Vegas baby (and elsewhere)

 So it's been a month since we took our baby to Las Vegas. I'm finally getting around to writing, and I'll keep this short and sweet.

HAHAHA yeah right. I came home with 1600 photos and have whittled down the might-add-to-the-blog selection to a mere 55. We'll see how many more I scrap while writing. So sit back and enjoy the pictures, as there may not be too much to read.

Carrie's parents were in the southwestern USA for a bit, and we decided to meet up with them in Vegas. We took a Saturday flight via Toronto, and Lily of course didn't sleep a wink. We're very glad she's an okay traveller, because that's one less thing to worry about. Unlike getting singled out during security when her sippy cup tests positive for some substance they don't care for. (Why they interrogate me and not her is quite beyond me; it's not my sippy cup!) Still not sure what they found.

But we made it intact and settled into our digs about 10 minutes south of the Strip. It was a time share resort where we got a ridiculously great deal for the week. We opted for a two-bedroom, for only $20 more, so that Lily could have her own room. Well, it turns out that a two-bedroom was actually two adjacent one-bedroom suites. So we had at our disposal two kitchens, two bathrooms, two sets of everything. And two times 1000 square feet. Yikes.

The main living area of one unit. And our neighbour (Lily).

We took it easy for a day and waited for Mom & Dad who were arriving a day later. Unlike most hotels in Vegas, ours didn't have a casino, but right next door was a massive hotel and casino complex, complete with a convention centre, bowling alley, and eleven restaurants. I think we went there only once for a meal, as having our own kitchen made for much cheaper options.

Fine dining. Lily has discovered fries and ketchup... life-changing!

How to describe Las Vegas? Garish, over the top, tacky. I know, synonyms all, but it rather gets the point across. Of the Strip and downtown areas anyway. It relishes extremes, such world's largest Ferris wheel, world's largest gift shop, world's largest Coke bottle, world's largest buffet...

The overabundance of food should have been no surprise, but the culture of overindulgence sometimes goes a bit far. Below is pictured the Heart Attack Grill, where anyone over 350 lbs eats for free! A handy weigh scale is provided to see if you qualify. Really?! Maybe they should sweeten the pot by offering to cover medical bills of those who have a heart attack while gorging, I mean dining, there.

Click to zoom in on some menu items.

The tacky aspect perhaps appeals to tourists who want to see the world without venturing too far. New York skyline? Check. Statue of Liberty? Check. Eiffel Tower? Pyramid? Sphinx? Volcano? Canals? Checkity, check, check, check.

The Strip does have parts that look rather nice at night, particularly the classier hotels that gave some thought to omitting neon from their lighting scheme. Below are the Bellagio and Caesar's Palace, with the former's fountains putting on a show.

The two hotels I mentioned are massive, with 4000 rooms each, but there are seven others with more rooms than that. In fact, by room size, the Strip has 15 of the largest 25 hotels in the world. When conventions or other events descend on the city, its 150,000 hotel rooms can fill up quickly. During our stay there was some huge basketball championship going on, and we often noticed passenger planes fly in every minute or two... and this went on all day for a couple of days. This town can absorb a lot of visitors!

Each of the major hotels has some kind of attraction. The Bellagio has the fountains that are choreographed to music; the Mirage has the fake volcano pictured above. Each seems to have an integrated shopping mall, full of high-end names no one can afford. And the shopping malls aren't ordinary--it's very clear a ton of money went into building them; for example, the Venetian (hotel) has the Grand Canal Shoppes, a mall themed after Venice and many of its landmarks. Indoor gondola ride, anyone?

For our week in Vegas, we took it easy, seeing the town and going shopping (reminder to guys: outlet malls are boooooring). Besides shopping, I think the biggest thing we spent money on was a Cirque du Soleil show. There are eight permanent Cirque shows just in Las Vegas, varying from Beatles-themed to R-rated to way-too-expensive. We decided on Mystère, as it seemed popular and reasonably priced. Some elements of it were a little odd, but if you're into trapeze artists, amazing displays of strength and balance, and acrobat stuff in general, it's quite enjoyable. Forced participation of a few audience members was a little much, but that's what they get for sitting near the aisles, eh?

Red Rock Canyon

One day trip from the city was to nearby Red Rock Canyon. It gave us a first impression of the incredible landscape in the area. We opted to buy an annual pass that's good for all national parks. It cost $80 but that ended up paying for itself with all the parks we visited during our trip. It covers everyone in the car, and it's good until next April in case we head south again before then.

Lily doesn't say Grandpa/Grandma, so they had to settle for Opa/Oma. They love her anyway.

We brought along a framed baby carrier... turned out to be a great idea.

Our little beauty.

Basking in the sun. On a cliff. Must have read that in a parenting book.

We even had Mom clambering over rocks and through crevices.

Death Valley

Death Valley, California, is a warm, dry place. If you visit in the summer (not recommended), it's a hot, dry place. The hottest temperature recorded on earth was in Death Valley: 56.7°C (134°F). It contains the lowest point in North America at 282 feet below sea level. It rains about two inches per year; any water that flows into the valley takes minerals down with it and then evaporates. The lowest point is the salt flats at Badwater Basin. This was our first stop on our Death Valley day trip.

Up close, the surface is actually very rough. The white expanse you see is just where tourists have trampled it smooth. While it looks dry, if you dig down six inches you'll find water... in March anyway. We arrived not long after whatever "rainy" season there is; before too long it all dries up. Temps here were in the high 20s during our visit.

One of the mountains in the range behind us is over 11,000 feet high.

Crusty surface up close.

Next stop was Golden Canyon. It made for a nice walk through old river beds and slot canyons.

Lots of ducking; baby carrier would have been annoying here.

Sunnin'.

The valley also boasts some impressive sand dunes. I imagined being in an African desert.

Marble Canyon, with more geological impressiveness. Geologists would have a heyday here; fortunately we weren't burdened with such interests.

We hurried to Dante's Peak, a viewpoint a mile above the salt flats, for the sunset, but the view was hardly worth the sudden chill we had to endure; things cool down very quickly indeed at dusk.

At Dante's View. The salt flats look like water.

All the driving was a drag when the little one got cranky, but the ladies distracted her with songs and lessons. After some practice, she now says her name properly... sort of... as dli-dly rather than yi-yee. She's also come remarkably far on her alphabet.

Heading out of Death Valley, we stopped once for a car stranded beside the road. They had a busted radiator hose and had run out of water. We gave them all our water from bottles and coolers (melted ice) and left them with our best wishes. Looking back, if they'd had homicidal intent, it would have made for some ironic headlines... given the name of the valley.

Back in Vegas...

On Friday I went to get a rental car (until then we'd fit the five of us into my in-laws' vehicle). I had scrounged up all sorts of discount codes off the Internet and reserved a great deal on a mid-size SUV for a week. I figured I might try and get a free upgrade but mid-size would have to suffice if that's what we ended up with. I booked with two separate companies, as there's nothing less vacation-y than having the rental place tell you they're out of cars. So off I went with a tiny wish in the back of my head. Okay, I lie... I really wanted a Suburban. Hey, when in America... So, long story short, I did not drive off with a mid-size SUV but rather a Yukon XL (the Suburban's cooler brother). We all left Vegas the next day; Mom & Dad headed for home while we headed east for Arizona.

We passed by Hoover Dam on the way, but not having too much interest in it, we merely stopped for a few pictures and were soon on our way again.

The rocks and power lines that are Hoover Dam.

Soon afterward, we hopped onto the iconic Route 66, mostly just to say we did. You can get a touristy passport that you can get stamped at every outpost that calls itself a town along the way, but that would waste too much time. Maybe with older kids that would be a neat idea, but I can't say Lily would have cared too much.

The tumbleweed was sometimes surreal. It would drift across the highway, only to disintegrate when hit by a car. Some fences along the road had piles of tumbleweed blown against them just waiting to blow free and amble across the road.

I wanted to prove we were on Route 66, but you can't see anyone in the car... oops.

Our next hotel was in Flagstaff, where we'd stay for a few days. This was the town from which we'd be doing day trips to the Grand Canyon. That was a bit of unfortunate planning, as the canyon is 1.5 hours away... those 3 hours a day of driving seemed wholly unnecessary, but it made me very happy to have rented the beast; such a pleasure to drive! In all, we would put on 2100km. And the fuel economy wasn't even that bad; we averaged 19.5 mpg, whereas our pipsqueak Corolla barely breaks 30. Even so, it's almost too bad I spent as much on fuel as I'd initially budgeted for the entire car rental. Happy birthday to me, I suppose... that oughta cover me for the next few years.

It was cold in Flagstaff. We wanted to check out downtown a couple of times, but it was just too chilly to wander around. There was no snow on the ground, but we suspect that hadn't been the case for very long.

Grand Canyon

So off to the Grand Canyon the next morning! We planned to do a fairly short hike down from the rim, as hiking back out is said to take twice as long as hiking in. Starting from the south rim of the canyon (elevation around 7000 feet), we took the South Kaibab Trail down about 1.5 miles to Cedar Ridge. Not knowing how the hike back up would go, we headed back up after stopping for lunch and enjoying the view.

My shoes are still orange from the dust.

Daily mule caravans bring supplies to the canyon floor.

Poor Lily will have to add to her bucket list all these places she's been to and won't remember.

Yeah, mostly no railings... mind your step.

Family photo.

Having made it down in 50 minutes, it was very disappointing that the climb back up to the rim took only 75 minutes. Whoever said that climbing up takes twice as long is really out of shape. Or hikes only in July. Or has but one leg. Granted, we didn't have far to go, but c'mon. So we kind of regretted not going further down the trail, but better safe than sorry, I suppose.

Along the south rim is Grand Canyon Village, which is a community with some residents, lodging and services. It also has a handy shuttle bus system, which is free to use (once you've paid to enter Grand Canyon National Park). The buses take you to various lookouts and attractions, but they do get pretty full at times. I can't imagine how crammed they get during the busier times of the year. Lily absolutely loved the bus rides, and now every vehicle as big as a bus is called a bus.

We returned the next day for another hike. This time we went down Bright Angel Trail and made it to the 3-mile point in 1h 45m. This was only a third of the 9-mile total trail length, but almost half the 4400-foot vertical drop. It made for great views in any case, although we're now itching to return one day and actually reach the bottom. (You can camp overnight in the canyon, if you plan ahead of time and are fortunate enough to obtain a permit.) We climbed back up in under 2 hours, which included a 15-minute break halfway up. Total time was 4 hours for a 6-mile round trip, including over an hour for lunch/breaks. It was neat to think that this trail was used already 100 years ago, for tourism no less.

The endless switchbacks can get a little old. The shade is welcome though.

The Grand Canyon is hard to describe. It really is too grand to be able to take in properly. I think experiencing it from the bottom as well would do much to get a better feel for its immensity.

Bryce Canyon

Another miscalculation was to have booked a third night in Flagstaff. We should have booked something to the north. As it was, that evening we drove the 1.5 hours south from the Grand Canyon, spent the night in Flagstaff, and headed north again the next morning towards Utah. But again, driving the rental wasn't exactly torturous. We got to Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah early afternoon. After lunch we headed out to see as much as we could, since we wouldn't be sticking around the next day.

Let's face it; pictures don't do this park justice. The landscape is unlike anything we've ever seen. It made us forget we'd just been privileged to see the Grand Canyon; just amazing stuff.

The rock spires are called hoodoos. You can see the distinct levels of erosion across a whole slew of them. That and the different layer colours make it evident that there are varying types of rock layered upon each other, and they erode at different rates.

The park is huge but this small area--the Amphitheater--has the densest hoodoo "forest".

Sometimes they look carefully balanced. This one is called Thor's Hammer.

One of the highest lookouts in the park, over 9000 feet.

Pronghorns are plentiful. We saw elk and deer in Arizona, but not much else until these.

Most of Bryce could be seen from viewpoints along the main road, so we got a great look at the park without having to walk far. We did a short hike called the Queen's Garden / Navajo Loop, considered by many to be one of the world's best 3-mile hikes. We certainly weren't disappointed.

Zion National Park

Sadly, that was the extent of our Bryce Canyon adventure. We stayed at a hotel right in the park and were off bright and early the next morning. I think it was -9°C that morning. Not exactly a snowbird vacation.

Off we went to Zion National Park, which was just over an hour away and also in Utah. We had just that day to see the park, so we had to be selective as to which hikes to do.

Carrie really wanted to hike The Narrows, which is a canyon and river bed that is--you guessed it--narrow. It's supposed to be one of the grooviest hikes ever. The only problem is that much of it is actually through water; flash floods are also a risk at certain times of the year; oh, and it's a full-day (or longer) excursion. We saw quite a few people donning their waterproof gear in preparation for the hike. But between having a child with us and the fact that it was bleedin' cold outside without being in the water, we opted for the sane choice of not doing The Narrows.

Nice walk to and from The Narrows. Things are starting to turn green.

Checking out the entrance to The Narrows.

A walk to the Emerald Pools led us past a nice waterfall. The pools weren't so exciting.

The Great Arch of Zion.

A cool slot canyon we found while exploring off the road.

A bighorn sheep posed for us.

By late afternoon we had seen what we'd hoped to. After seeing Bryce Canyon, Zion wasn't anything spectacular so we were satisfied with our short day there. We hit the road for a final night stay nearer to Las Vegas. We ended up in Mesquite, NV for the night, about an hour northeast of Vegas.

Next morning we hopped in the car and headed back to Vegas for some last-minute shopping before the flight home. Half an hour into the drive, the phone rang. "Hi, you left your iPad thingy in your room." Sigh. Turned around and picked up the tablet, costing us an hour; at least we'd left plenty of time. Oh, and luckily I'd given my actual phone number when checking in the night before; often I don't dole it out because I don't think every company I deal with needs to have my number.

(Having the phone available was extremely nice. My carrier has a $15/month add-on that gives me unlimited voice/text/data in the US. Amazing deal! (Except that time my billing cycle ended and I paid regular roaming rates for a few hours because my prepaid account didn't have enough funds to renew the add-on... oops!))

We ended up shopping for a shorter time than planned, and then dropped off the rental and got to the airport. The flight home was direct, and Lily of course didn't sleep a wink... until we'd landed in Ottawa and were taxiing to the terminal.

This vacation was a nice mix of staying put and travelling, a combination we quite enjoy. We got see family, and we managed to see some very cool geological wonders over four states. Lily managed without a nap most of the time and behaved wonderfully for all that. And I've now successfully finished the annoying obligatory blog post about it! (Let's face it: blogging is a nice idea but is far too much like a chore.) Over and out.