Las Vegas to Zion

The seed was planted about 18 months ago. My daughter was in her sophomore year in high school and I asked where she would like to take her graduation gift. You see, I’ve always felt (as my kids are blessed by successful parents) that instead of getting things as gifts for major milestones, that time together making memories was of greater value. My oldest son chose Hollywood, LA and Disneyland as his graduation gift and now it was my daughters turn. She is an avid hiker and outdoor lover. She lives with her father in northern Michigan and she decided on an active outdoorsy trip. The Grand Canyon national park. She let me take the reins and do 100% of the planning with the only guidance being that I wear her out doing everything possible in our 5 short days. I hate to ruin the ending, but I was successful and even at 18 she was ready to head home and nap. Fourteen months in advance I entered the lottery for the Phantom Ranch mule rides with an overnight stay in the bottom of the canyon. We lucked out and got 2 of 10 spots available for the day we requested. From there I planned the rest of our trip including purchasing an America the Beautiful pass for $80. Each park is $35 to enter and it’s good for the week. The pass is good for the year and we’d previously used it at Sleeping Bear Dunes national park in Michigan so we had gotten our money out of it and it’s still good for another 9 months.

We flew into Las Vegas within 15 minutes of each other and picked up our rental car. We were famished so we opted to find a quick bite. We found El Tacos el Gordo on the north end of the strip. Now I’d read reviews and I knew it was a good bet for great tacos. We each tried a Taxo Azteca and a Sope both with beef and I ordered fountain drinks. Taco azteca had a marinated cactus on top and was tasty but the winner was the beef Sope. I think homemade tortilla underneath and a crispy thin one on top with beef, pico, & guac inside. The drinks? I expected soda, but was pleasantly surprised to find Horchata water and Hibiscus tea as options. If you’ve never heard of Horchata water it’s the consistency of milky water with the flavor of rice pudding. A special treat indeed.

After filling our bellies and stopping at a local drug store to buy gallon jugs of water we were on our way to Zion national park. It was a 3 hour drive consisting of oohs and ahhs as we took in the desert landscape. We made a stop at the Virgin trading post where, a now, family joke remains my question about “How do you trade virgins?”. We took pictures of prickly pear cacti and mountains and explored the gift shop. It was a nice reprieve from the car. A brief stop was made in St. George, UT at the visitors center where we were given great directions by an employee and took photos with a colorful bison outside. It was nice to stretch our legs. Not much further along we made it to Hurricane, UT. The terrain was still interesting but not overly impressive. Once we entered Springdale, UT that all changed. We had a our room booked months before and the friendly staff made quick our check in and after unloading our bags and a speedy change we were off to the park. Springdale has a free city shuttle to Zion’s entrance. It took all of 10 minutes and we were there. The start of our real vacation. It was about 7pm and were slightly confused where to go as the ticket station was closed and crowds had clearly dispersed. We found the gift shop and purchased collector pins and a national park coin. Finding the shuttle to be completely empty felt like good luck. The sun was still up and the weather was a beautiful 81 degrees. The shuttle to the Narrows hike takes about 30 minutes since it’s the very last stop. I wish we’d have had more time. Weeping rock, riverwalk, watchman trail, pa’rus trail…. all of them had to be skipped. I suppose this leaves something for another trip. We hopped off the bus and I took a trip to the ladies room (you never know) and away we went down a paved trail for the next mile. It took us almost an hour to get through that mile. We must’ve stopped 2 dozen times along the way to take pictures. Weeping rocks, gushing rivers, tall trees and massive cliffs of solid stone were irresistible! Finally, at the end of the paved trail is only the river. We saw a few hikers return drenched from waist high water and given the time of the last shuttle was 9:15pm we opted to take pictures at the beginning of the watery trail. We listened to the water bubble by and looked at the rocks. Our new North Face hiking boots with gor-tex did the job as advertised and I was never so happy to have bought just the right product for the job. Now, sadly it was time to leave. Not wishing to miss the bus and not really knowing how long it might take us to get back, we walked with a hustle and 14 min later we saw the shuttle just pulling up. By the time we made it to the end it was dark. It happened so quickly I barely realized the sun had set and it was dark enough to need our headlamps to get back through the parking lot. We found the city shuttle and hopped on stopping a few stops early in the hunt for food. At this time it was 9:45pm and most restaurants close at 10. We followed our noses to Moki. Mostly burgers but other things on the menu as well with a cute little outdoor patio. We were seated outside and large glasses of water were brought by a friendly waiter. We opted to split a bison burger and an order of pasta pomodoro. We felt awful coming so late, but the staff made us feel more than welcome to sit down and have an unrushed meal. They even offered dessert at the end. We had to say no. We were stuffed from the meals. The pasta was fresh, with real grape tomatoes and just the right amount of garlic. The fettuccine noodles tasted freshly made and cooked perfectly al dente. The burger?! Medium and juicy and the best ever. Even the fries were perfectly done. Full and weary we headed to the La Quinta Inn and Suites for a shower and short sleep.

When we woke in the morning it was too early for breakfast so I took advantage of the time to take photos around town. It was about 70 degrees with a slight breeze, quiet and beautiful. I wish I could’ve made time stop. It didn’t and we had breakfast, loaded the car after a brief, but terrifying game of where did I put the keys last night! Spoiler alert- I put them in the side of my back pack and checked every square inch of our suitcases, backpack and hotel room with the exception of that one pocket. A clear indication the coffee hadn’t kicked in just yet.

Zion to Kanab, UT

The best and most scenic route to Page, Az is the Zion-Mt. Carmel scenic hughway and it does not disappoint. I planned most of my trip basing how much time we would have to go from point to point via internet directions. I allowed for some extra time given it was summer in a popular tourist destination and I still underestimate how much time this particular drive would take to complete. It was traffic, there were hardly any cars at 8am on a weekday even in summer. It was all the hiking and photo stops. We started our drive wearing sandals and ended it in hiking boots. Every few miles we wanted to get out and take photos. We stopped not a could miles down the road for photos of the various stoney crags. Canyon overlook trail right after the tunnel carved into the mountainside in 1925 was a spectacular hike even if we only did a very small, steep portion. Moving on, we stopped again at Checkerboard Mesa and again, and again. When the highway ended we started to feel a bit hungry and there on the corner was Thunderbird cafe. You can’t miss the giant Americana sign advertising Ho-Made pies. In fact, how can you resist? Sure, 9:40 in the morning seemed about right for pie. I chose a warm Thunderberry pie and my daughter went for the chocolate cream pie. We could’ve split the pies. They were huge! The best part about this cafe is the nostalgia everywhere. Look around. It not just the sign, which story goes, is because in the time those large metal signs were made the extra letters wouldn’t fit the design and when jargon changed the owners embraced it, it’s in the displays. From old cameras ( I had some of those) to old posters and appliances. Looking at history while eating pie and drinking coffee with my child has to be one of the best ways to pass the time. Our next stop on the itinerary was the Coral Pink Sand Dunes state park. We arrived a little later than planned but it wasn’t crowded and it did have a nice parking lot and public bathrooms. We left our sandals under the shade of the observation deck and made our way across pristine dark pink sand to the first massive dune. We didn’t have enough time to do much so we took a shot at running down the dune then made the trek back to the top to wash off our feet and move on. If you plan to stay longer you can rent sleds or snowboards or even check out the ATV/UTV rentals and tours located right on site. I’m not gonna lie the Dune Rides sounded like so much fun. I can imagine this park aglow at sunset. A lovely woman at the bottom offered to take our photo with her phone and send it to us given our accompishment of going up the dune and I’m ever so thankful for the kindness of strangers. We did, however, have to keep pressing on. Lunch stop was Kanab, UT at the Rocking V Cafe. It must’ve just opened because we saw the owners taking a photo of the days special and were seated immediately. Inside is all southwest cute. From the artwork on display to the colorful adobe painted walls. Our servers were friendly and efficient even as the place started filling up. The menu is a fun read. What?! Yep, take time to peruse the menu even after you have ordered. Maybe it’ll help you work up an appetite. All I know is we split the chicken bacon wrap and were too full to finish the side let alone order dessert although they looked devilishly appetizing. Kanab is a quaint little town with an old west feel. The main street is fun to stroll along and window shop.

Kanab to Page, AZ

Feeling ridiculously full and in disbelief it was from sharing a meal we split we didn’t have long before we got to Lower Antelope canyon for our tour. After doing some research I decided that the lower canyons, while not better for sunbeams, required more climbing and a slightly harder hike and would in all likelihood be less crowded. I was right, but it was not for lack of willing participants. Keep an eye on your time here. We were lucky enough to get an extra hour in our day because the Indian reservation’s time change was an hour behind Utah. Ken’s lower antelope canyon tours, which I had book about 6 months in advance, put us into groups of 10 for our 1:30 tour and each group was given a guide. There are only two tour companies for lower antelope canyon and 5 for upper. If you can manage a steeper climb go with lower. It’s every bit as breathtaking as you’ve no doubt seen in image searches. Our guide was Brian, he was a delight. He didn’t just hold back the other groups while we took what seemed like a very big chunk of time, he didn’t just tell us about the canyon, he pointed out the perfect pictures and willingly acted like our own personal photographer. I didn’t purchase the photographer or upgraded tour and yet I never felt crowded or rushed and the tour takes longer than I anticipated. We finished up at 2:45pm with one last gem-a petrified dinosaur footprint. The images I captured on this tour are some of the most beautiful of the trip and my daughter alone counted 100 she had taken. Looking around at the top you’ll see a huge parking lot and gift shop and an everyday desert scene which doesn’t give away the beauty beneath. Again, everyone even inside the gift shop was friendly. I live in the south and I can’t say I’ve seen so many friendly faces everywhere we went. If Antelope Canyon seems out of the way from your planned trips, I’d still suggest finding a way to get here. While every place is different and amazing this topped the list. A short 5 min drive away is Horseshoe Bend. I wouldn’t have driven to Page simply for this national park but the 3/4 mile hike is steep but not overly difficult and there are port-a-potties and a paved lot at the top. The view is stunning as has been par for the course on our trip. It was a nice side trip. All in an hour of our time was spent hiking and picture taking. If it’s summer wear a hat, wear sunscreen and take water with you. This felt the most crowded of all the spots we had visited thus far. 3:30pm and it was time to move on.

Page to Grand Canyon

Three plus hours later we were arriving in the Grand Canyon national park with our first view of the canyon and watchman tower. Everyone says it, but pictures don’t do it justice. It’s massive. It’s so massive you cannot even see the bottom from the rim. More on that later. We went to the transportation desk at the Bright Angel lodge and checked in for our mule ride. They will weigh you. You must be under 200 pounds, must have a wide brimmed hat with string, and closed toes shoes. You will be given a canteen with instructions and a small bag for everything you with to bring with you. You will also be given a rain slicker. That’s their version of a head count. At the end you keep the canteen and bag and return the slicker. We walked to the stone corral to ensure we would be able to find it at 5:45am not realizing it would be plenty light by then. First light is around 5am in August. We stayed to look around the gift shop and watch sunset. By 7:45 it still wasn’t dark and we were starving. We had yet to check into our hotel in Grand Canyon village. 15 min later we were checking into the Holiday Inn in the village and had a beautiful room with the best water pressure I’ve ever seen in a shower. They had an indoor pool and were on the main strip. We had had enough of driving so we walked to Plaza Bonita and shared a plate of nachos and fried ice cream. We got back to our room and showered with a 4am wake up call. The hotel staff were so wonderful to drop off breakfast for us the night before since we had to leave so early. At 5:45am we were standing at the stone corral watching the mules arrive and chatting with the other riders. One grandma and her adult grandson and another family of 6. Maggie and Chelsea were our wranglers and they did a divine job. Don, the assistant manager, gave us our safety and riding instructions. With each minute I was getting more and more nervous. These mules looked as big as any horse I’d ever seen and the trail we were to ride on seemed much too small for these massive animals. I’m here and I’m writing this so all obviously turned out well, but it took a solid mile before I began to relax and even then it was tenuous. We mounted up and began our steep 5 hour, 10 mile trip to the bottom. We stopped for lunch at Indian garden. This is a lush tropical, watery area with loads of shade, water and bathrooms. We found out mules only need water every 2-3 days so they didn’t drink while we stopped. We were given a massive lunch. Too much to eat, but a large turkey sandwich, apple, chips, cookie, carrots and trail mix along with a vitamin water. The wranglers reminded up to drink, drink, drink and it was after this stop they soaked our clothes in water. Everyone was apprehensive at first but once we got moving it felt like air conditioning. The trail only got hotter in the blazing August sun with lava rock reflecting back the days heat as well as the loss of elevation making the temperatures rise. We finally saw the Colorado river with several rafters aboard and knew we were getting close. The Colorado river is 300 feet wide and an average 46 degrees and rushing current. We crossed it at the Black bridge built in the 1900s after crossing a stone tunnel built in the 1850s.

Phantom ranch

This was it! The pinnacle of our trip. We had made it to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, we were one of the 1%! We dismounted our mules and were drenched with water and given ice cold lemonade and directions to our cabins. We changed into swim suits and made a beeline for the bright angel creek. It was chilly, but refreshing and clear. We stayed there enjoying the peace and the cool water for an hour before changing again and going for a short hike. We found the bright angel campground and the thermometer reading 120 degrees. It was 2 pm. We went back to the Cantina and drank more ice water and purchase exclusive merchandise to the ranch. Pins and shirts and mailed postcards delivered by mule. At 4pm we attended the first of our ranger talks all about the Colorado River. Ranger Ben was wonderful. Then it was the clear din of the dinner bell ringing through the ranch. 5 pm on the nose dinner is served. You MUST have reservations for meals here. As members of the mule ride they were included. Given that everything here must be packed in and out by mules it is astonishing what meal time looked like. Firstly, it was the freshest, most delicious dinner I had the entire trip long. A huge steak, cornbread, a full on salad with ranch, backed potato, garlic broccoli and finally a dense slab of chocolate cake. It is served family style and you raise your hand if you run out of something and more is brought to the table. Nobody went hungry but nobody was shy either. I don’t know where I stuffed all that food but it was oh so yummy. After dinner we made our way to the shower house where our wrangle Maggie pointed out a pink rattlesnake. They are native only to the bottom of the grand canyon so a pretty rare sight indeed. After our showers we filled in our junior ranger booklets which helped us realize how much knowledge had been imparted to us both from the wranglers and our ranger. After the 7pm ranger talk about bugs he took out UV lights and we went on a scorpion search. They glow in UV light. It’s a fluorescent type of glow and we found a couple by the stone corral. The clouds had moved in so we didn’t see the stars as we had hoped. We went to bed, in our air conditioned cabin, and slept soundly until 2:30am when I decided to check if the skies had cleared. I woke my daughter up and we sat at the bench outside of our cabin staring up into a crystal clear sky filled with stars in the milky way. The constellations were so bright and bold. Unlike anything I’d seen even on a dark and clear night. The national parks have worked very hard to reduce light pollution. 5am we woke again and dressed for the day and packed our bags to bring to the corral. We had saved our leftover apples and fed them to our mules. At 6:30am we were seated for late breakfast. The hikers leaving that day had already eaten and gone. Again, family style with loads of the best food. Scrambled eggs, sausages, perfectly cooked thick cut bacon, fluffy pancakes and syrup, mixed fruit, orange juice, coffee and tea. Again, all you can eat. We were told to have a hearty breakfast as there wouldn’t be lunch going back up the trail. I was just following the man’s instructions I swear. It was hard not to anyway. I am still trying to figure out how the phantom ranch cooks do such a great job of making enough food for 40 people come out perfect! 7:15ish we get back on our mules and head up the south Kaibab trail. I thought Bright angel trail was steep. It is nothing compared to S. Kaibab. This is only 7.5 miles but without water stops (we had ours with us and the wranglers carry extra). We did get 2 bathroom breaks. The steeper, narrower trail was dirt and stones. I prayed my mule wouldn’t slip and he didn’t. Trust the mule. You’ll hear it over and over. They’ve done this trail hundreds of times. We regaled with stories of the oh Jesus corner to the cremation canyon and skeleton ridge. We had about 25 water stops along the way up and they took turns providing ever more information or pointing out different images in the buttes. I can imaging if you hike the beauty is enough but we learned so much more from our wranglers. Finally we climbed the last of the switchbacks and an air conditioned van awaited us for our short return trip to Bright angel lodge. We were presented with certificates with the same wording as has been given out for the last 100 years. This year, 2019, is the centennial. The seats were soft and the AC was nice. We got out of the van, checked out returning our slickers and made a beeline for the rest rooms to change into shorts and tank tops. We took the time to visit the Grand Canyon visitors center to buy another coin and stopped for gas and lunch in grand canyon village.

Grand Canyon to Las Vegas

Back in the car. I feel like we are not only chronically sleep deprived at this point, but also just moving from one form of sitting transportation to the next. I’ll be glad to be done driving for hours at a time. My daughter sleeps in the seat next to me. Clearly, as worn out as I feel. She’s a great companion, but she needs the rest. When we see Lake Mead in the foreground I know we are getting closer. We make a 7 mile detour to visit the Hoover Dam. One more planned side trip for this whirlwind vacation. The museum and tours are closed but the parking lots are open and a few people mill about taking photos. We do the same. It has cooled to about 109 degrees. Laughable. We go back to the car to arrive at our hotel in Vegas just after 7pm. We still haven’t had dinner, but showers are a necessity at this point. I’m too exhausted to drive on the strip at night. We get a Lyft from the Fairfield Inn convention center. It only takes a few minutes and we are working our way to the Wicked Spoon buffet in the Cosmopolitan casino. We ogle the massive crystal chandelier and eyeball the outfits ranging from not trying to trying way too hard. There is everything here on the strip. At the buffet there is no line and no wait. It closes in an hour at 10pm. We have decided we are here for dessert. We order drinks and grab a few sharable items from the “real” food section. The shrimp and grits is fabulous, the vegetable samosas with mint chutney are wonderful. We giggle and share bites, but then we make our way to the dessert area. We make a plan… we will grab one of each item available and take a bite from each with the exception of the mini creme brulee and gelatos. Who in their right mind shares creme brulee?! We barely, barely make it through one bite of each. We have two towering plates full of mini treats. It’s absolutely gluttonous, but what happens in Vegas. Well, apparently it goes to your waistline. What? That’s not what you were thinking? We opt to walk it off venturing down the road stopping to watch the fountains in from of the Bellagio and make a visit to the conservatory garden in the lobby. The Chihuly glass sculpture dominating the ceiling is blessedly colorful. Naturally, the star here is the garden display. Each season it’s something new. This time it’s Kentucky derby themed and they’ve gone all out. 11pm back in our room and ready to pass out. We still have one last day, one last hurrah before we admit defeat. I wake my loving but grumpy daughter at 7am (I’ve been awake an hour) and we go to the hotel breakfast. Not many people there. I’m surprised. Wait, it’s Vegas. They’re still asleep. 30 min later the lobby is bursting with guests ready to eat. We are done and making our way to the strip. At 10am there are very few people. I researched and found out being active duty and getting a players club card at Caesar’s casinos means an automatic upgrade that allows free parking. Caesar’s casinos include more than just the namesake. Flamingo, Harrah’s, Paris, etc are all members and all allow free parking to certain levels of rewards members. At nearly all casinos, however, the first hour is free anyway. My daughters “thing” is mirror selfies so we make it a goal to take one mirror selfie in each casino. It’s a fun game since we like looking around but not so much on gambling. Before the lines get out of hand we find Buddy V’s bakery and buy a beauty of a rainbow layer cake, a cannolli and a sprinkle sugar cookie. We share it in the plaza of the Venetian as the singing gondoliers cruise by us. It’s getting later and we still haven’t hit the hotel pool so we go back, swim and shower. My daughter has never had In-N-Out so that’s what is up for lunch. After stuffing ourselves on burgers, fries and the thickest ever milkshakes we wander some more. We see Flamingos, secret gardens, volcanoes, waterfalls, huge bouquets of flowers both real and amazingly lifelike glass ones, more people watching, more fun. Now it’s time to do our final tour. The neon boneyard. I’ve been to Vegas several times. I’ve never been here. What a shame! All the retired casino signs in one home. Some still have neon coursing through them, others the lights still shine, some only shine thanks to the colorful spotlights bringing them back to life. Our tour begins at 7pm. We thought it wouldn’t be dark enough. It’s perfect. We are nearly alone to wander. They do have guides available to answer questions or give some background. There are the occasional plaques to read and we peruse the lot. Another game, we look for the letters of our names snapping a picture of each as we find them. The gift shop is a fun place to while away a little time until it gets darker. The sun begins to set and it’s relatively dark by 7:45pm. We wander back through again, retaking shots that look better with less light. At 8pm the museum closes and we make our way to our next stop of the night. Pink Box doughnut shops are open 24 hours a day and have divine treats in numerous flavors. We settle on Key lime, Java, Old fashioned chocolate with sprinkles ( I think my daughter has a thing for sprinkles), and Peanut butter and jelly as well as milk. We get back to our room deciding that a donut for dinner will have to do. We are tired and we have a 4am wake up call for returning our rental car and boarding flights back home. That’s it. The trip I spent months planning is over in what seems like both the blink of an eye and forever all at once. Once thing is certain. It didn’t quench our insatiable thirst for exploration. We will return one day for more fun in the southwest national parks and surrounding areas.