After arrival into Los Angeles and a few hours wait, our next flight took us to the city of our starting point for some travels through the western parts of the USA.
We were back in Las Vegas, last visiting in 1986 and walking out of the airport terminal was cruel, with an afternoon temperature of 42c or 107F.
The plan was fairly simple, spend a few days in Vegas, collect a hire car and then go exploring a few canyons and national parks. So lets start with Vegas, truly a city which doesn’t sleep.
Boy is Vegas very different to 1986 when we thought it was loud, bold and brash. It certainly has grown since then as we walked various sections of ‘the strip’ a few times during both the day and the night.
We managed to explore inside multiple casinos like – New York New York, The Venetian, Excalibur, Mandalay, where the horrific mass shooting occurred, Luxor, MGM Grand, Bellagios & Balleys.
Each of the casinos was massive, some housing 4,000 rooms for their guests in a city that receives almost 40 million visitors each year. Typically there was some form of walkway between each casino, in part due to the stifling heat and also to keep visitors within casinos as much as possible.
Vegas was packed with people due to a Labor Day holiday coinciding with our visit and the expression – ‘what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas’ certainly seems true, judging simply by what some people, especially the ladies wore.
It’s not every day you see young ladies walking through food halls and casinos wearing nothing more than bikinis with very sheer chiffon dresses over them.
This is now a bolder, brasher and big sights city with flashing lights and entertainment everywhere, especially after the sun goes down as a few photos below may show.
few photos
One of our highlights was an open top night bus tour that took us to the most photographed neon sign in Vegas…
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| This is the most photographed object in Vegas |
…then back down along the colourful, glamorous ‘strip'
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| Just a small sample of the Vegas sights |
… stopping to watch a simulated volcano eruption before then visiting and walking through the old Vegas located away from the ‘strip’ at Freemont Street, which had a very different and more intimate feel.
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| The nightly volcano on the strip |
If you ever visit Vegas, please make a point of visiting Freemont Street to enjoy the atmosphere, plenty of live music along the street, the world’s longest curved video screen above us at 457 metres long, 27 metres wide and 27 metres above the ground.
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| THE largest video screen in the world |
If you’re inclined, 4-5 people can zip-line beneath it for its length… quite something to behold!
With the weather still hot, we collected our hire car for the next 17 days and headed north, leaving Nevada along the interstate freeway and entering Utah to see its ‘Big 5’.
The ‘Big 5’ is 5 very different National Parks in Utah and in the order we visited them were:
- Zion
- Bryce
- Capitol Reef
- Arches
- Canyon Lands
The ‘Big 5’ will be highlighted with a bold heading within this post.
They were all very different as will be summarised shortly, but during our visits to each, we also managed to enjoy:
· Red Canyon
· Escalante Nat. Park
· Natural Bridges and one on my bucket list destinations for a very long time…
· Monument Valley
The map below shows the route we took to enjoy the spectacles these locations thrust upon us and where the ‘Big 5’ are located:
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| We flew from Los Angeles to Las Vegas before renting a car |
So how about a bit of a summary of each of them and a few photos, but before that, Utah has been heavily promoting their ‘Big 5’ and it has worked! There were people, cars, hikers, campers and RVs (recreational vehicles – caravans, 5th wheelers and bus style) everywhere we went.
As you will see, the countryside is also red, similar to but in some areas, more vibrant than outback areas in Australia
So if thinking about a visit, try to plan when to come, but don’t do what we did, go when there is any form of holiday happening.
Also buy yourself an annual USA National Parks Pass at around USD $80 because it paid for itself after the first 3 individual park visits considering an entry price into each park is USD$35.
The National Parks by the way run a very slick service for their visitors, something we observed in every park visited.
Enough of all this, now for some brief descriptions and photos.
Zion National Park
It was packed with people and the temperature was still 42c after parking our car and taking one of the Nat. Park shuttle buses which were running every 10 mins or so.
These buses run back and forth to the end of the park through the canyon with its steep mountains and cliffs either side of the road through the canyon. You can’t drive your own vehicle through this park.
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| Our first sight of the first national park we visited - Zion |
They stop at various places where you can hop off to go hiking, have a picnic or simply enjoy either the scenery or any wildlife around.
Not withstanding the heat, we did some hikes, saw some deer and the scenery was striking, especially considering it was the first of the ‘Big 5’.
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| Shuttle bus that take you through the park |
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| We did go for a hike into the park |
Red Canyon
This canyon was a bit of a surprise to us and its name was a very good description of what it was like.
We had to drive through Red Canyon, including through its 2 large red arches and wonderful natural structures on either side of the road in order to reach the next of the ‘Big 5’.
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| Had to drive through 2 of these arches in Red Canyon |
Bryce Canyon
This park consists of a 37 mile scenic drive through it with many, many, many did I say many lookouts along the way to stop at and just breathe in what was in front of you.
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| Bryce Canyon |
At numerous stops, these massive and very stunning large vistas spread out in front of you.
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| Bryce is a special place to visit |
Bryce Canyon was spectacular, truly worth a visit and one of our favourites, but is also very popular to other visitors.
To reach the next of the ‘Big 5’ meant we had to make ‘THE Drive’, which also required us to travel 530 kms in order to meet a tour appointment at 5pm the same day.
Consequently we were on the road by 7:30am, deliberately travelling back past the entrance to Bryce along Scenic Byway 12, a drive we now rate as one of the best scenic drives we’ve ever made.
This road wound its way through very small towns, within or around mountains and delivered throughout a long day, lots of variation and locations beckoning us to just stop and gaze… and we did.
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| THE Drive kept us enthralled |
It also meant driving through a small part of Escalante Nat. Park which is full of big vistas to reach the next of the ‘Big 5’.
Capitol Reef
This canyon reveals itself before you even enter the park with its very long, large ancient reef looking rock structures accompanying us as we drove towards the park entrance.
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| Capitol Reef with its big vistas |
Again, this is a park you drive into and there were many viewing spots to pull off main road, using the National Parks maps and newspapers supplied when entering every park, describing the sights and hikes to enjoy specific to that area.
Natural Bridges
Rob the researcher had discovered yet another park of natural beauty to visit, but it meant a rushed detour along a one-way road, winding its way through the countryside to view 3 massive ‘Natural Bridges’.
We managed to stop briefly and admire each of 3 natural stone arch bridges before speeding on through the countryside to be at our next major location in time for that tour appointment we had booked.
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| Some very natural 'bridges' |
What we had not appreciated was that we had been on a plateau and needed to descend a few thousand feet and the only way down was via a dirt road, no barrier, sheer drops and many switch backs.
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| Interesting drive down the switchbacks to the valley below |
After a loooong day of driving and many stops to enjoy the wonders of Utah, it wasn’t too much longer before we were on our way to meet that tour appointment and stay the night on Navajo land inside Monument Valley.
Monument Valley
Have you ever watched those old westerns with people riding across the plains past very tall, rock column like structures… chances are the scenery in the background was that of Monument Valley like the photo below.
The Navajo own this land and have all rights to it; in fact as we learnt during the tour, they also have their own Government laws etc, the rights of which are protected by a treaty with the USA. It also cost us USD $20 to enter and stay on their land.
With 30 mins to spare after THE Drive from Panguitch, we checked into the View Hotel (www.monumentvalleyview.com ), named because it has the most amazing views of the vista across just a small part of Monument Valley, then rushed to the meeting point for the Sunset Tour run by a Navajo guide with a very dry sense of humour.
It was a great tour in an open vehicle through many restricted parts of the valley, learning a lot about Navajo traditions, history, interactions with other native groups and ‘us’. The Navajo also like to be called Diné (Pronounced: Din-eh) and definitely don’t like being called Indians.
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| 2 very special Navajo sites within the larger Monument Valley we visited |
The Navajo believe they originally arrived from somewhere within Siberia ~10,000 years ago, they don’t have a written language and seemed to have evolved many social traditions similar in principle to the Australian aborigines.
Being a sunset tour, we also enjoyed the bonus of being in the Valley for that special time of the day for photos.
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| Sunset inside Monument Valley was quite special... |
Standing tall and regally in front of the hotel and hence the reason for its name, stand the West Mitten Butte, East Mitten Butte and Merrick Butte and they were the reason we were up before sunrise along with many other visitors, to watch the sun poke itself up above the horizon, its light radiating across the buttes and the valley… just a sensational view!
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| ...BUT sunrise in front of the hotel was unbelievable |
As we reluctantly drove out and away from Monument Valley to the next of the ‘Big 5’, it was interesting to witness other tourists heading into the valley, sitting in the middle of the highway to have their photos taken with the view behind them.
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| Tourist emulating part of a scene from Forrest Gump |
Arches
The next two of the ‘Big 5’ are located nearby to the lovely and very touristy town of Moab.
Arches earned its name because of the 2,000 actual rock arches of all different sizes scattered throughout the park.
To reach the entrance of Arches was a mere 8.5 km drive from Moab and like Bryce, it’s a park you drive through, all 60+ kms return of it, with lots of viewing locations just off the road to enjoy some really stunning views and they were truly stunning.
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| Quite a start to our visit to Arches |
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| Loved Arches Nat. Park |
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| The iconic 'Delicate Arch' from a distance |
With the park always open 24hrs every day, we did get up early again, went back into the park, walked to an area called ‘Windows’ where multiple arches are located to watch the sunrise over them.
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| Rob at left waiting for the sun to rise... big isn't it |
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| Another of the arches nearby |
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| The 'windows' we came to see and look closely... there are people in both of them |
Just a fabulous way to end our visit through this park.
Canyon Lands
A bit more of a drive from Moab is the final of the ‘Big 5’, Canyon Lands, and what a very fitting name it has including more incredible scenery including Mesa Arch…
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| Got to Mesa Arch by fluke at the right time |
…some very grand view points including one called ‘The Uplift’
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| The 'Uplift' in Canyonlands and they don't know what caused it |
and the wildest switchback dirt road to take visitors down deep into the canyon.
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| Car making its way down into the valley below - Canyonlands |
With the ‘canyon’ part of our Western USA journey completed, and having reached Salt Lake City for an overnight stay before continuing, it was now time to turn our attention further north which is what we’ll cover in the next post so till then... go well!
There are a few additional photos of this part of west USA:
