Nevada / Utah 2024

Saturday      April 27     travel day, Philadelphia to Las Vegas

Sunday        April 28      Las Vegas

Monday        April 29     Meow Wolf / Springdale, Utah / Zion National Park

Tuesday       April 30     Zion National Park    

Wednesday  May 1        Bryce Canyon National Park

Thursday      May 2       Kodachrome Basin / Chimney Rock / Devil’s Garden / slot canyon 

Friday           May 3        Torrey / Gifford House / Goblin Valley State Park / Price / Park City

Saturday       May 4        Park City

Sunday         May 5         Park City

Monday         May 6        Salt Lake City 

Tuesday        May 7       travel day, Salt Lake City to Philadelphia

The story begins with our kitty, Stella. She went missing on Wednesday April 24. We had a late afternoon flight scheduled for Saturday the 27th. That day our minds were not on packing or planning; it is on our missing kitty. 

We have posted online, searched the neighborhood, contacted organizations, and notified neighbors. On Saturday morning, we cover our town with flyers in a light misty rain until we have none left. It is an hour and a half before we have to leave for the airport, I look outside once again, and there she is snacking on the food we left on the side porch. I yell out to Dana who is in another room, Stella! After 42 hours, she is home and looks just the same, as if she never left.

With joy and relief, we pack up the car. Stella wants to go right back out but we say, ‘no way’ and lock her in. It’s ok, our daughter will be home to mind the kitties while we are away.

Saturday 27th

Our flight was the best kind - uneventful. We land in Las Vegas at about 9:30 p.m. and get to the car rental by shuttle. This is our first time renting from Easirent. The person checking us in asked for my car insurance card. Who carries that with them? We have been traveling for over 20 years, and never have we been asked to provide our auto insurance card. I asked what my options were and there were only two - 1. provide my insurance card 2. buy their insurance. Out of desperation and frustration I looked at old emails on my phone. And out of pure luck, my insurance provider had sent me an email with a copy of my policy. Whew, glad that was taken care of, not sure what I would have done if I didn’t not have that. The next issue was with the vehicle option. I had rented a Jeep Compass and received a Chevy Blazer. I wasn’t too happy, but I know it says ‘or similar’ in the fine print. I looked over the vehicle and found someone had keyed the rear passenger side pretty badly, and the fuel gauge showed about an eighth of a tank. When I brought the issues to the attention of the Easirent employee, he said not to worry, they don’t charge for scratches and that I didn’t have to fill the fuel tank upon return. This was new to me, and I was skeptical, so I took pictures of everything. 

Sunday 28th

Our first day in Las Vegas. We are staying at the Horseshoe Inn for 2 nights. To get outside we walk through the Paris Hotel and once outside I begin taking pictures, the first of about a thousand. Our first highlight is brunch at Lago, which boasts a James Beard award-winning Chef. We are there early because we are hungry, and we are seated in the front row on the patio with a view of the fountains. It was a fine brunch on a beautiful day capped off with their largest dessert - an ice cream sundae topped with cotton candy.

After the meal we made it to Flyover. We chose the Iceland trip. There were only 4 other people there and we were escorted in low light to our seats. After the lights go out, the ‘flight’ begins! The screen is not visible and fills your forward view. The seats pitch, tilt and seem to hover. It is a very convincing effect. Along the way ‘travelers’ are hit with mist to simulate atmospheric conditions which add to the illusion. The first few seconds really impacted me with a sense of wonderment about how beautiful our Earth is. After our first flight, we were offered a second flight for just $10 each. We took them up on the offer and ‘flew’ over the Canadian Rockies on our second trip.

After wandering around looking at the sights and shopping we headed towards Beauty and Essex for dinner. I had never heard of it, but Dana said it was highly recommended. Hidden behind a door to a pawn shop (mostly filled with guitars and jewelry) Beauty and Essex is known for their unique sharing plates. 

After dinner we drove to the Neon Museum. It is an outdoor museum filled with old neon signs from famous Las Vegas hotels. As the sun sets, the signs reveal their full allure.

The main event of the day has now come - ‘O’ by Cirque du Soleil. We walked to Bellagio and had a little trouble deciding which entrance to use. Bellagio is a huge property. We are about 20 minutes early so we decided to get on the snack/refreshment line. That's when I realized how service away from the Northeast always seems slower. Time is ticking away and there are only 2 people behind the counters. As they announce the beginning of the show, I purchase my goodies and seek Dana out in the dim light of a packed house. 

I knew nothing about Cirque du Soleil going in, other than the shows usually contained acrobats and clowns. Neither is my cup of tea. The show started off slowly and gradually picked up into an almost incomprehensible overload of stunts, antics and side shows all going on at once. The floor opens and closes throughout the show to allow people to either ‘walk on water’ or dive into it from the ceiling. I tried to make some sense of the storyline but failed due to the dangerous stunts drawing my attention. I leaned forward in my seat for a good while, totally engrossed in what I was watching. And it ended too soon. I wanted more. It was amazing and if I have the chance, I will see it again. I actually felt sad when the final curtain was drawn - which I’d like to try to describe. The curtain was animated with precise manipulation by a means I could not decipher. The final red curtain did not just drop from the ceiling, it ‘flew’ forward into place from what looked like a basket from a hot air balloon. 

Monday 29th

Breakfast at Cafe Americano. We sit at the bar, eat breakfast, and plan our day. Dana does not want to miss seeing Meow Wolf before we leave Las Vegas. Have you ever heard of Meow Wolf? This is the first time I have heard of it. Meow Wolf is located with 2 other buildings on Area15, which does not exist. Dana, my navigator guides me to it but I cannot decipher where to park. I cannot see the front door and the signage is lacking. The front entrance, which is 2 doors under a large white triangle painted onto the surface of the building, is hidden. Two statues of red dogs on pedestals guard the entrance. Quickly upon entering I seek out an employee and begin to let her know my troubles in finding the entrance, to which she responded by saying, “yes, that is the idea, we don’t exist.” OK, I chilled out after this bit of information because I wanted to see what other surprises this place had. It didn’t take too long. The place is something like a mall, but each ‘store’ offered a fun mind-expanding activity. We explored 2 small gift shops, rode Haley’s Comet (which glides along the ceiling) and explored Omega Mart for a few hours. Omega Mart is not easy to explain, but I highly recommend experiencing it. You start off in a very strange store where you can actually buy things. It is hands on, so you are encouraged to interact with anything you find. While you are doing so, the intercom talks about people who go missing and that you should ‘free your mind’. And that is just the beginning. Once you enter the freezer, a short corridor leads you to another area much larger than the store itself. Inside there are multiple levels to explore which offer a whole new world of sights, sounds, and clues.

We could have spent a day there, but we had reservations at the Bumbleberry Inn in Springdale, Utah. The drive would be close to 3 hours. Before we set off, we shared a piece of red velvet cake we bought out of a cake dispenser located in the hall between the Horseshoe and Paris hotels. We should have bought two!

Before getting to Springdale, we stopped at the Rib and Chop House in St. George, Utah where we both enjoyed expertly cooked filets. We had to make a quick decision about where to eat, and the Rib and Chop House was right off the highway. It turned out to be an excellent choice!

We arrived at the Bumbleberry Inn in Springdale at night and just had a little time to explore the town.

Tuesday 30th

Springdale has a population of almost 3000 people. The shuttle is running inside town and takes visitors to the Zion National Park Welcome Center. The Bumbleberry is at stop 5 and 1 mile away is the Zion Visitor Center which is stop 9. Inside the park, there is another shuttle (both shuttles are free) to take visitors to different points of interest and trailheads. The Inn offers vouchers for breakfast at Porters. After breakfast we head to our first hike - the Watchman Trail. It is a little over 3 miles, plus we did the loop at the summit. Along the way we saw a deer, a golden mantled ground squirrel and a Woodhouse’s Scrub Jay. It was a relatively easy hike for us even though we are not very active, although I did sign up at my local rec center a month before our trip to try to get some cardio training. After the hike, which took us about 3 hours, Dana wanted to explore the town, so we walked back to our hotel, stopping for ice cream and souvenir shops. 

Our next hike was the Canyon Overlook. To get there you have to drive through the Zion Mount Carmel Tunnel. There is a sign before the tunnel entrance to remove your sunglasses and put on your headlights. My sunglasses are prescription. The tunnel was very dark, and I immediately leaned forward in my seat to try to see better. Dana knew I was having difficulty but was afraid to take her eyes off the road. We only saw 2 other cars in the tunnel, so extra light or a guide to follow was not available, but we made it through. The first parking lot on the right was for compact cars only and we had a big ole Chevy. The next lot on the left, which held about 5 parking spots was full. I ended up making a U-turn and driving through the tunnel again! Then another U-turn to get back to where we were. This time I pulled over into the tiny lot and just as one car was leaving. What luck! The Canyon Overlook trail sign says it is 1-mile round trip, but it seemed longer. It was full of thrills, and when I say thrills, I mean a little scary. My eagerness held my fear at bay, and I was hiking at a quick pace. My thoughts focused on Dana a few times because she is not fond of heights. She said, ‘don’t ask, just keep going.’ Along the way we had to walk across a tiny bridge attached to the mountainside. The hike had a huge payoff at the end - an epic view of a valley, the type you usually see only in movies. On the way back, we were honored to see a family of big horned sheep. They climbed straight up the mountain about 15 feet in front of us. Once they gained the high ground, about 20 feet above us, the male walked to the edge of a cliff and stared at us while the female and babies stayed behind him. 

Wednesday May 1st

Breakfast at Porters with our free voucher. This is our second time here and once again we ordered 3 plates and once again our server warned us that our voucher was only good for 2. Hey, we are foodies! After filling up, we were on our way to our next destination, Bryce Canyon National Park, just 2 hours away - although frequent stops for picture taking makes it a wee bit longer. We stopped at our hotel first, Ruby’s Inn. It is located in Bryce Canyon City which has a population of about 332. We stopped for lunch in Tropic at I.D.K. Barbecue. It was surprisingly excellent. The brisket was cooked for 16 hours and had the tell-tale pink smoke ring. It was the best brisket I ever had. I believe the chops out west are better than what I am used to on the east coast. 

Our first hike in Bryce Canyon was at Mossy Cave. It is a 1-mile hike that is easy to do. The highlight of the hike was getting down a small hill to get up close to the small waterfall. We are early in the season, so all of our hikes had few other people around. I remember looking at the land and getting this feeling that things weren’t random. The trees, rocks, and vegetation seemed to have some purpose or pattern to it. 

After that small hike we had a snack at The Canyon Diner, which boasts ‘hot and fresh made pizza’ once again surprised me at how good it was. I guess there is no room for subpar restaurants!

Thursday May 2nd

Our day started with a breakfast buffet in our hotel, Ruby’s Inn. Our second hike in Bryce Canyon started at the Navajo Loop trailhead located at Sunset Point. After reading conflicting reports we decided to start at Sunset Point and finish at Sunrise Point. ‘This is the way.’ The Navajo Loop trail starts off with a steeper decline than the end of the trail, so it is easier and more gradual to get back to the stop at Sunrise Point. I do not know the total length of the hike because we did a combination of the Navajo Loop and Queens Garden trails. I would estimate about 3.5 miles. It took us about 3 hours. I would say the hike had a moderate difficulty level and the number of views and change in landscapes makes it one of the best. 

At night we drove to Inspiration Point and Bryce Point. We were done hiking for the day, and it was the ‘golden hour’ for picture taking, so we just walked up to the points and tried to capture the scenery with our cameras, which once again I realized is not possible to capture everything the eye can see.

Once it got dark, we took a little drive out to reach the furthest point, but it was a really quiet dark road. We turned around and went back to Bryce Point to see the stars. There was no need to go to the furthest point out, Bryce Point has very little light pollution and the night sky was full of stars.

Friday May 3rd

On recommendation we drove to the Kodachrome Basin. Our first stop was Chimney Rock. Yeah, just a tall giant rock in the middle of nowhere but picture taking time was quite fun. Next stop was a little out of the way but totally worth it. After 10 miles of washboard road, located in the Grand Staircase-Escalante there is a hidden gem called Devil’s Garden. It is a natural playground with soft sand, plenty of hoodoos to explore, and silence except for an occasional wind. On the way out I had to stop and take pictures of the cows wandering around on the sides of the washboard road. Utah was proving to be nothing like I had imagined.

We had reservations for 4 p.m. at Hell’s Backbone Grill in Boulder, Utah. It’s quite a feat to plan something weeks in advance and to be on time. The restaurant enjoys one of the highest Zagat ratings in Utah and was selected as a James Beard Award semifinalist for Outstanding Restaurant in 2022 and 2023. And you can taste why they achieved such ratings. I had beef with polenta, beets, Brussel sprouts and mashed carrots. For dessert I chose something out of the ordinary - pepita praline pie, which was excellent and would pair with just about any meal.

After that fine meal, we went to a small slot canyon located about 11 miles away off of Burr Trail Road. At this point we were a little weary of hiking, so the short walk into the ‘slot canyon’ was very welcome and offered a great backdrop for photos.

Our final destination was less than an hour away at the Capitol Reef Resort in Torrey, Utah. I took many pictures and videos along the way. We were on scenic route 12. Torrey has a population of less than 300 and the area has a backdrop of beautiful deep chocolate-colored mountains and hills.

Saturday May 4th

Dana and I explored the area around Torrey. We went to the Wild Rabbit Cafe for breakfast and then headed to the Gifford House and Museum known for it’s pies. There are many other quick stops in the area. Including a free-to-pick orchard. This area is one of the most beautiful areas I have ever seen in the U.S. Just my style, orchard trees with a backdrop of red/brown mountains. 

Our next stop was Goblin Valley State Park, about one hour and 20 minutes away. Along the way we stopped in Hanksville for gas and a quick bite to eat. Outlaw’s Roost was highly recommended, and we ordered tacos there. They were excellent! I started to think that any restaurant not up to par in these small towns were quickly out of business and only the best survived. For gas we stopped at Hollow Mountain, where the mart is literally built in the side of a mountain.  

Goblin Valley is a state park, you are allowed to fly a drone after a quick form and a $10 fee. We arrived in the heat of the day, and we felt it. I wore my hat. There is a fairly large parking lot and after that, you are on your own to explore the area. I spotted a large clearing and headed right for it. I took a few drone videos that look like I’m on another planet. I felt like a little kid. At one point a family was heading towards the area and I was ready to tell them I am a new ‘pilot’, but they detoured once they saw the drone. I also took pictures; the place is surreal. You can see snowcapped peaks in the background of a landscape that could be mistaken for Mars.

In the late afternoon we set out for Park City, Utah, about 4 hours away. This would be our longest drive. The first leg of the journey was on 24 East. After a small town called Green River, we turned northwest onto 191N/6W. Although this area was almost devoid of towns and places to stop, it was very memorable. We wish we had a geologist to explain how all the landscapes formed and what the mountain ranges were made up of. We passed through areas where as far as the eye there were mountains all of the same color. Then after a bit of a drive you would enter another area where the mountains were a different color. This lasted the whole drive. 

For lunch we stopped in Price, Utah. The town looked a little run down, but we found good eats at the Tangerine Eatery. Once back on the road, the landscape kept up its steady change of mountains, hills and colors. As we approached Spanish Fork there was a large wind farm right along the highway and the mountains changed to green. Not green with trees, but vegetation. They reminded me of the rolling green hills in Europe. As we pushed closer to Park City, we started to see snowcapped peaks. We drove through Provo and Heber City. They reminded me of coastal New England towns. They looked like nice places to visit, if only we had more time. At one point I was stopped at a red light and as I viewed a snowcapped mountain filling up my windshield view, Dana said it was 73 degrees out! 

We arrived in Park City at around 9:30 p.m. We unloaded our luggage and went for a walk down Main Street. We had the town to ourselves because although Park City is home to two world class ski resorts - this is the off-season.

Sunday May 5th

 We had breakfast near a ski lift at a place called The Bridge. Afterwards we went souvenir shopping. I bought 5 t-shirts after announcing I don’t need any more at the beginning of the vacation. In the afternoon we walked through a small park and went to Ritual Chocolate which is based right here in Park City. For dinner we went to the High West Saloon and sampled some of their whiskeys. They are Utah's first legal distillery since 1870. One of their offerings was called ‘Campfire’ and that is exactly what it tasted like - liquid campfire, and that is a flavor we enjoy. 

Monday May 6th

In the morning it snowed! It looked like Christmas time. We stopped at The Eating Establishment for breakfast and then did some more gift shopping. The snow didn’t stick so it was clear by the time we left for our final destination of the vacation - Salt Lake City. The ride there is only 40 minutes. After checking in we took the free shuttle bus to Tony Caputo’s Italian deli. It boasts the country's largest selection of craft chocolate. I spent more money on chocolate than I did for lunch!

 

Our next stop was downtown at the Gateway, the centerpiece of Salt Lake City’s downtown area. It is a collection of shops and eateries with an indoor/outdoor mall-like feel. 

For dinner we tried Afghan cuisine for the first time at the Afghan Kitchen. It had one of the highest ratings online for the area. The outside didn’t look like much, but inside was cozy and the food was excellent. We explored the city with a carefree drive and then I met up with a friend who moved out there many years ago. We talked about the good old days when we were in a band together while Dana shopped in the ‘9th and 9th’ area.

We wanted to see the Tabernacle, but it was covered in scaffolding for renovation. Instead, we visited the Cathedral of the Madeleine. It was nighttime and we had one more stop for the evening, TF brewery, highly recommended by another friend who had recently moved into the area. I tried their stout named ‘Mary’s Dry Irish Nitro Stout’ and it was the smoothest nitro beer I have ever tasted. 

Tuesday May 7th

We stayed at the Plaza Hotel which is conveniently located just 11 miles from the airport and there are shuttle stops right outside the main entrance. This is our last day of vacation, so we have breakfast in our hotel restaurant followed by a short drive to the airport.