Utah to Las Vegas

We ditched the Grand Canyon. When we were what should have been just five hours away, we found that it would have taken us eight and a half to get there. We spent the night in the middle of nowhere in Utah in an effort to get to the Canyon. Utah seems to be some kind of time warp where 1 mile is really three and 1 hour is and hour and a quarter. We realized we were going to go all the way to the Canyon, look at it for 20 minutes, and then have to drive another hour to the closest, overpriced hotel.  So we pulled a hard right and spent two nights in Vegas.

Leaving Denver, we drove through Aspen before dropping down into Utah. I loved the snow-capped mountains and the christmas trees. It was a chilly 34˚ driving through the area and in fact, it snowed for a full minute and then we were pelted with hail. It was exciting to us hot weather gals. "Mattie, we need chains for our tires!"

We stopped for lunch in a little cafe that was run by 14 year old girls. Our waitress had to be in the ninth grade and the girl running food is most definitely still learning her state capitals. They were all very sweet but it was strange and perhaps even a bit illegal. We left chilly Colorado for the hot and dry of Utah. This was an very interesting change of scenery. The big red rocks looked fake. The mountains looked like paper and they're not kidding, there really is no shade. It seemed like we drove through Utah forever but it was so different and pretty that we stopped at every scenic point and even bought bracelets from a Native American woman on the side of the highway.

As one might expect, the farther south we went the hotter it got. We stripped a layer with every hundred miles. We arrived in Las Vegas about 3:00 in the afternoon. It was 104˚. We were both very tired but I hadn't slept well in days so we both sacked out in our lush, pillowy beds and woke up around diner time. We walked around our hotel and Mattie tried her luck a the penny slot machines. It was around midnight that Eric showed up. Eric is a friend from France who divides his time between a number of exotic locales while he photographs beautiful people for magazines. Eric stole us away from our hotel and drove us all over Las Vegas. He showed us the original Strip, the famous wedding chapels, and of course let us take pictures in front of the 'Welcome to Las Vegas' sign. He walked us around until we could take no more and then brought us to IHOP for a way-too-early breakfast.

The next day reached a hulking 106˚. It was way too hot for me to go outside so Mattie ventured out for a while and I literally stayed in bed until 7:30 at night. I got out for a quick lunch and several bathroom breaks. I realize it seems like a waste of Vegas but A) I've been before, which allows me to know B) Vegas is not my kind of place. After a full week of driving, laying in a cloud for hours was wonderful but gosh y'all, I still can't sleep. That night we went to a Cirque du Soleil show and were so so impressed by those performers. It made me acutely aware of my fitness level. That's all I'll say about that.

We slept-in the next morning to savor the wonder and then packed our things and set off. As a whole, were excited to be out west but Vegas in particular put a damper on our funding. Not only was gas $4.21 but everything is so outrageously priced. A bottle of water cost $3.50. It's the desert! They should be handing the stuff out. They should encourage the drunks to drink water. I could rant about Vegas for ages but who cares? We had fun. It's the best people watching around. I'm happy to not only be back on a coast but also to be closer to more life. I loved the lush plains of those middle states and the red rocky desert conjures images of old western films and wild horses but I feel a sense of relief to be bit closer to other humans.