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Published: July 22nd 2013
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Hi all,
After a truly amazing couple of weeks in Hawaii, the mainland's certainly got a lot to live up to!
We spent a night in an airport hotel in LA and then left the next morning for the start of our giant road trip. When we picked up our hire car, we were surprised to find that they just tell you to go into a big hangar, from where you can take your pick from any car in your category - they're all just sitting there with the keys in. So, after looking at several different makes and models we settled on a Chevrolet Impala (now christened Hawk after my golfing partner in Bali). It feels right to be driving a big American sedan, it's also got a giant boot which we'll be living out of for the next 7 weeks.
On the way to Vegas we stopped at a huge outlet mall, I hate shopping but I have to say I was quite impressed. Loads of big brand shops at very cheap rates, my shopping adviser bought more for me than for herself!! We also stopped at Outdoor World just
outside Vegas, which is about the size of Princes St and you could buy everything from boats to guns to food and of course loads of camping gear. We're planning to camp for at least 2/3rds of our nights here, both to save money and see the best of the national parks, so hopefully all our stuff will be money well spent (therma rests, stove, loads of dried food, pots/pans, cutlery, picnic mats etc!).
After that it was time for Vegas baby! I've been a couple of times before so I was particularly keen that Kirstin would enjoy herself (hopefully so we'll keep coming back!!). We were staying at Planet Hollywood, as we could get it on BA air miles and it's right in the centre of the Strip. Over our three nights there we toured all the main hotels - Bellagio, Venetian, New York New York, Excalibur, MGM etc - they really are something special. We obviously spent some time gambling too, while trying to ensure we got as much out of it as possible by taking full advantage of the free booze at the tables (unfortunately we weren't successful enough that we can keep travelling
for ever!).
One of the definite highlights for me was a trip to the buffet in the Bellagio, I would recommend this to anyone. For $30 dollars you can eat an unlimited amount of just about any food you can imagine, and the quality is stupendous - crabs legs, lobster, various roasted meats, salads, sushi, pasta, a million puddings etc etc !! (Oh, free drink too). After this we just about managed to walk as far as Treasure Island where we went to see Mystere, the show by cirque du soleil. It was amazing, full of great gymnastics and a real pleasure throughout.
Our other significant focus in Vegas was to try and get a proper engagement ring for Kirstin. (My campaign to persuade her that the Accesorize one that I proposed with would be good enough has been a bit of a non-starter). Over the three days we visited a number of different jewellery shops and worked out the type of diamond, style of ring, size etc. We eventually found exactly what we were looking for, a beautiful ring and diamond, and more importantly the bride to be loves it!!
After Vegas we've driven up through Arizona to Utah, for five days in Zion National Park. The scenery round here is incredible, large canyons and rock faces carved out of the desert sandstone by wind and water. The canyon walls go up several thousand feet and the canyon floor is remarkably narrow. We hiked up and out the canyon on one long day to the highest point at 6500 ft with amazing views, and another day we hiked up the canyon river itself (no path, you just get your feet wet, walk up the river itself and keep an eye out for flash floods). This was really special as it steadily got narrower until it was only 20 feet wide with canyon walls over 2,000 feet sheer above on either side. Hopefully the photos will describe it better than I ever could.
We've been hiking everyday and alternating every two or three nights between camping and motels. It's a tough shift with the daily max temps above 40 degrees every day we've been here so far. The heat is brutal and really saps the energy out of you, we're definitely going to try and avoid hiking for
longer than 6 or 7 hours per day. (It's a consistent joy every time we've been camping when you get somewhere that's got air con, a shower and a bed!!)
We're currently having a rest day in the frontier town of Panguitch, great little stop over to catch up on laundry and stock up on food. We've just discovered it's got a tiny cinema which shows one film per month so we're off there tonight after the luxury of a large BBQ on the lawn of our motel.
Next up is camping in Bryce Canyon National Park and then the Grand Canyon itself, cannot wait for it!!
Missing you all,
Donald and Kirstin. Xxx
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