Hoover Dam & A Sliver of Vegas

After all of the driving we've done this week, I have to say that most of it was really not that bad. Until today. The ride from the Grand Canyon to Las Vegas (about 4.5 to 5 hours) sucked. OK, I take it back... most of it was OK, too. But the last hour or so, and especially the stretch from the Hoover Dam to Vegas? OH.EM.GEE. I just wanted to get out of the car. Out of the car NOW.

As always, we got up early, packed up the car, and left as quickly as we could. We arrived at the Hoover Dam around noon, and well, we were out of there in about 15 minutes. The Hoover Dam? I'm sorry, but it was B-O-R-I-N-G. I had totally overestimated what this thing would look like in my head, and when we finally saw it, I was completely underwhelmed. Oh well.

(ETA: Thanks to a commenter, I'm now aware that we were in the wrong spot for pictures. We were at the back, and somehow completely missed the front of the dam. In hindsight, I still don't see how we could've accessed the front from where we were. Oops! That makes a lot of sense, though, because Michael and I kept saying that it looked nothing like we thought it would. Come to find out we were just on the wrong side! Amateurs' mistake.)

Still, we parked for a few minutes and took a few photos, simply because we were there.

Once back on the road, we hit a lot of traffic on our way to our hotel in Las Vegas, which was a Westin located about a block off of the strip on Flamingo Road. After suffering a bit longer in the car, we finally pulled in and were able to get out of that stinkin' car.

We were immediately taken aback by the OVEN that we had driven into. The forecasted high in Las Vegas today was 97 degrees. Yowzers.

We took a bit of a break in our air conditioned hotel room, but then decided to brave the strip for a little while. We applied a ton of sunblock and hit the streets.

Given the heat, we didn't go too far. We got to the strip and cut across the street to position ourselves in front of the Bellagio fountains. There were a lot of people standing around waiting, so we figured we were probably pretty close to being able to see one of the fountain shows (which we now know occur on the hour and half-hour, in case you're curious).

While we waited, we busied ourselves with more photos:

In the meantime, Nora fell asleep. So cute, but even in the photo you can tell she's sweating!

How cute is she, gripping onto her little rubber ducky that the Westin gave her upon check-in?

Soon, the fountains began to do their thing:

After the show, we ducked into a hotel/casino for some air conditioning. While we walked through, Nora woke up (the girl can't pass up a chance to people watch!). Once back outside, we were immediately hot again. There's not much you can do when it's freakin' 97 degrees.

Nora was a champ drinking water out of the bottle.

By this time, it was later afternoon and we were starving, so we started to look for the nearest place to eat. We stumbled upon Margaritaville and we went with it. A frozen drink + a gigantic pulled pork sandwich later, and I was a happy camper.

After eating, we didn't feel like we really had anywhere else we wanted to go (especially not with a baby), so we went back to our hotel. Michael wandered around with Nora while I played a few more penny slots--and I won $10. Woohoo! :)

Once again, I just have to comment on the cuteness of summer clothing. Tank tops! Shorts! I die.

Nora was EXHAUSTED tonight, so we made sure to get her to bed early. She was actually sleeping a little bit before 7:00. Yes, you read that right--we were in our room for the night by 7 p.m. We clearly do not belong in Vegas. :)

Although this has been a great week, I think we are just about ready to go home. Up and at 'em early tomorrow morning...

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Las Vegas to Zion National Park

Michael and I woke up at 6:00 a.m. this morning. Bright and early, thanks to the time zone change. As we continued to rest for a few minutes, we heard Nora start to stir, so we got up to start the day. Thankfully, she slept through the night without issue, despite being in a strange hotel crib. (I don't know why I continue to be surprised by how adaptable this baby is, but I am. Every time.)

After we showered, got ready, and packed up (with all of the moving around we're doing, the packing/unpacking is going to get OLD--I can tell already!), we went downstairs to take a little walk around the casino before checking out.

Nora was happy to watch me play a few minutes of penny slots (we weren't very lucky), and people watch. There's something strangely fascinating about the people sitting at the Black Jack tables, drinking spirits at 7:30 a.m. Ahh, Vegas.

We went back upstairs to retrieve our luggage and hit the road. But first, we made a pit stop for a photo op at the "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign. This was something we never did during our first trip to Vegas, so it was something Michael really wanted to do this time. Especially with Nora.

Nora's faces in self-portrait pics = Priceless

After hunting down a Walmart and stocking up on essentials like baby food, water, and an abundance of snacks, we head out on the highway, making our way to Utah and Zion National Park.

The drive is very scenic, but wow--there is pretty much nothing out there! Good thing we had plenty of gas and didn't need a bathroom. :) In all, it took us just under three hours, and Nora slept for 2+ hours of it. Little snoozer needed a good nap!

We arrived in Springdale to find a cute little village with shops, restaurants, and hotels. We were struck by the beautiful mountains surrounding the entire area. Gorgeous! I mean, check out the view from the hotel parking lot:

We got checked in and settled. After such a great nap, Nora was extremely happy, so we had to snap a few pics of her while she enjoyed her lunch.

Oh, my heart.

Our hotel is located just outside of the entrance to the park (super convenient!), so after lunch, we decided to walk over to the park to get the scoop. The entrance fee is $12/person and is good for seven days, so we purchased tickets and went on in. After studying a trail map for a few minutes, we decided to explore Watchman's Trail, a moderate level trail.

It was in the low-60s here today, which we thought was still kind of chilly when we started out. However, as we got moving, we realized it was actually pretty warm! We started shedding layers pretty quickly, and I really wish I had worn shorts!

Thank goodness for Nora's sun hat. The sun was harsh, and Michael and I were unprepared, with no sunscreen. Thankfully, we ended up with a little sun on our faces and arms, but no burns. At least we now know better for tomorrow!

The hike was beautiful, with stunning 360-degree views. It's times like these when you look around in complete awe of the beauty of the Earth!

Nora napped the entire way up. Gotta love the Ergo carrier! Tomorrow, I want to try her in the "back carry" position. Although I made it up fine, there were times that it felt very difficult to lug a ~15 lb. weight on the front of me! :)

We saw several of these little lizards scurrying about along the trail.

Eventually, we reached the top of the trail, with a viewpoint of the Towers of the Virgin, lower Zion Canyon, and Springdale.

Smooches! A cute pic that Michael snagged as I kissed Nora at the top of the trail. *Love*

By this point, it was late afternoon, so we began our descent to get down and get FOOD!

Michael and Nora are in this pic; they are just very small! :)

The trail took just about two hours roundtrip. Not bad for Nora's first-ever hike! :)

We stopped back into our hotel room to clean up just a little, then headed out for dinner. We decided to go to Zion Pizza & Noodle Co.

We grabbed a table out on the balcony--how could you NOT eat outside when this is the view from the dinner table?

Nora rounded out the day by being an angel at dinner. We enjoyed a Spicy Southwestern Burrito pizza, which was different than anything we've ever had before, and really good!

Another fun-filled day in Zion planned for tomorrow!

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