This is Alpha, the first-born, when he was 2YO.
This is Beta, the second-born, when he was about 2YO.
This is Gamma, the third-born, when he was about 18MO.
Vegas Recap, Part 3
May
16
2013
Day 6
Zion National Park
This day we set out early again, mainly because we had a 3-hour drive to get to Zion. The kids did very well. I did very well too, until we tried to park the vehicle. It should be called Zion National Take-the-bus, because there is no parking.
I should have taken a photo of the madness that was the road into Zion National Park – cars parked all along both sides of the road outside the park, everyone walking from their cars, cars waiting in line to get into the park, cars turning around at the entrance because they didn’t have a reason or reservation to be admitted, shuttle buses going back and forth.
We found a parking lot a half mile from the entrance and parked there. We had to change our plans because we brought extra stuff, assuming we could get to our van between hikes for some refreshments or strollers or whatever. We had to leave the stroller and some snacks. We made our way to the shuttle bus stop and got into the park that way.
There was quite a line of pedestrians to get into the park. It seemed to me the reason was the park service had only one person at the ticket booth. By the time we got in the park, most of us were hot and frazzled. Beta was complaining about being hungry, but he couldn’t eat the rest of his sandwich that we packed because we left it in the van.
All that to say this: if you do plan on going to Zion National Park, be prepared to carry everything you need. Do not expect to have your car available for anything.
Really, they should have put the canyon in a better place, with more parking. Or maybe they could widen the canyon so they could fit more parking spots inside it, closer to the trails. They really didn’t think this national park through very thoroughly when they designed it…
Once you have yourself organized and are in the park, the shuttle buses do a good job of taking you where you need to go. They had plenty of them running and often enough.
Delta enjoyed seeing them and would wave at them each time one went by.
Our first stop was the Emerald Pools trail. We thought we would try the lower falls trail first and then see if the wanted to continue to the upper falls trail or just turn around there at the waterfall.
Although it was somewhat fun to walk under/through the waterfall,
the trail was narrow and crowded and Gamma did not want to walk, so in general it was not a fun hike.
I recommend avoiding the Emerald Pools trails if the park is at least slightly busy.
I recommend going to the end of the shuttle bus stops, to the Temple of Sinewava, and starting the day with a hike along the Riverwalk trail.
The shuttle buses play recordings describing the features and history of the park. One of the main features was mentioned a lot, and that was the Great White Throne.
We left the park just before dinnertime, stopped for dinner. I was hoping for a local restaurant, but they were closed and we were hungry so we had to settle for fast food. We made it back to the house after dark.
It was about 3 hours of driving, 3 hours of hiking and sightseeing, and 3 hours of driving back.
I really recommend at least 2 days at Zion. Do not make it a day trip from Vegas.
Day 7
No major events this day.
Relaxed before packing to leave the next day.
Took the kids to the local playground.
The water features had not been de-winterized yet because, apparently, 80 degrees is not warm enough to keep water from freezing in the Southwest USA.
Day 8
Finally got to see the Strip. We drove through it on our way to the airport.
We spent the morning packing and cleaning up and saying goodbye and stuff. Then we were off.
We started driving around Stratosphere and went all the way down, to the “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign.
I took some photos out the window as my brother drove. My wife stayed busy by directing our children’s gazes to interesting architecture.
First photo: Caesar’s Palace
Next photo: The Strip
Next photo: Luxor
Last photo: Welcome Sign
There is a small parking lot near the sign so you can safely stop and get your photo taken. Bring your own photo taker, and be prepared to circle the block once or twice before finding a parking spot, since the lot is very small.
From there we went to the airport, bid my brother farewell, and got in line to check our bags. See this post about Southwest’s deficiencies at McCarran International Airport for more on what happened next.
So we flew, landed, took off, flew some more, and finally landed at our destination. It was almost midnight local time, but the kids had adjusted to Pacific Time so they were doing fine. All we had to do was get our luggage and get in the van,
which we did.
The End.
And he lifted up his eyes and saw the traveler in the open square of the city; and the old man said, “Where are you going, and where do you come from?”
Judges 19:17
This little article thingy was written by Some Guy sometime around 6:06 am and has been carefully placed in the Travel category.
May 16th, 2013 at 7:50 pm
By interesting architecture, you’re not talking about that “Toptional” ad you kept running into?
May 16th, 2013 at 11:13 pm
No, the interesting architecture was whatever happened to be on the other side of the street from any questionable ads.