Days Nine and Ten: Zion National Park to Vegas, with a Baby

Our last morning in Zion seems forever ago because apparently two days in Las Vegas can have that effect. I remember that we hiked near a river. The rest is a blur. This was our cabin.

This walk leads to one of Zion’s most famous walks, The Narrows–a hike through the river. This sounded fun to me, but there were deep spots and some rushing currents, not exactly ideal for a one year old. The river walk, however, was fully paved and wheelchair accessible. We took the stroller. A good time was had by all.

We dangled some piggies in the water.

And said goodbye to Zion.

Before we left Utah, I had to try a sugar cookie at Swig in St. George. (Utah is all about the sugar cookies. I have no idea why.)

They specialize in cookies and sodas with flavor shots.

The cookies were awesome. And I drink soda maybe twice a year, but my Coke with coconut was so good it might make me a convert. A couple of hours later, we arrived in Vegas.

It might be a law in Vegas that you have to eat at a buffet. I’m not sure, but to be safe we ate at the Garden Court Buffet downtown. It’s not as grand as some of The Strip buffets, but at $15.99 for prime rib, it’s a much better value. We cruised the strip and saved our explorations for day two. Here’s a word about our hotel. It wasn’t on the strip, and that’s a good thing. I read somewhere that it’s better for families to stay a bit out of the way, and it’s advice I would give to anyone with kids. Not only did we not have to walk through a smoky casino every time we wanted to go to our room, but we avoided the crowds and noise. (And our pool was open later, unlike some of the strip hotels.) Plus our place had swans. It was a win-win.

Day two began at the Venetian. I was on a desperate hunt for Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bakery, the vacation restaurant I most wanted to see. After wandering nearly as long as Moses in the wilderness, we finally found it.

*Side note. I recently discovered Thomas Keller’s chocolate chip cookie recipe from his cookbook Ad Hoc. It’s amazing and my new go-to chocolate chip cookie. We finally found our way out of the Venetian where the family took a Gondola ride.

We dipped into Caesar’s to escape the melting heat and some guy stripped down to his skivvies and dove into the fountain.

The excitement was too much for the baby.

We ended our blazing day of exploration at Serendipity 3 and a frozen hot chocolate. It was crazy expensive and also crazy good.

*Side note: We ate at the original Serendipity in Manhattan near out 10-year anniversary. That was before I heard they were shut down for an overflowing rat problem. Still good chocolate, though. We went back to the hotel for a siesta/swim session. After our rest, we regrouped and headed further out of town to Hash House A Go Go. Oh, my.

Everything is made from scratch, including these biscuits with peach jam.

And their specialty–fried chicken and bacon waffles.

After supper we headed back to The Strip to fulfill my daughter’s wish to see New York, New York.

We went to the Hershey store.

And then this:

The Shake Shack. Sigh. I wish I would have had room for an entire meal. Alas, I had to settle for a chocolate shake. (And stand in line forever while my family waited patiently.)

It was worth the wait. For me, I mean. Heh.

Tomorrow we head back into the wilderness, literally. We’ll be away from civilization, internet, and even air conditioning for a while. Wish us luck.

Day Seven: Glenwood Springs to Arches National Park

We headed west again. But first doughnuts.

Coloradough in Glenwood Springs custom fills their doughnuts with multiple selections of fillings. Why isn’t this a thing everywhere? How does one start a White House petition to make it so?

Moving on, we continued westward for a few more hours and arrived in Utah.

The greenness of Colorado had slowly morphed into rocks. Then the gray and green rocks morphed into red and we were here:

Let me tell you what I like about Arches. In addition to the beauty, the park isn’t super crowded like some others. (That’s right, I’m talking to you, Yellowstone.) There aren’t hordes of people hemming you in on every side, crowding for their turn to suck up the beauty. Also, it’s possible to see the park in one day. We drove the main road and paused a few times to take pictures. Of course die-hard hikers and campers will want to take more time, but the near-hundred degree temps mandated that we keep our walks short. Here are some of the highlights. (If some of these scenes look familiar, it’s because some movies have been shot here, including Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.)

Balance Rock

There are petroglyphs:

And of course some arches: (This one’s Delicate Arch.)

This was the arch used in the Indiana Jones movie. You were also able to climb part of it.

My husband and kids above and my husband making the final ascent solo below.

For supper we ate at Susie’s Branding Iron.

The food was good, the portions large, and the prices reasonable. (Their pie is supposed to be awesome, but we were too full.)

*A word about our hotel: We’re staying at the Archway Inn. It’s quiet with a nice pool and full breakfast. Best of all the room is set up for a large group. There are three queen size beds and two TV’s, so even though everyone is together we each have our own space.

Tomorrow we’ll be hiking in another national park, and it suddenly seems important to know which one the guy who did his own amputation got his arm trapped in. Fingers crossed we’ll all come out intact.

Day Six: Rocky Mountain National Park to Glenwood Springs

We reluctantly left the Stanley Hotel. But first, breakfast.

We chose The Egg and I partially because it was nearby and partially because it’s the title of one of our favorite movies. Our waitress was from Macedonia and a sweetheart, but the experience was dampened somewhat when the cashier commented to another customer (not knowing that my husband was standing right there) that our baby’s screeching was due to bad parenting and lack of spanking. (Apparently our seven year old sitting quietly and politely did nothing to endorse our parenting skills.) My husband spoke up and pointed out that thirteen months is a bit young for the beatings to start. But I digress…

It occurred to me that there are a few things I haven’t touched on, so I’ll catch up on some details of the trip:

1. The Stanley Hotel. It’s on the register of historic hotels. It was built by F. O. Stanley, the Steamer car inventor. It has been visited by Bob Dylan and the emperor of Japan (not necessarily together.) It’s supposedly haunted, including our room. But the only haunting sound we heard was the echo of the baby’s cries as he struggled to fall asleep.

2. Here’s a picture of what my baby looks like all stuffed in the car with our luggage.

3. Altitude sickness. The struggle is real, people. Not for me, but my husband and daughter are suffering from headaches, earaches, and stomachaches. (And all of us are finding it a little hard to breathe after exercise.) A guy at the hotel recommended altitude pills, some all-natural concoction. So far so good.
4. The wildlife. (The following pictures were contributed by my husband. I’m an abysmal photographer.)

Magpies:

Peregrine Falcons: (or maybe a prairie falcon. The husband’s not sure.)

Elk:

Marmots:

And this guy:

Oh, and the moon.

We finished the park and headed west again, this time on Rt. 70. We drove through Vail, the famous ski town. Sometimes you see places and think, “Oh, that’s why it’s so famous.” Vail was one of those places. Every scene looked like a picture on a postcard. I bet there were some good bakeries there, but we had no time to stop. We next drove through Glenwood Canyon, another amazingly beautiful, breathtaking sight along Route 70, because we were trying to get here:

Glenwood Springs boasts the world’s largest hot springs pool. There is a 104 degree healing pool and a 93 degree swimming pool. Combined, they are over six hundred feet long by one hundred feet wide. Formally established in 1888, the pools were used for centuries by Native Americans. After WWII, they were used therapeutically for injured soldiers. They are loaded with magnesium, manganese, sodium and several other minerals, including lithium. We were all feeling pretty good after that.

After supper we had Polish food at Polanka.

Oh, my lands. The pieroghi alone were worth the six day drive. We watched them make our food from scratch and it was so, so delicious.

After supper the group surprised me with a Dairy Queen cake because it’s my birthday. (Also because they know me and cake is always a worthwhile way to win my affection.)

Apparently this cake was made and frozen in Siberia because we were helpless to cut it, especially with the little plastic knife they gave us.

My loving family chipped and chiseled to give me a piece. I ate it guiltlessly while they waited for theirs to thaw.

Tomorrow we head west toward the desert. Something tells me I’m going to wish I had that cake again.

Day Five: Colorado Springs to Rocky Mountain National Park

Today was for exploring. With only a two and a half hour drive time, we had a few more minutes to stop and smell the baked goods. We started here in Denver. (Because what else do you do in the capitol of the country’s fittest city but buy baked goods?)

Victory Love and Cookies was featured on Unique Eats. They sell cookies and breads. We bought cookies, but the bread looked and smelled divine.

Next we moved on to Boulder where I fully expected to run into Mork and Mindy. Alas, I did not. Instead we visited the Pearl Street Mall, an eclectic shopping complex.

Due to Colorado’s notorious new law, you may be wondering if we saw any able-bodied young people crashed out on a lawn doing nothing but smoking dope. Yes, yes we did. Thankfully I’m from near Yellow Springs, Ohio, so it felt like home.

Forty minutes later, we were in Estes Park, home of Rocky Mountain National Park. With so much rare and natural beauty abounding, we immediately headed for pie.

And then the park.

The WOW factor cannot be overstated.

Speaking of WOW factor, this is our hotel.

If you recognize the Stanley Hotel, you might be a Stephen King fan. This hotel was the inspiration for the movie The Shining. (It was also the fancy hotel used in Dumb and Dumber.) It’s as beautiful and iconic on the inside as it looks on the outside. The only drawback is that all of us are sharing a room. It’ll be a battle to the finish. Something tells me the baby might come out on top.

Day Four: Albuquerque to Colorado Springs

Fact: I don’t like the heat. Yesterday when we rolled into town, it was 94 degrees, but after experiencing 97 degrees of high humidity in Memphis, I can finally say that I appreciate the difference in dry heat. Yesterday’s high temps felt downright pleasant and when the sun went down it was almost too chilly to swim. After one of the most spectacular sunsets I’ve ever seen, I am sold on New Mexico!

We took a pause on heading west and turned north toward Colorado.

Our first stop was Santa Fe. (After backtracking a few miles when we missed the turnoff.) Santa Fe is one of the oldest cities in the country, with strict building codes that mandate everything be built in the adobe mission style. There were shops and art museums aplenty downtown, but of course we had no time to see them.

Back on the road, we headed to Vegas. (Not that one. New Mexico has its own version.) We ate at a food truck called Skillet.

Between New Mexico and Colorado, the terrain vacillated from mountains to flatlands and back again. Finally, we arrived.

Our first stop in Colorado Springs was Focus on the Family. Let me just say that even if you’re not a fan of the radio program, the kids’ play area was AMAZING and a must stop if you have children under the age of 12. Unfortunately we only had ten minutes because they closed at five. (Time, our archenemy, strikes again.)

Since none of us was super hungry, we headed for Garbanzo—a Denver chain that’s the Chipotle of Mediterranean food.

But even if you’re not hungry, there’s always room for dessert.

We drove through a neighborhood where deer strolled casually on the sidewalks.

*Side note about Colorado: It’s the fittest state and you can feel it. There are no fatties here and everyone walks and bikes seemingly constantly.

To wind up the evening, we headed to Garden of the Gods, a red rock formation that springs up in the middle of green mountains. It’s almost indescribably beautiful. And, being Colorado, there were people climbing them. It was the perfect benediction to a long another long day of travel.

Day Three: Oklahoma City to Albuquerque

Two things happened in Oklahoma City:

1. We didn’t eat doughnuts.
2. We met up with Route 66

But before we were on our way, we visited our alma mater’s sister school in Bethany, which was coincidentally across the street from our hotel. Hi, SNU!

It was a long drive to the Texas border, but at least the landscape was more interesting than some other places we’ve been. (I’m looking at you, Arkansas.) The rest stop in Texas was huge and beautiful with views like this:

Unfortunately it also appeared to have the world’s supply of cockroaches and this:

(In case you can’t read it, there are rattlesnakes. At the rest area. Right next to the playground.)

An hour later, we paused on historic Route 66 in Amarillo for refreshment.

Cowboy Gelato had awesome gelato with homemade waffle cones. (Homemade waffle cones are one of the hallmarks of a good ice cream place, in my opinion.)

If you go, I would think twice about ordering anything other than gelato. On the day we went, they seemed to be short-staffed and our takeout chicken salad ended up taking almost a half an hour, putting a time crunch on our already tight schedule.

On the way out of Amarillo, we stopped here, the iconic Cadillac Ranch.

It’s a bit underwhelming unless you get out of the car and hike up close. This guy looked better.

West out of Amarillo was flattened cow country. There were cows and windmills and not much else, but it was pretty. Moving into New Mexico, the terrain was more lush than I expected, but that soon gave way to scrub and sagebrush. (But still interesting and pretty.) The terrain began to get rockier, and the rocks bigger, until we realized we were in the Rockies. Since we arrived in Albuquerque on a Sunday, many things were closed. We ended up eating at the Frontier, an iconic Albuquerque establishment with cafeteria-style New Mexican cuisine, also famous for their cinnamon rolls.

There’s no doubting we’re officially in the west now. We headed downtown to Oldtown Albuquerque, the picturesque portion of historic Albuquerque.

Not only were people out walking their dogs, having picnics, and cruising with their restored classic cars, but the Tango club was dancing in the gazebo.

I wonder what the first rule of Tango Club is? They’re probably not allowed to tell me.