Vegas Day 5 and 6
Day 5, Wednesday: Got up around 8-9am, got breakfast and packed a travel bag with fruit taken from the buffet. Made sure the ipod was charged and headed out to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. We got lost a bit and almost went through Zion National Forest and had to back track through Hurricane a couple of times (there was serious construction going on all through vegas and the surrounding areas). We had the road to ourselves most of the time and when we didn’t it wasn’t for very long. On one long stretch of desert highway we stopped on the side of the road to just look at the beauty before us. (we also had to pee with a quickness) While there we took a couple of pictures and just before getting back in the car, I caught a dustdevil on camera. As we drove into Kaibab National Forest it looked like we were in Virginia, with great pine and fir trees on either side of the high, winding road. We also noticed the outside temp getting lower and lower, something we weren’t exactly prepared for, but loved. When it hit 55 degrees Russell pointed off to the distance and asked, ”Is that snow?” Since I was going about 60 miles an hour, I had to slow down a bit. “No, that looks like granite, it can’t be snow.” But sure enough, when I slowed down enough it was snow, banked up on either side of the road. Once we got to a long enough stretch with a shoulder we stopped and ran through the muddy meadow to get to the tree line. Snowballs were made and thrown at each other and we giggled as we stepped into the familiar crunch of lightly packed snow. It was wondrous. And cold. I wanted to make a snowman, but my fingers were almost numb, me wearing a tank top and Capri sweatpants. We finished our drive up to the North Rim of the Canyon and wow. That is all I can really say. WOW! We climbed on rocks to get a higher and better view and it was scary fun. The wind would gust and you knew you were going right over the edge. It was breathtaking and awe inspiring. We spent a couple of hours just taking it all in and then headed back down the mountain. We stopped to get gas and eat at the Kaibab National Forest lodge and restaurant, where the waiter told us they just opened the road to the North Rim within the past 2 weeks. So that is why we still had snow packed up to the windows in the restaurant. It was a long drive back to the hotel, but driving in the desert and mountains in the dark is quite an adventure unto itself. At one point we stopped just on the side of the highway (a bit busier one) so we could just look at the stars.
Day 6, Thursday: By this time we are exhausted from everything and the bed has beat us up bad. We pack up all of our things and check out then eat breakfast one last time at the buffet. Our flight wasn’t scheduled to leave until almost 11pm, so we went to the Atomic Testing Museum (which was very informative on how destructive human beings are). After the museum it was still only around 1-2pm so we went to the airport to see if we could get an earlier flight home. We were informed that since we were flying as part of a package deal (Travelocity) we were not allowed to change our tickets. Suck. So we decided to see what we could do on the strip to waste several hours. We went to the Ventian hotel (which stunk like old lady perfume, throughout the entire place), walked from there to Madam Tussuads wax museum to hang all over the stars. That took all of 2 hours, so we walked a bit further down the strip to have lunch/dinner at Outback steakhouse. We were only able to waste an hour there, so we went to the big souvenir shop next to the movie theater. Bought souvenirs for family, a cervical pillow for the airplane and then went to the movies to see Ironman 2. I actually think that was the highlight of the last day. We were tired, felt pink from our couple of hours in the sun and just wanted to get home. So Ironman was just what we needed to relax and waste time until our flight.
Home: We arrived to Miami International around 6am. Got our bags, went to the bathroom, got to the parking garage and promptly lost our vehicle. Neither of us could remember where we parked except that it wasn’t far up or too far in since the garage was almost empty when we arrived. So I got to sit with our bags while Russell scoured the place 2-3 times. Finally he found it after what seemed like an hour. We get everything packed inside, get ready to pull out and as we are winding our way through the garage, we feel it. Get out and look and yup, we have a flat tire. Put on the spare, get to a gas station, fill both tires with air and put the original back on. This only took about an hour and a half. Did I mention that we both slept like shit for the past 2 nights and were fighting to keep our eyes open as it was? Yeah, the drive home from Miami was also tiring, as before Cypress Creek blvd, the 3 right lanes were closed down and went down to one lane for a mile…morning traffic sucks. When we finally made it home we took a shower, watched some SNL and promptly fell asleep until around 6pm. Woke up for a few hours and then right back to bed. Still don’t feel completely rested, but I feel almost human again.
Day 6, Thursday: By this time we are exhausted from everything and the bed has beat us up bad. We pack up all of our things and check out then eat breakfast one last time at the buffet. Our flight wasn’t scheduled to leave until almost 11pm, so we went to the Atomic Testing Museum (which was very informative on how destructive human beings are). After the museum it was still only around 1-2pm so we went to the airport to see if we could get an earlier flight home. We were informed that since we were flying as part of a package deal (Travelocity) we were not allowed to change our tickets. Suck. So we decided to see what we could do on the strip to waste several hours. We went to the Ventian hotel (which stunk like old lady perfume, throughout the entire place), walked from there to Madam Tussuads wax museum to hang all over the stars. That took all of 2 hours, so we walked a bit further down the strip to have lunch/dinner at Outback steakhouse. We were only able to waste an hour there, so we went to the big souvenir shop next to the movie theater. Bought souvenirs for family, a cervical pillow for the airplane and then went to the movies to see Ironman 2. I actually think that was the highlight of the last day. We were tired, felt pink from our couple of hours in the sun and just wanted to get home. So Ironman was just what we needed to relax and waste time until our flight.
Home: We arrived to Miami International around 6am. Got our bags, went to the bathroom, got to the parking garage and promptly lost our vehicle. Neither of us could remember where we parked except that it wasn’t far up or too far in since the garage was almost empty when we arrived. So I got to sit with our bags while Russell scoured the place 2-3 times. Finally he found it after what seemed like an hour. We get everything packed inside, get ready to pull out and as we are winding our way through the garage, we feel it. Get out and look and yup, we have a flat tire. Put on the spare, get to a gas station, fill both tires with air and put the original back on. This only took about an hour and a half. Did I mention that we both slept like shit for the past 2 nights and were fighting to keep our eyes open as it was? Yeah, the drive home from Miami was also tiring, as before Cypress Creek blvd, the 3 right lanes were closed down and went down to one lane for a mile…morning traffic sucks. When we finally made it home we took a shower, watched some SNL and promptly fell asleep until around 6pm. Woke up for a few hours and then right back to bed. Still don’t feel completely rested, but I feel almost human again.