange gerber daisy!! I was the only one in the crowd who got one. I guess that is one advantage of sitting in the front row. :-D

After "O" we went out for declicious sushi at Ah Sin at the Paris Hotel, and then we crashed around 11pm. What a fantastic vacation!!!

Believe it or not, we did not play a single slot machine in Vegas. There just wasn't enough time, and as it was, we only saw aboug 1/10 of what I would have like to see. I think we could go back for another 5 days and do a physically identical trip to this, and see 100% different things. There is just so much to see and do out there. I'd love to go back. In fact, I'm certain we will eventually go back, and I can't wait! If you get a chance, definitely go visit Vegas, Grand Canyon, Bryce, and Zion. You won't be disappointed. :)

The End!


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