The Great Out West

Unlike the saying what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, I am sharing our recent adventure out West. It was around June, and I had started to come to the belief that our remote learning, social distance life would be around a little longer than most hoped. With that in mind I asked Ken if he would see if we could get some time to ourselves. {We had been three months of none stop interaction and contact up to that point, love my kids but sometimes you just need a break.} We had some time the first week of August, so it was off to the races to find a place for us to go. I offered to have a staycation but we really wanted to go somewhere and landed on what would be an amazing adventure.

We coordinated with my dad to watch the girls, found a great deal on air fare from Southwest and then an awesome condo close to the Vegas strip for a great deal and we were set. From there Ken went into travel planner mode.{This is a quality that I appreciate in him so much, he finds neat places for us to visit, while also allowing me down time!} We used Vegas as a central point, but did not spend much time in the city. Our original itinerary was on Sunday to go to Bryce Canyon and Zion Canyon, Monday the Grand Canyon and then Tuesday to Antelope Canyon. Unfortunately as the summer went on and Covid numbers remained not so great, Antelope Canyon was canceled. This particular spot is on a Navajo Reservation in Arizona and they elected to keep the park closed to visitors. {Also totally understandable given their access to resources}. So we were left with an extra day and a little more flexibility.

As the dates got closer Ken started looking at the weather and came to the conclusion that we must be crazy for going in August to Vegas in over 100 degree weather. I teased him that it was a dry heat compared to the South where it just sits on you. He didn't agree. When we arrived at 9 am in the morning it was already close to 90 degrees and you could just feel it. It was like breathing into a hot oven. I still found it tolerable because there was a dry breeze that sorta moved the air. {It was still hot nonetheless!} We got to our condo and Ken started to see what we could do to beat the heat so to speak. Since we weren't going to Antelope we had a little flexibility in our travel budget. Some of Vegas has reopened, but entertainment on the strip is limited. Ken found a great spot to cool off, we went to the Flamingo Casinos' Day Pool Club. We rented a bed by the pool and spent they day lounging in the pool. I will say for people complaining in the South about mask policy, no state I have visited thus far has anything on Vegas. Every open space where you could be in crowds, you were required to wear a mask, that went for the pool too! You could only have your mask off at the pools in Vegas if you were waist deep in the water. This was strictly enforced. They security guards walking around telling people to mask up and providing masks if you lost yours or didn't have one.

After the pool, we went home and got ready for dinner. We planned ahead and had reservations at the Mayfair Supper Club at the Bellagio. This was alot of fun. We had front room seats to the fountain show at the front of the casino. We enjoyed a three course meal of salad, steak and desert. While we ate we had live entertainment. There was an incredible band playing "rat-pack" inspired tunes and really made you wonder what Vegas was like back in the day. We didn't stay out late, since we had an early call the next morning.

Sunday's trip was to Bryce Canyon and Zion Park. This was a great trip, Ken and I were two of six people. There was a mother-daughter from Florida {They were precious, more on them later} and best friends from Austin TX. {Loved them!} So our day started out fairly uneventful, everyone was picked up by 6:30 am and we started the drive out to the canyons. Our first stop was to get snack food and breakfast for anyone who needed it. The mother-daughter duo elected to get McD's which proved to be a bad choice for them. Not long after we got back on the road the daughter stated she really had to go and so we were forced to make an unscheduled stop, only for the daughter to find out that the gas station's restrooms were out of order and only porta john's were available, at this the daughter refused to go. { I was beyond annoyed, I looked at Ken and said if Abbie tried to pull a stunt like that I would have a lot of words and she would go to the bathroom}. The mom seemed perfectly okay with this and kept saying it was understandable {no it wasn't}. It wasn't long after that, that the ladies from Austin started to become way more vocal. This was entertaining and hard for me at the same time. Never have I really been around a complete stranger and have them voice my internal thoughts so well. I had to consciously choose not to look back after a while. In what seemed like a very long time we made our first stop to hike. This was a place called Red Rock Canyon and it was just a taste of what was to come. Beautiful rock formations surrounded us and became even more impressive as hiked upward. As we were driving through the canyon we pulled over for these impressive archways that were carved in the rock to make way for the road. It was so cool.

From there we went to Subway for lunch and then on to our next stop, Bryce Canyon. It was gorgeous! There were several walking trails you could take. You could walk down into the canyon and look up at the various rock formations, but the climb back was very steep so we elected to walk the top trail and look out at the canyon. We started at the Sunrise view and walked to the Sunset view. Both points offered their own unique view of the canyon.

From there it was on to the main event, Zion Canyon. On the way there our guide tried to push us to explore the canyon by getting off and stop take pictures drive through of the canyon {Florida was all for this} however the majority of the group paid to hike and that is what we did. I am so glad we insisted because the views were beyond words to describe on the Zion Canyon hike to Angel‘s Peak. The colors of the rocks combined with the sparse greenery of the desert with the afternoon sun was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. It made me fall back in love with the West all over again. I really have no words so enjoy a few of our favorite pictures. {see above}

The next day was our trip to the Grand Canyon. We got up early and we’re out of the city by 8 am. Our first stop was an over look of Lake Mead. We originally had hoped the Hoover Dam would be open but it was closed due to Covid and unfortunately due to where it is situated there is no way to see it unless you are on the lake. After the dam we were back on the road. Next stop Seligman, AZ.

So I have a habit of retaining some of the most bizarre information and it manifested itself at this point in the trip. When our guide told us where we were stopping, somewhere in the back of my brain I recalled that this was the town that inspired the movie Cars. This small little town that would take about 10 minutes to walk and see was once a busy stop along Route 66. We had about 30 minutes to stretch our legs and look around. We took the obligatory photo in front of the Route 66 mural and then saw the smallest Wells Fargo building ever. It was a quaint stop but it was back on the bus to go to the main bill - the south rim of the Grand Canyon.

The drive into the canyon was so pretty! We also got an idea for when we bring the girls next time. There is a train that runs into the park and will take you to the top of the canyon. We also found out that you can rent rooms and cabins that over look the canyon - these book out to a year in advance so plan ahead! Our plan is to buy a round trip ticket for the train to go up one day and back down the next and stay in a room or cabin so we can experience the canyon in the morning, afternoon and evening. When we arrived our guide had us all line up and close our eyes as she lead us to the railing and the taped our reaction to the wonder that would lay in front of us. Again there aren’t adequate words to describe the splendor and vastness of the Grand Canyon! It is simply incredible and left us wanting to see and explore more. Pictures do not do it justice.

We spent about two hours or so at the canyon and then headed back to Vegas. It was quite the eventful trip back. Ken had to do some work on the way back and when he does he goes into his zone and can be easily startled. {this is important to remember for this next part}. I was talking with our guide while her daughter was sleeping in the passenger seat. Then all that follows happens at the same time Ken screams she is going out the window, the passenger window is going down and we have this big thump. Our driver goes I’m so sorry I had no choice and we start coming out of the confusion. When everyone had settled we piece together what had occurred. As we were driving a coyote ran into the road and she had no choice but to hit it, which caused her daughter to fall on the button and roll the window down, which is what Ken was seeing out of the corner of his eye. I have never laughed so hard nor been more impressed with the nerves of steel our driver displayed. We made it back safe and sound to Vegas to catch a late night dinner.

Our last day in Vegas was spent hanging out at the Paris hotel pool with the friends we made from Austin. These were awesome women who worked as surgical nurses and hearing more about them and there lives was truly refreshing. That evening Ken and I had dinner at Carmines. It was amazing Italian food but would be better suited for larger parties as it is a family style restaurant. That is a nice way of saying very large portions designed to be split between three or four people. Nonetheless we enjoyed our meal and our quick getaway to Vegas.

There is so much to see out West, we look forward to going back soon! If you go, I highly recommend Coexist West Coast Tours, which provided excellent service and fun-filled experiences.