From Vegas to Mountaineering

    So, you CAN do Vegas with kids, it’s just not nearly the same type fun, but it’s still a good time:)  We parked our motorhome, for three nights, in a parking lot for motohomes, just off of Fremont Street. From here, we either walked or used Uber to get around, instead of taking La Jefa.  After doing a little research on what to do with kids in Vegas, without breaking the bank, we decided on a few things. 

Day one was spent walking from our motorhome to Fremont Street. While we walked the street, we checked out the light display on Fremont’s outdoor ceiling and ended up at Container Park. This park is made up of shipping containers. It has a cool park area, eclectic shops, and an open, fake grassy area with music/stage. Even when no one is performing, there is still some upbeat music playing, and you can play a series of large board games on the fake grass. Checkers followed by large lego builds  were what the kids gravitated to. We all enjoyed this park.

 From there we took an Uber to Mandalay Bay and walked the strip. The Excalibur caught our attention as it has an old school arcade in the basement. Here, we spent a couple hours wasting money for tickets and cheap prizes. We continued up the strip but, decided to pass on any ride type of activity as Disnelyand is coming up in a month. We hit the M&M store and bought candy to perk our tired bodies up. We made it to the Bellagio to see the water show and the botanical garden before calling it quits. The kids were tapped out and so we Ubered home around 5pm. 

The next day we had a great start to our day. A friend of mine (since we were 11yo) was in town for a holiday, so we met for breakfast. It was a nice breakfast/brunch before we attempted our second day. We offered the kids one ‘Show’ here. We watched trailers for Cirque de Soliel, The Blueman Group, etc. The Vegas Knights hockey game against the Montreal Canadiens won out. The kids wanted to do the pools at one of the resorts in the meantime, but we were hesitant because they are all outdoor pools, and it was not hot, or even warm here. The temperature was highs of 20/21, but generally around 56 Fahrenheit with the wind chill. Nope not happening, not swimming weather. So, I found one indoor pool in Vegas (ha ha- 9 out of 10 pools here are outdoors). We headed over for an afternoon swim before the game. Let’s just say it was a let down. The lifeguards were very strict, even though the boys and Adam were like the ONLY people in there. 

    It was pretty funny to see how much Wyatt loved using Uber. All the cars that picked us up were Teslas, BMW’s and other fancy cars ( That's Vegas for you). That boy has expensive taste, and would oogle each car and ask the driver if they liked their car and why. After each ride he would say, I could have one of those! Get a really good job boy! 

The game was really good! And for me to say that, someone who is generally only a fan of my son’s hockey, says something. The teams were so evenly matched. It went to overtime, then to a shootout, and then an extra player shoot out, as it was tied every step of the way. In the end, the Knights won. After the game we decided to try “The Shake Shack”. This is a famous east coast food chain. We got milkshakes, and they were delicious. Mmmmm, just thinking about them makes me want another. The area around the arena was so crowded with people, so Uber was out of the question until things died down. I suggested walking over to see the new Vegas attraction, The Sphere. It looks so amazing, but I did not want to go to a show beacuse I was scared I would get motion sickness like in an imax theatre. I just wanted to see/check out the glowing orb. We walked over towards the Sphere and enjoyed our milkshakes. The walk took longer than anticipated, so when we finally arrived, the Sphere’s show was done and people were everywhere once again. This makes the Uber prices double and you still have to wait for a long time. I told the kids let’s just walk away from the crowds and we will get a ride in a little bit. By this time, the kids were crashing, and while we walked back to the strip and took a connecting overstreet bridge to continue north, there was a better view of the Sphere then where we just were. I cursed myself for making us walk right up to it.  By the time we caught a ride it was 12:30am. Latest night my boys have had in a long time.

We left the next day, as we needed some outside time. We headed over to Hoover Dam to take a bike ride along the old railway and visit the dam. It was more impressive than I thought. So much concrete and engineering in a remote location that was done in only 2 years!  That was our Halloween. I gave the kids each a Fanta after the ride and said, “Happy Halloween! Here is your candy!” And. that was that.  A little anti-climactic, as I usually love these dress up holidays, but the kids were happy and that’s all that matters I guess. 

Following the bike ride, we drove into Lake Mead National Park and Boondocked for the night. Very pretty looking National park, but we did not explore it. The next day we went to hit Valley of Fire State Park as many people recommended we see it. This place was like Craters of the Moon, but instead of black lava it was red rock. We enjoyed our two hikes and the museum. Onward out of Nevada, and upwards to Utah. Excited to see some of Utah’s Mighty 5.

Once into Utah we hit the first National Park we came to, Zion. It definitely WOW’ed me like Yosemite, but with different colored rock. Here, we got to do some really cool hikes. Weeping rock, and The Emerald Pools were cool, but it was The Narrows that stole all of our hearts. Here you need to hike through a narrow canyon with water being the main obstacle. The Virgin River runs through it. So we rented dry suits (waders), neopreen socks and water shoes, along with a walking pole. In Zion, you park at the visitor centre and you are shuttled to all your locations by bus. There are 9 stops. We never had to wait long for a shuttle as they come very frequently. They take roughly 40 min to do a full one way trip to stop 9. At most stops they had rows of chains and posts for when many people are waiting to catch rides. I asked the ranger when their busy time is, and how many people come here. In July and August, they see 30,000 people daily! Oh my! I’m so happy that we are choosing to see these beautiful parks in the slower seasons.

The Narrows was an adventure. You start getting your feet wet right away, literally.   Around 500m in the river narrows more and the water gets deep. I mean up to Gibson’s neck deep. I could see he was scared, but Adam was right behind him, and many people were cheering him on and telling him that he was brave and doing such a good job. It helped him and he was proud of himself. We did not see many kids on this trip. So many people commented on how well the kids were doing, and I have to agree with them. Gibson told me that the water in his shoes felt like jello when he walked and was a weird sensation. I agree.

Wyatt is a true 10 yr old boy. You can’t tell him something. He has to figure it out on his own. So there was no stopping him while he was in his element. He was parkouring off of the rocks, and hiking through the water like he was born to do it. He was outpacing everyone. I was worried, but I was behind him, so if he did fall, it would be downstream to me. And, if he needed to learn something about river hiking it was going to have to be through natural consequences. About an hour into The Narrows, Gibson and I got cold. We wanted to make it to Wall Street, where the canyon narrows even further, but it was not in the cards. You have to hike out the way you come in unless you are doing a few days and camping along the way (25km total) to the top of The Narrows.  We stopped, had some lunch, and walked back. Wyatt and I both had a few wobbles but managed to stay dry. And the second time Gibson did the deep section of water he handled like a seasoned pro. 

Both days we were in Zion Park we tried for the lotto entry to do Angels Landing hike. Both times we did not get picked for the lottery. I was disappointed as that was a hike that I’d seen pictured many times, and wanted to do first hand, but alas it was not in the cards. The Narrows ended up being a highlight that I had not expected.

We decided on Bryce Canyon next as we wanted to get up to Salt Lake City to see Antelope Island before the snow falls. What’s there to see on Antelope Island you ask? Is it deer? Yup thats right. They’re some epic deer there that my hunter boys want to see. So up we go. 

Bryce was a short stop on route after Zion. We arrived late afternoon and hit up the vistor centre so we could talk to a knowledgeable ranger tohelp us plan our next day hike. He asked how long/distance my kids and I wanted to hike. I over estimated and said we could easily do 10km. Now that would not have been an over estimation if it had been flat, but oh no, this was some serious inclines and declines.  We did the Navaho trail, followed by the Peekaboo Trail and lastly Queen’s Garden Trail making a figure 8. It was 10 km total. We almost died… well not really, but we were truly spent. And, we still had a 5.6km bike ride to get back to our motorhome/campsite. Next time I will say 5km. Learned my lesson!

Bryce Canyon reminds me of red/white/cream colored intricate sand castles that are ready to crumble at any minute. Stunning scenery, and it’s really hidden from the road as you drive by. Until you’re actually in the park itself and get to a view point, you almost can’t see it. It’s not like Zion or Yosemite where the mountains stand out from the landscape and present themselves to you. 

Tomorrow we are going the rest of the way to Salt Lake City and we have a campsite booked on Antelope Island. Here we plan to chill for 3 days and do crafts and bike around to check out the wildlife. Wish my boys good luck!