Saturday, June 27
Wow! The Donny and Marie show was spectacular. Such energy. These now 50 year old performers can put on a show. We had great seats. As Linda said, we were so close you could see individual beads of sweat drip from Donny's forehead. They were funny and obviously enjoy working together. GREAT entertainers.
The Flamingo Hotel is really nice as well. A 15-acre area with palm trees and four pools. Pink flamingos are in the pool area (an island with three waterfalls) and all kinds of other critters.
We drove across Hoover Dam driving to Vegas. The weather from the Grand Canyon was good - light traffic until we reached the dam and Vegas.
I phoned Paul and April (my first cousin once removed) to let them know we had arrived in Vegas. Tomorrow, we'll go with them to the Hoover Dam, then to their house for dinner (ahhhh, a home cooked meal!), then down to the strip to see the lights and sounds of Las Vegas at night.
GREAT SHOW!
Sunday, June 28
111! 117! 108 in the shade! NEVER will I complain about the heat in Virginia, even when it reaches 100! I've heard so often that the dry heat in AZ, NV, etc. is not as bad as in Virginia (due to the lower humidity). BUT, I have to disagree. It has been HOT! Oh my goodness. 108 in the shade is HOT.
Today was very nice. This morning Linda took the monorail around Vegas while I walked over to
Caesar's Palace and walked around. Getting into Caesar's Palace was easy; finding an exit out was not. Paul said they planned it that way. The exits are set back so you can hardly seem them from most angles. Guess they want you to play the slots or spend money in the seemingly hundreds of shops. I thought I'd never find an exit. In fact I asked a sales clerk; she in turn asked another.
We met back at the Flamingo at noon and had a quick dinner at Margaritaville's. Paul and April picked us up a little after 1:00 and we headed out to Hoover Dam. It took just a little under an hour, until 4 miles from the Dam, then it took another hour to drive those last four miles. There is security for all cars crossing the dam sine 9-11.
Paul, April and Linda took the tour into the dam to see the generators. I chose to walk around the observation tower and the information center as well as the gift shop. The dam was amazing. I'm not particulary fond of elevators and the thought of taking an elevator down inside the dam wasn't appealing. I didn't mind hanging out on the top side though. I got a slushy after walking around it tasted mighty good.
Paul's truck was parked iin the garage and when we got in it the temperature read 108 (in the shade!!)
Paul stopped at an overlook for Lake Mead on the way out; it was amazing how low the water level is. If the water level continues to fall the situation is going to be dire. Even though Vegas uses a small percentage of water from Lake Mead, much of it is piped to California. Too bad they can't take some from Glen Canyon's Lake Powell, as their water level is rising.
We had dinner at Paul and April's then took a drive down "The Strip," starting where it begins on the north, all the way to where it ends on the south. We drove by the Pallagio at the right time -- the water show as going on; quite a site ... Just like Vegas, Quiet a sight!
A very enjoyable day.
Monday, June 29
Leaving Las Vegas. We got on the road at a decent hour. The trip should have been about 3 1/2 hours but it took about an hour longer as we stopped frequently in Zion National Park and as we drove to Bryce Canyon. The scenery was breathtaking.
The Grand Canyon was beautiful but Zion and Bryce are equally as beautiful, perhaps even more so in a different way. Zion was lots of red rocks and beautiful shapes, with lots of places to pull over and see. Bryce is different with "hoodoos" (rock formations that have formed "windows" but later the tops fall leaving tall columns.
We are staying at the Bryce Canyon Lodge, no air conditioning -- BUT -- unlike Vegas we are almost 900 feet up in altitude and the air is much cooler AND thinner. cough cough. We wlaked to Sunrise Point and Sunset Point today. Along the walk I read that 200 days of the year Bryce Canyon's temperature is below freezing. Don't think it was near that tonight but a far cry from the high temperatures in Vegas.
Paths meander through tall ponderosa pines. On the way back to the lodge from the rim tonight we were taking one of the paths and probably 8 to 9 feet from us a deer was grazing. I purposely coughed; he looked up and I think I got a pretty good picture.
Tomorrow is Salt Lake City and the afternoon and dinner with a former Planning student, Bartly. He's taking us on a tour of a new Mormon temple that has not opened yet, so it'll be a rare occasion. We'll actually get to see inside a Mormom temple.
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