Up and ate breakfast at hotel. On the road to Zion National Park. It is totally different landscape from Bryce Canyon with their hoodoos and Arches with their dry desert landscape.
Dave thinks Utah is in a state of erosion and eventually there will be nothing left of the state.
They have a shuttle system that you must ride at certain areas in the park - no cars allowed as there wouldn't be enough parking. It works well and saves wear, tear and aggravation on vehicle, driver and passenger. Parked in Springdale, just outside Park and caught a shuttle to visitor center. The shuttle stopped every few miles for viewing areas and one passenger suggested we ride it all the way to the end and then catch the down shuttle and do our sightseeing by getting off at the different stops. It was a great idea and you could take longer hikes or just get out and look and then catch the next shuttle to the next area. Pretty convenient system. We took it all the way to Sinawava Temple and got off and went on a small hike to the Narrows - where the canyon narrows. Stopped at the other areas - Court of the Patriarchs where a Mormon minister years ago named the mountains - Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; Angels Landing; Grotto; Weeping Rock where the rocks drip water. It was cool throughout our journey in Zion. It was a more friendly environment for walking then the other Parks (Canyonlands, Arches). There was more vegetation and not a desert landscape.
Some of the other names for the sights are: The Pulpit, The Altar of Sacrifice, The Great Throne - religious theme.
Drove out of the Park and down to I15 and passed briefly through Arizona for 30 miles and then into Nevada. Destination for today is Las Vegas. Also passed into pacific time so we are three hours behind you folks in the east.
Got to the Super 8 on Fremont Street. We parked next to a NY car and it turns out he is from Albany and he knows Ogdensburg. The hotel has a pool so we had to hop in. It is an outdoor pool with 94 degrees today so we thought it would be like bath water. It was refreshing but not like bath water. Hotel clerk suggested we go to the Paradise Buffet in the Fremont Casino for dinner.
When we got near the buffet, the street had this amazing light show overhead that probably stretched for 5 blocks. I had read about it in the AAA guidebook and it said it plays on the hour for 6 minutes. When that was over we went to the buffet and got to choose from tacos, chicken, prime rib, seafood, Chinese, Japanese, and American food. Plus desserts! The line to get in was quite long but moved along quickly.
When we left I decided it need to try the slot machines. I put a dollar in one and lost it and put another dollar in a $.25 machine and had 4 trys and lost. Oh well. Will go again to the casinos tomorrow and maybe I'll get lucky. Dave insists that I play until I win enough to pay for the trip.
My aunt Terry used to live in Las Vegas and she gave us some tips on how to win at the machines. Will try that out tomorrow. If we win big we may not be coming home (just kidding).
Dave got us a hotel room at New York New York - how fitting - for tomorrow evening and also tickets for the Cirque du Soleil show "Zumanity".
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