Another Friday, another blog post! If you read Monday’s post, you know that I’m going to be blogging two posts a week for a few weeks to “catch up” from taking a few weeks off of posting due to some personal travel. At the time I’m writing this post, I have just returned from a vacation with friends in Mexico, and it was amazing (and yes, you already know I’ll be writing a blog post about the trip!).
Today’s post is about a different trip that my husband Keith and I took back in March to Las Vegas, NV and Zion Nationally Park in Utah. I had been to Zion once before, about eight years ago, but I knew I had to take Keith there to do one of the coolest (and most dangerous) hikes in the United States.
But I’m getting ahead of myself a little bit.
Las Vegas, Nevada
The reason we went to Las Vegas in the first place was for a work conference that my husband attended. We had both been to Las Vegas before (though not together), and it really isn’t our vibe. We don’t like crowds, we don’t particularly like big cities, and we don’t gamble. The only thing that I would consider going back to Las Vegas for would be to see a show in The Sphere, which we weren’t able to fit into this trip.
Day 1
We stayed at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino right on Las Vegas Boulevard. Honestly, I found myself very overstimulated while walking on the casino floor. The classic “casino tactic” of keeping it dim with blaring music and flashing lights to confuse drunk people and make it impossible for them to find the exit so that they’ll have to stay inside and gamble is extremely effective. I could hardly find the exit, and I was sober.
Our first night there, we attended a welcome party on the rooftop of the Paris Casino. It is so gorgeous inside that casino, with the ceiling painted like the sky and the shops and restaurants built like a Parisian street. The rooftop was equally as stunning, being located at the base of the Eiffel Tower statue and with a perfect view of the Fountains of Bellagio. Afterwards, one of the executives from Keith’s company took our whole group (there were six of us from his company) out to eat at STK Steakhouse. It was, in a word, delicious (and I don’t even eat meat – their truffle macaroni and cheese is so good).
Day 2
The next day while Keith was in meetings, I had made plans to meet up with one of my cousins who lives there. Unfortunately, she was sick so I was not able to see her on that trip. So instead I went down to check out our hotel’s pool (it was nice but still too chilly for me to swim), went next door to the Paris hotel to get a breakfast pastry, then walked down the street a little until an unhoused man screamed at me that “video killed the radio star”, which I of course already knew. At that point, I’d had enough of Vegas for one day, and I went back to the room to take a nap.
Later that night we again went out to eat with Keith’s coworkers, this time at Scarpetta. Again, even though I don’t eat meat, the food was incredible. A lot of people think that because I’m vegetarian, it must be hard for me to find food to eat at restaurants, but that is rarely the case.
Day 3
On the last day of Keith’s conference he only had meetings until noon. After he got out, we rented a car and drove the two hours to Zion National Park (with a quick stop for lunch at White Castle first). The transition from the desert surrounding Las Vegas to the high desert mountains surrounding Zion is so beautiful to drive through.
Zion National Park, Utah
After eating such delicious food in Las Vegas, we were not impressed by the Red Rock Grill at the lodge in Zion. But we weren’t there for the food.
We were there for the hike. The hike. Angel’s Landing. Known for being one of the most dangerous hikes in the U.S.
I had hiked Angel’s Landing on my previous visit to the park, before permits were needed (if you’re planning to visit Zion and hike Angel’s Landing, you can find permitting information from the National Park Service). In preparation for this trip, I had submitted a bid for permits three months earlier and, luckily, won them. There were a few people who showed up to the Scout Lookout checkpoint just ahead of us who didn’t have permits, and they were not allowed to pass. Don’t let the fact that the whole trail is “paved” up until the checkpoint fool you – its still a strenuous hike and I definitely wouldn’t want to go all that way just to be turned away from hiking the rest of the way to the top.
The view from Angel’s Landing is incredible and honestly makes the whole thing worth it. It’s hard to put into words just how beautiful the hike was, and these pictures don’t even do it justice. It’s honestly just something you have to experience for yourself to understand.
It took us about four hours from where the bus dropped us off at shuttle stop six to hike all the way to the top of Angel’s Landing and back. I would say it took us about two hours to get to the top, then we stayed up there for 30 minutes resting, hydrating, snacking, and taking pictures, and then about an hour and a half to get back down. The hike down would have taken far less time if we didn’t have to stop and wait for the uphill hikers to pass. The trail is very narrow and many sections have a chain to grip to help prevent falling. It’s pretty much a sheer cliff down almost 1,500 feet to the bottom of Zion Canyon on at least one side of the trail for most of the hike.
Las Vegas (round two)
That was the only hike we had time for on this visit (go big or go home, right?), so after we got back to our rental car we made the two hour drive to Las Vegas. Our friends Rachael and Travis were in town that night for a hockey game, so we met up with them for supper at Nacho Daddy Las Vegas. It wasn’t nearly enough time to catch up with them, but it was definitely so good to see them!
It was early to bed for us that final night in Las Vegas, because our flight left at 6:55 the next morning – it was either that or at 2:00 am. I could never. Did I mention that day was Daylight Savings Time change? Yeah, not a fan.
All in all it was an amazing trip, and as always I’m so grateful for any and all travel opportunities I have. Although I probably won’t be planning another trip to Las Vegas anytime soon, it was the perfect jumping off point to visit Zion National Park.
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about our adventures! One of my favorite things to do is travel to new places with my husband, and I love getting to write these “travel journal” blog posts. If you want to read more from my National Park Chronicles, you can click to read part one and part two.
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