After arriving early afternoon and checking into our hotel we headed for The Strip. Maybe it was that we were coming from the beauty and serenity of the many National Parks we had visited, or maybe that it was St Patrick's Day and everyone, young & old, seemed to be on a mission to get as smashed as possible, but we just didn't feel comfortable in the midst of all the noise, partying & alcohol. Kinda like Ma and Pa Kettle in the middle of Schoolies' Week! The gaming areas also smelled of stale cigarettes & alcohol, which turned us off a bit, so we wondered if we had done the right thing booking 3 nights here.
But it wasn't all bad....
We saw a couple of great shows, Jersey Boys, and The Rat Pack is Back. The guy who played Frankie Valli, and the 2 guys who played Frank & Dean were so damm good they could have been the real McCoy. After the Rat Pack show we wandered into Freemont St (which is part of the "old Strip" ) and enjoyed the vibe here much more than the new strip. The feeling was more relaxed and not as alcohol driven and there were some great live bands playing in the street. We grabbed a margarita (or maybe 2) and wandered along soaking it all up. There was also an overhead light show happening every half hour complete with music.
As neither of us are attracted to the gaming tables we needed to find daytime activities, so... naturally, we went to a national park! This time it was Red Rock Canyon NP which is 40 mins out of Vegas and is a rock climbers mecca. As soon as I put my hands on the hard red sandstone, with its little edges, nubs & pockets the old rock climber in me started salivating. I think I then managed to bore Susie rigid, pointing out groups of climbers and critiqueing their technique. Leaving the climbing area, we finished the 13km scenic drive around the Canyon, which is really a wide valley surrounded by high sandstone ramparts, cut by narrow tributary canyons.
Next day, we returned to Red Rock to do a side canyon walk. It was a bleak day with a bitter wind, so after a quick lunch in a sheltered hollow we beat it back to the car. That night we wandered down to the Strip again to check out the much vaunted Bellagio. Honestly, this place should not be missed. The sheer oppulence, marble everything, incredible flower displays, and water & light show are just something else. We wandered aimlessly around with our mouths open.
Now, about Sheila.
Before we left home, Susie's daughter Luisa told us that the things she was most thankful to have taken OS were her Canon G10 camera & Iphone. We agree with her completely, having brought a Cannon G12 (successor to G10) and our MacBook, but we would add one more .....and that's Sheila. Sheila is the very polite, totally unflappable lady who speaks to us from our GPS. She has unerringly guided us around the USA and if it weren't for her, we would probably still be lost...or dead... in the maze of freeways, flyovers, clover leaves, and one way back streets of Vegas. Sheila has really taken the stress out of navigation in heavy traffic, especially on and off 7 lane highways in pouring rain!...and we still speak to each other at the end of the day!
And speaking of rain.....
Bright & early the next day, Sheila navigated us out of Vegas for our planned 4 days at Yosemite NP. Our route took us through Death Valley, one of the hottest, lowest, and driest places in the USA, and guess what?? It rained..probably for the 1st time in years. As we climbed over the 5,000ft pass to the west, the rain got heavier, turned to sleet and then snow. Susie got lucky again, and was driving through it and having more kittens, but she managed well, again. On a whim, we stopped at a visitors centre at Lone Pine just outside Death Valley NP and were told by 2 nice ladies that "There is NO WAY you'll get over the mountains to Yosemite. All the roads are closed" Sheila, it seemed, for once in her life had screwed up, planning us a route which is always closed in winter. So we then embarked on a 300 mile detour to skirt the Sierra Nevada mountains. When we reached Fresno (about 2 hrs from Yosemite) Susie phoned the Lodge to advise them we would be late and ask if there was somewhere we could eat? Only to be told all roads into Yosemite were closed due to snow & fallen trees. So that night we experienced the delights of downtown Fresno....nah, forget it. There are none!
Next day conditions were unchanged and the forecast was worsening, so we thought "Let's go to Napa Valley and drink some wine!" So while I drove, Susie with the help of the Lonely Planet, Macbook and phone, went in search of accommodation. At 5pm that night we rolled into the little town of Calistoga, at the northern end of Napa Valley. For the next 4 days, we monitored the weather situation up in the mountains while sipping our way around the Napa. It rained continuously, every day, in the valley - Welcome to Sunny California! But, if you have to be trapped somewhere by the weather this was a great place to be. They don't do things by halves in the Napa - some of the wineries were absolutely stunning. Castello di Amorosa is a replica of a medieval Italian castle, right down to imported Italian stone from ruined real ones, working drawbridge, torture chamber with a rack, and iron maiden. While it sounds kitschy, it was absolutely the real deal and is a fully functioning winery complete with multiple levels of underground caves for wine storage. Another good winery was Sterling vineyards. The winery being built on top of a Napa hill, with visitor access by cable car. But, we mainly enjoyed the smaller wineries and were fortunate to meet a local wine maker and his wife at one of the tastings. We met them later for dinner, had a fun night and sampled too much of his very nice wine.
Also while in the Napa, and looking for diversions from wine drinking we decided on a heated mineral pool, mud bath & massage at the famous Indian Springs. The place is riddled with mineral hot springs and the mud is made from ash from a nearby extinct volcano - very black & heavy. It was very indulgent, relaxing and we came out feeling, if not looking, 10 years younger!!
Yesterday morning the mountain Highway over to Reno was still closed due to heavy snow & avalanche danger so needing to return to SLC, and unable to drink any more wine, we embarked on another lengthy drive, via southern California to skirt the mountains.
After an 8 hour drive yesterday, and 10 hours today, a good deal of it in pouring rain, we're safely back with Pam and Howdy in Huntsville.
The good news? The snow is great, with more expected - let's go skiing!
