During the past week we have spent a lot of time returning to some of our favourite places and they have not disappointed. While we had a great time in Phoenix, which wrapped up with a 'discreet' tailgate party (to appease Security) and a Lady Antebellum outdoor concert, it was time to move on. We are rolling stones after all. Our next stop was in Las Vegas for a couple of days where we met up with Cottonwood friends, Mike and Barb, for some golf and dinners. One of those meals was at the always entertaining Casa di Amore where we used their courtesy limo service to get all six of us (including Brent and Barb for a second encore appearance) to and from our places south of the Strip. Our waiter (Brad) humoured us all night, not that we needed any encouragement on half-price wine night. It turned out to be our first trip to Las Vegas where we never made it to the Strip or downtown but we still had no trouble finding good food, drinks, gambling and entertaining ourselves.
We then spent two days in Valley of Fire State Park, arguably the most beautiful place in Nevada if you are not fond of neon lights. It is only one hour north-east of Las Vegas and it is a shame that most L.V. visitors never get a chance to see the gorgeous red rock sandstone formations in the area. Our campground (Atlatl Rock), where we stayed on a previous visit, was surrounded by spectacular 360 degree views. While there we also hiked out to the Fire Wave with it's wonderful white and red rock wavy lines. Our northerly route (in and out) was via the scenic Lake Mead Parkway which is also recommended unless you need to hurry and take the I-15.
We are now in Utah and spending two days in one of our all-time favourite places, Zion National Park. Last night we had dinner at Oscar's, a must-do while in Springdale, and the normal 15 minute table wait to which we have become accustomed , was well worth it. Today we hiked the Hidden Canyon trail which is another great hike within the NP. While it is shorter than the superb Angel's Landing and equally strenuous Observation Point trails, it still provided steep switchback paths and cliff ledges with chains to hold on to. The view at the top was incredible and a perfect place to stop for lunch which we did on our return. From that point we headed into the Hidden Canyon which is long and very narrow. We were planning on hiking in to the rock arch but somehow we missed it on the way in which resulted in a handful more of short, steep rock scrambles where you had to be very careful. The rocks finally won out and we retreated only to discover other hikers having their picture taken beside the arch half way back along the trail. It was a good workout and a fun hike.
Tomorrow we are leaving Zion and heading into new territory along the southern border of Utah where it meets Arizona.
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| Prepped and ready for the Lady Antebellum outdoor concert. We had good seats in the large amphitheatre. |
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| The drive through Valley of Fire State Park |
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| Part of the Fire Wave which is not an "official" trail for some strange reason even though a similar picture adorns their park map |
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| A view of Angel's Landing (foreground, left, the very top) which we hiked on our first trip to Zion |
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| When our advance scout mentioned 'more of the same', I got the 'look' and made the wise decision that it was time to turn around :-) |
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| We somehow missed this arch on our way along the narrow canyon which wasn't more than 5 metres wide at any point. |
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| A great view for our lunch stop on the way back to the main road at the bottom. |
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