Friday, September 13, 2013
Late last night we flew into Las Vegas, Nevada to begin our self-guided tour of several national parks in the southwestern part of the U.S. Jeff had made a one-night reservation for us at the Four Seasons Hotel because it was advertised as a quiet, no-casino, no glitz, centrally located hotel. It was actually located on the top five floors of the Mandalay Bay Hotel which had lots of glitz, twenty-two restaurants, many shops, and a 135,000 square foot casino.
Four Seasons & Mandalay Bay Hotels
Lobby of the Mandalay Bay Hotel
The lobby of the Four Seasons was quiet, peaceful, and tastefully decorated. This morning, we went downstairs to explore Mandalay Bay. It was crowded with lots of people and loud music was everywhere. We discovered that the casino was empty at 8:00 o’clock in the morning. We had breakfast at Raffles and took a walk outside.
Huge Casino
View of the Luxor Hotel
The Excalibur Hotel
Casino
Afterwards, we checked out and retrieved our rental car and drove down the famous “Strip” to see the other hotels. Las Vegas is an amazing city with an incredible number of huge hotels and gambling establishments.
Las Vegas Boulevard. aka “The Strip”
New York, New York
Part of The Paris Hotel
The temperature was heating up over 90 degrees. We drove through North Las Vegas and found an entrance onto Route 15 and continued north to Utah. The land just outside the city of Las Vegas was flat barren desert. The speed limit on the highway was 75 mph.
Driving Through the Desert
Advertisement Outside Las Vegas
Route 15 continues through the northwestern corner of Arizona before going into Utah. The land became more mountainous as we continued northward.
Arizona Landscape
Southern Utah
Springdale, Utah is the small town at the entrance of Zion National Park. It is a tiny community of hotels, restaurants, and hiking outfitters which service the needs of the people who visit the park.
View From Our Hotel Room in Springdale, UT
Inside Zion National Park
Zion National Park is preserved land which has two main parts. One section straddles Route 9 and cars are able to drive along the road and stop at several turnouts. There are numerous trailheads for hikers and lookouts for drivers. The other section is off-limits to private cars. Visitors must part their cars at the Visitor’s Center and take the free shuttle bus into the park. The road meanders along the Virgin River for about 12 miles making several scenic stops.
Rock Formation in Zion N.P.
Desert Flowers
Ribbons of Color
View of Mountains
Mountain Sheep Crossing the Road
Grazing
White Rocks
Spicy Dinner at the Whiptail Grill
We had a tasty southwestern dinner at the Whiptail Grill. I had spaghetti squash enchiladas with salad and beans. Jeff had spicy chicken enchiladas. The temperature had cooled so we ate outside as the sun set over the mountains. We had a great day from glitz to glorious.