Satellite
  • Day 25

    Zion National Park, Las Vegas NV

    July 9, 1992 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    I felt much better in the morning. Pete did some washing and we were away early. Back to the donut shop for breakfast. Headed off for Zion National Park. Not a very long drive. Very rocky again with steep sided cliffs and arches. Just before the very long tunnel we had to drive through we went for a short walk to the Canyon Overlook, about a mile round trip. Quite a pretty one through bushes and overhangs and beside a steep canyon.

    After a drink we drove on through the tunnel and down along the Virgin River but with many miles to go today, didn't stop much. We drove to the end - the temple of Sinawava and thought how nice it would be to go on the walk if we had more time.

    Drove back to the visitor centre. Looked at the books in the shop and the museum. Bought a few things, munched on a donut and then headed off out of Zion through the south entrance. Met some roadwork which held us up for some time, then began to fly south along the I-15.

    We arrived in Las Vegas with plenty of daylight left and surprisingly found our way to the Quality Inn without much trouble, as Flamingo Road was marked on the small Vegas map we had. We stopped to check in and Pete had a fax from Edna McKelvy waiting for him. The receptionist was quite different from any others. She was frowning all the time and everything seemed to be a bother to her. A characteristic of the fact that we were back in the city. We found all the country people very friendly, quick with a smile and chatty. Our rooms were comfortable but not as clean as previous accommodation, and Pete got some gum on his jeans when he sat on the bed. However, it was quite adequate. It was on the first floor - the Americans call it the second.

    The boys were dying to have a dip, so quickly changed. Nicole wasn't feeling too well, so she had a lie down and watched TV. I went down and watched the boys for a while before taking the plunge myself. We required our key to get in and out of the pool. Pete joined us after a while. He had been trying to book accommodation in Lone Pine without success, so booked rooms in Bishop instead. That meant quite a long drive tomorrow (260 miles).

    Back at the room, Nicole was feeling better after a glass of alka seltzer and we freshened up to hit the town of Vegas. Deciding against the shuttle bus which came every hour, we drove down to The Strip - Las Vegas Boulevard. At this time of day, not all the lights were on, but there was still a lot of dazzle. We turned into the Strip at the Oasis and were going past gigantic resorts and casinos. There were lots of people around.

    We pulled into Denny's carpark and walked back to Harrah's which was boasting a buffet dinner. We had to walk past many slot machines and gaming tables - people playing a wide variety of games, from poker to roulette and so on. The place was full of frenzied activity and very crowded. There was a very long queue for the buffet so we walked back to Denny's and ate. From there we could see across the road to the Mirage which was fronted by a huge fountain and every 15 minutes fire and colour spurted from it in a huge display.

    By now all the lights were ablaze and we started walking to see what we could see. We passed a number of souvenir shops but the stuff didn't appeal to us. The lights were indeed dazzling, flashing and blazing. After walking a way we decided that it would be best explored by car as we were getting tired, so we picked the car and cruised. There were far more than we realised, including the classic ones on television.

    It was quite late now and we headed back. An accident with an upturned car must have occurred minutes after we had passed. It was straight to bed when we got back to the hotel.
    Read more