Road Trip - Day 4 - Viva Las Vegas…?
7:00am
A gust of wind angrily barrels through our tent, making it quiver. This is followed by another, and another, and another. This continues for nearly three hours. I sit up, having got a much better rest than the night before. The temperature is good, no rain falls, but the wind is relentless. Twice I must reach up and push the tent support back into position.
10:00am
One by one, we all awake but are rested. After a civilizing coffee, tea, and Pop-tarts, we begin our major three mile hike. Major is of course a relative term, but I feel it is a good hike. Climbs almost 400 feet and explores the southern end of the canyon. Before turning back, a rocky outcropping provides views of the canyon town of Springdale nestled in a valley. After returning to the visitor center, we board the bus and get off at the farthest stop, the Temple of Sinawava. The canyon begins narrow here, and we walk around a riverside trail that takes us deeper into the narrows. The trail is crowded, but the shade and the soothing sounds of the river are appreciated.
2:00pm
Following a rendezvous with a post office and lunch, we make our way to Las Vegas. I’m at the helm. Near the Arizona border, the road slips into a rugged canyon and sharply winds and weaves its way through, dropping in elevation the entire time. The fact that the speed limit remains 65 mph makes a white knuckled ride. A final turns spills us out of the canyon and the landscape difference is startling – truly flat, for miles and miles. My hands were heavy on the wheel – winds continue to buffet the van.
5:30pm
We roll into Las Vegas. I hate driving here. We take two wrong turns and pay for it with half an hour in traffic. We finally park the car and Naman and I go to check in. Naman booked us two nights at the Excalibur hotel, right on the strip. The deal he found gave us dining credit and matching money for gambling. After taking much needed showers, we headed down the Strip to see the Bellagio fountains. The winds of the morning followed us here, sending dust and dirt into our eyes. All around us people winced and rubbed their eyes. The high winds canceled the Bellagio fountains. We pushed onward, thoughts set on a Bloomin’ Onion at an Outback restaurant Naman spotted earlier. We bypass a 30 minute wait by catching a table at the bar that just opened seconds before. ‘Dinner’ consisted of drinks, a Bloomin’ Onion, cheesecake, and an ice cream sundae. We didn’t do much else, tired from the day’s activities.
The G-Love Said,
June 8, 2007 @ 8:50 am
Dude, I swear, this thing reads like something from a log of the Oregon Trail. Hunting buffalo yet? Remember, you can only carry 200lbs of meat back to your wagon. Unfortunately, you don’t eat meat, so I guess that really doesn’t matter. Can you puhleez make some reference to “meager rations” or “fording the river” (though I was always more of a fan of caulking the wagon and floating it across)? Glad to hear the trip is going well, talk to you soon.
Win Said,
June 8, 2007 @ 12:24 pm
When are we going to get some pictures?
Kelly Said,
June 10, 2007 @ 9:55 pm
Hey Saket!
Greg introduced me to Google Reader, and I am now a subscriber. I hope you are having a blast out west! Steal some rocks for me…haha.
Saket Said,
June 12, 2007 @ 10:56 pm
Man I am so behind! I’m about three days behind in writing the daily accounts, but I’ll get the rest up tonight. Just got back from Yosemite.
I’ll also get some photo albums uploaded. I thought I’d have easy internet here in San Jose but the wireless router has encryption and no one knows the key….