Nevada Redeemed or The Night we became Crunchy Granola

July 13

We woke up in a big, beautiful, air conditioned house only a few blocks off of Las Vegas Blvd. Our hosts, Dan and Nisha, good friends of K's Uncle Walt and Aunt Dana, led us through the bright lights and glitter of Vegas to their gated community the night before. We were more grateful than we realized for the air conditioned space since apparently the temperature was supposed to hover between 105º and 110º for the entire week. That's the kind of heat we didn't even want to dream about camping in. (Dan & Nisha, we owe you more than we can ever say!)

Even though our hosts were in the process of moving out of the house we stayed in, they still gave us the star treatment. They showed us the easy way in and out of all the touristy parts of the city and even gave us the best parking tip we've ever gotten (maybe in our lives). After packing the car and having our fill of coffee, tea, and OJ we set our for the heart of Sin City.

We drove down Sahara Ave. and pulled into the back of Caesar's Palace, where Dan and Nisha had told us how to snag VIP valet parking. We stepped out of the car as casually as we could, tossed the keys to the valet, and sauntered through Caesar's back door. The glamor (and clamor) of the casino hit us almost immediately and we spent a moment "Ooing" and "Ahhing" (while still trying to remain chill, since we were VIPs...) before walking through to the street entrance of the famous strip . Every single space of sky and sidewalk was taken up by a colorful, neon sign or building. It is very easy to imagine being swept up in all the hustle and bustle that makes this city so much fun. We didn't have much time but we were determined to gamble a little while we could. After all, it is Vegas!

We went to the Bellagio entrance, through a long lighted walkway, and quickly found the penny slots. When we each found a game we liked we put in our dollar (Hey, Big Spenders!) and casted our bets. K won $3 at on point on a "Mystic Mermaid" slot but quickly lost it all when she got a little too daring with her winnings. We all had our downs too. Here are some inside scoops on slots we do NOT recommend: "Cops and Donuts", a "Western" one, and any one to do with coyotes. That's just our professional opinions.

We had gotten the inside scoop from a friend on how to get free decks of cards from the blackjack tables, so when we had had our fill of the slot machines, we decided to try it out! We all went to a different table to see what we could find but when K approached a pit boss near a blackjack table to get her deck she was immediately scolded for crossing "the white line." K tried to ask the dealer if she could please have just one of the throw away decks but halfway through her sentence she was interrupted with "Stay behind the line, Ma'am." K apologized, of course, and tried to ask again but was once again stopped with a "Behind the line." After looking forlornly at the pit boss K retreated back to where B & C waited and headed dejectedly to the gift shop where they sold some of those same cards she had just risked her life for.

Once we had finished perusing the gift shop we exited through our secret VIP door to pick up the car. We gave the valet our ticket, tipped him $2 for his trouble, and jumped in the car giddy with the thought that we just parked in Vegas for TWO DOLLARS! We drove off to find gas and drive down the strip. When we stopped to fill up we got a little taste of the people in Vegas when a man dressed in full pirate gear walked by. He even had a real parrot sitting on his shoulder. Our last stop within the city limits was, of course, the famous "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas!" sign. There was a parking lot just next to the sign for all the tourists (like us) and when we got out we gad to wait in line to get our picture taken in front of the sign. There was a local waiting to take advantage of us poor out-of-towners by offering to take our picture so that we would tip him in thanks. We outsmarted his scam though by asking some people behind us to take our picture for free! (Take that, Mr. Local!) Once we got our money shot, we set out for Zion National Park, although we had a few states to cross before we got there.

When we got to the Arizona border, K got out to pose with the sign while B took the picture. In the middle of the photo session, K whipped around, pointed her finger out, and shouted "YELLOW CAR!" All this enthusiasm made crossing Utah's border far less exciting.

We got to Zion fairly early in the evening but only felt like relaxing once we set up camp. It was nice not having to rush off somewhere as soon as we arrived in a new area. We considered hiking some of the trails in the park since there were still two or three hours of daylight left but our drive and a long day in Vegas had left us pretty beat. Eventually, we put on our bathing suits and went to dip ourselves in Zion's Virgin River as the sun set.

When we returned to our campsite we couldn't help but notice how bright and clear the night sky looked. since it was so warm outside, and there was a mysterious lack of bugs to bother us, we decided to sleep with the door of the tent open and our heads hanging out. We all thought this was a good idea but K & C wanted to take it one step further. With B's semi-consent, they dragged the tent out from underneath the tree that had shaded us from the sun so we could fall asleep watching the stars. We all felt like pretty crunchy granola after that.

Mileage to date: 4,931

States visited: Nevada, Arizona, Utah

Yellow Car Count:

C - 150

B - 165

K - 210

Highs and Lows:

Group High - Seeing Vegas VIP-style

Group Low - No big winners

C high - crunchy granola time!

C low - Zion heat

B high - VEGAS!

B low - leaving vegas :(

K high - Sleeping under the stars

K low - getting into trouble with the casino security