We spent the first hour of the morning touring some additional areas of Bryce Canyon which we had decided needed more time and energy than we had yesterday afternoon. Once again we were rewarded by the expanse of cliffs, pinnacles, columns, walls, and hoodoos, and the spectrum of colors that never failed to engage our senses. In addition, we finally saw some wildlife! Despite our many days of visiting parks and traveling in the country where road signs kept warning us that we should watch for cattle or elk or deer or antelope, all we had seen were bicyclists! So this morning's TWO viewings of pronghorn antelope - a pair each time - was great fun, great excitement. The first sighting was in a large meadow on the way from one viewpoint to another. The second sighting was in a wooded area on the way to our last viewpoint. The antelope are so beautiful and so calm. Of course the fact that our hybrid car is very quiet when it is running on battery as it does when we slow down to watch antelope helps keep the antelope in viewing distance.
We left Bryce Canyon National Park and made our way back through the Dixie National Forest and the Red Canyon. This time we stopped in the Red Canyon for photo opportunities. Lots of hikers were in the area, so I guess it is well-liked by nature lovers. We made our way back down US 89 through lush valleys of irrigated land - bright green with the promise of bounteous harvests later in the summer. We traveled to Utah Route 9 and began our trip on this officially designated scenic drive and the route from the east to enter Zion National Park.
As usual, we could not imagine that Zion NP could possibly compete with Bryce Canyon NP with which we had fallen madly in love and to which we had committed to ourselves a return visit. As usual when it comes to National Parks, we were wrong. The two parks really cannot be compared. Each is unique from the other. When you arrive at Zion's first stop at the Checkerboard Mesa, you cannot believe what you are seeing. Checkerboard Mesa is essentially a huge grayish mountain of rock that is striped both vertically and horizontally by lines in the rock caused by erosion and by settling of layers of sediment. The visual effect is that of a checkerboard - hence the name. But this is just the beginning of Zion.
Next dark red, rust, scarlet, wine, black mountains of rock arise quickly and envelope you into their beings before you can take a breath. Around and around the mountains you go on curves that make the GPS spin. You drive along the Zion-Mt. Carmel Highway and marvel at its creation and then you arrive at THE tunnel - it's that dotted line on the map that you didn't actually realize was a tunnel because it was so long. In fact, it is 1.1 miles in length, includes four scenic overlooks - aka windows out of which you can see the most spectacular scenery but you can't stop in the middle of the tunnel to look let alone to take the photos that you really want to take! And at the end of the tunnel is a series of quadruple - or more - hairpin turns that take you up and around and down and around some more. Here, blessedly, there are pull offs for photos. Otherwise all the drivers would rebel and cause a major highway backup for miles and miles and miles. Not good. There already are way more tourists here than at Bryce Canyon (definitely scores extra points for Bryce Canyon).
Down this mountain ride, in addition to the scenic beauty of the rocks and the mountains they create, there are flowers - yellow mostly but also white and purple and a few fuchsia-colored cactus flowers - no photos possible, of course!
We reach the Visitor Center and fortunately find a one-hour parking spot. All traffic into the rest of the park is now limited to the shuttle bus system. Only during the winter months can you drive through the entire park. Too much pollution and congestion in the spring, summer, and fall to provide that luxury to tourists. So we spend a little time at the Visitor Center and then leave the Park. It's still a four-hour drive back to Las Vegas, so we have to get into serious driving since it is mid-afternoon. And of course we promise each other that we will return to explore the rest of the park another time.
But first ... lunch. We stop at Blondie's in Springdale (a busy and well-developed tourist town) for lunch. Just as our food arrives, so does a newborn baby buffalo at the Elk Ranch next to Blondie's. We wolf down our sandwiches and head over to the Ranch and see for the first time in either of our lives a 30-minute old baby buffalo! S/he (don't know which at this point) is up on all four legs but very wobbly. There are two mothers (or so it appears) present (there also is a one-week old buffalo calf present who seems to be wondering what all the fuss is about and what this new creature is all about and what's happened to all the attention it got before this new kid showed up) and both are cleaning up the birthing matter, but the baby only wants to nurse. This makes it obvious which mother is the right mother! And finally the right mother seems to start cooperating. Photographs record the scene for our history and we also get photos of several full size elk on the premises. Quite a lunch hour, don't you think?!!!
On the road again through the southwest corner of Utah and into the gorgeous Virgin River Gorge as we cross the northwest corner of Arizona. Such a treat to get us through the not so interesting flat dusty, dirty plain of Nevada leading us back to Las Vegas.
Back at the hotel things are in order and after a short break and a bit of bourbon we are ready to hit the Strip! We're staying at the Hilton Grand Vacation Resort at the Flamingo, so we start our wanderings through the Flamingo Garden, complete with rare birds and other fowl, rare fish, and rare tropical flora of all kinds. It really is an oasis in the midst of the madness of Las Vegas. From there we cross the street - no easy task - there are escalators and stairs, and bridges above the streets and literally thousands of other people trying to do the same thing at the same time.
Anyway, we make it across the street to Caesar's Palace and start our journey back to Rome. It's a great place - always one of my favorites from past trips to Las Vegas. We're starving, so we stop at the restaurant of one of those chefs made famous by television (but not so famous that we can remember his name while we are blogging) but there is a two-hour wait so we stop next door at Nero's and get in without a wait. When we look at the menu, we understand why there was no wait. High prices but we are desperate so we stay and the reward is two very delicious dinners - prime rib and short ribs and excellent salads and wine. What can I say? It's Vegas!
After dinner we make our way down the Appian Way to the Shops at the Forum. Now this is why I love Caesar's Palace. Not the shopping but the shopping setting. It's an outdoor street in Rome and the skies are blue with clouds and lighting that makes you think you really are outdoors at the Forum in Rome. Of course, you are indoors and there are no windows or outside light of any kind. After all, this is a shopping area inside a casino where there is no day or night, no windows, no clocks, no reality, only gambling. Anyway, the Forum is great fun and we had a good time wandering around and checking it all out.
Next came Bellagio. What a beautiful place! Steve Wynn, its creator but no longer its owner - he's moved on to Wynn and Encore - is a brilliant developer and marketer. We wandered through trying to find the art gallery - never did - but we did find lots more opportunities to gamble and lots more opportunities to shop - neither of which we did. Finally we see the doors to the outside - seriously, they want to keep you inside - and out we go just as one of the fountain performances begins. The fountains at Bellagio perform every fifteen minutes in the evening. What a presentation! The music was Frank Sinatra singing "Fly Me To the Moon" and the choreography was superb. Water spurted from dozens (maybe hundreds) of fountains rhythmically in differing heights and widths, in circles and in lines, in waves and in columns. It's difficult to describe but there it is. For the next performance we moved to a different location to listen to Frank again and to watch the fountains again. We were not disappointed - a perfect repeat of a stunning performance. We decided that was enough but by the time we had walked through the crowd and part way along the street on the way back to our hotel, it was nearly 10PM and time for the next performance. So we stayed to listen to Frank again and lo and behold the performance changed to a classical ode to spring type song (I should know it but I've never been good at connecting music to its name, composer, or type - one of my biggest embarrassments of my education at Ohio Wesleyan University was getting a "B" in music appreciation. After all those years of piano, cello, and saxophone lessons, orchestra and jazz/dance band playing. and chorus and choir singing - a total embarrassment!). I digress... Anyway, this 10PM show was another extraordinary performance. What can I say? We loved it. And then we called it a night - after all it was after 10PM!
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