Four years ago, we spent a four days camping at the tip of the Bruce Peninsula in Ontario, a quiet, remote piece of land separating Lake Huron from Georgian Bay. On the last day, we packed up, drove eight hours south, and landed in Niagara Falls, where the crowds and the neon lights overwhelmed us all. Yesterday’s drive (Tuesday) was like that.
We started the day by returning to Zion National Park, where we had a wonderful ranger-led tour of the Canyon. Unlike Bryce and Grand Canyons, which you visit mainly from the top of the canyon, in Zion, you start at the bottom and work your way up. Starting at the bottom entails that there is much less anxiety about kids running around. It also means that you strain your neck looking up at the sheer faces of sandstone above you, some towering 2000 feet. We hiked along the Virgin River, splashing about a bit. Emily, who had remembered Zion as sort of a mini-Yosemite, felt the need to apologize to the Park for not remembering its spectacular beauty. Izzy got his second Junior Ranger badge. Receiving the badges involves a small swearing-in ceremony which makes it really special for him. He’s decided that he’s a senior ranger, now, since the first one was a junior ranger badge and seniors come after juniors.
We had a late lunch about an hour west of Zion, in St. George, Utah, and then crossed a bit of Arizona on our way to Nevada. We drove through Lake Mead National Recreational Area. It was over 100F outside. The scene was desert and the roads were deserted. At the southwest corner of the lake, we found a huge beach with a few people swimming. After we walked down to the water, I decided I had to swim, and the kids joined me. It was wonderfully cooling. The lake has clearly sunk, but it’s still pretty wonderful. Coming out fo the water into the dry desert air, we dried off nearly immediately.
After Lake Mead, we drove to its cause, the enormous Hoover Dam. We’ve kind of had enough tromping around at the edge of tall structures, natural or man-made, so we walked across about half the dam and turned back. It was still 102F at after 6pm.
And after an hour’s further drive, we found ourselves in Vegas at the Mandalay Bay Hotel. Exhausted and overwhelmed, we asked a concierge to point us to something reasonable to eat, which turned out to be an outpost of one of our favorite Santa Monica restaurants: The Border Grill. We trudged grungily through the casino back to our room and crashed. We’ve had the kids up early the past couple of days and we’ve been pretty active too, so we’re taking it easy today. We’ll hope to see a show tonight, perhaps a Cirque du Soleil (there are six or seven Cirque du Soleil shows), but spend most of the day at the pool.
Tomorrow, we arrive in California. We’ve driven over 3500 miles.
July 18th, 2012 at 1:17 pm Memories that will last a lifetime for all of you, and us, as well. Many thanks for sharing this special trip. Congratulations on a wonderful journey.
July 18th, 2012 at 1:58 pm You and Em really have given your whole family a wonderful experience that will stay with you all your life. I think Izzy should be given a super junior and super senior ranger badge. You also can give badges to the whole family. Love Mom and Dad
July 18th, 2012 at 8:06 pm Wow! Thanks for sharing your journey with us.