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Published: October 31st 2012
Day 2 started in the middle of the night, around 3am local time. It turns out that adjusting to the 7 hour time difference isn't easy! We were all proud of ourselves for getting through a night in Vegas! We met for a continental breakfast at 7am and were ready in the coach to leave early! We didn't have to chase any student! I'm pretty sure that is a first on one of my trips!
The hotel in Vegas was a travelodge and was a typical USA hotel with hotel rooms that lead straight outside.
We set off for Zion National Park at 7.45am and we settled in for afairly long coach journey. The scenery was incredible as we left Vegas. It went from city to desert in an instant with almost no transition! A very odd site. Our drive down the strip on the way out of the city showed us what a remarkable place Vegas truly is. Passing hotel resorts that are based on some of the most amazing cities in the world. The MGM is the biggest hotel in the world with some 6000 hotel rooms as well as about 1000 time share rooms!
On
the way to Zion we went through hours of desert scenery. One thing that strikes you about this place is the massive scale of the country! It's quite overwhelming!
We all jumped at the chance to visit a Wall Mart megastore on the way and did some shopping. We struggled to find anything small enough to buy for lunch! Everything is supersize and it's a little surprising.
On arrival at Zion, we were greeted with some of the most incredible scenery we have ever seen. Vast sandstone cliffs and at 7500 feet elevation, the air was clear and the sun was shining. A toasty 27 degrees was a nice difference to the UK weather!
The student were ecstatic every time we went to a gift shop. They have bought all sorts of souvenirs and I apologise in advance to all the parents who will shortly be receiving these items!
We heard lots stories from our tour guide who has told us all about the history of the areas we have passed through anhoists interesting to learn how influential the Mormons were in the development of this area.
We also learned all sorts of interesting information
about other features such as the Hoover dam. Apparently there is enough concrete in the Hoover dam to build a 4 foot pathway all the way round the equator! There is also enough water to fill the whole country of Italy in a foot of water in lake Mead behind the dam.
The students have been on form and have been playing tricks on the staff all day with Mr Bilton being the focus of most of the jokes. Mr B has been trying to hunt a rattle snake all day so Andrew Cutler got a toy snake in the shop and put it at his feet and said 'sir, look, there's a snake'. The resulting screech from Mr B and the leap into the air made him a target for the rest of the day. Another trick later in the day sparked the same reaction in Mr B and this reaction has been named 'doing a Bilton'.
A great day has been had and we are now in our hotel in Bryce Canyon City and about to go for a buffet dinner. We will roll back!
See you soon!
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Lorraine
non-member comment
more pictures please
looks great, please more pictures