Time to chillax...

Day 19 – July 17, 2016

Las Vegas, NV – Scottsdale AZ

320 miles – 5 ½ hours

110 degrees

Today was a long, hot day. The drive form Vegas to Scottsdale was mostly barren. And at times the topography actually liked like we were on a different planet. The drive was also long because it seemed as though every 45 minutes, someone had to go to the bathroom and we were literally in the middle of nowhere. I’ll let your imagination fly with that one.

We stopped at the Nevada-Arizona border to see the Hoover Dam. Wow. It’s mind-blowing. I was nervous because often when you hear how big something is, and see many pictures over the years, what you’re seeing doesn’t match up to the hype. In this case, it did. It’s cool. We didn’t stay too long though – it was hotter than hell.

We arrived at the Camelback Inn at 4p.m. We hung out at the pool and then went out for an early dinner. This hotel is one of all my all-time favorites. I love it here. We’re nesting for a couple days to rest, do laundry and celebrate Camden’s 9^th birthday. I’m going to take a few days off, but will catch you up before we start heading home.

Quote of the Day:

Cammy: "My least favorite part of the road trip is how long it takes to get to each place."

It's this weird? It's like another planet?

 Serious drought conditions. You can see the normal water line - where the rocks change color.

Roller Coaster Madness

Day 18 – July 16, 2016

Las Vegas, NV

Temperature 109

We had a very lazy morning. I think we’ve all hit a wall. I was exhausted. Rich and Audrey got up at the ungodly hour of 5 a.m. and went to the strip in search of breakfast. Can you imagine? When they got back, the boys and I were still asleep. I didn’t rise until 8 a.m.

While Audrey and Rich were at breakfast, she convinced him that it would be a good idea to ride the roller-coaster at New York New York, rather than my planned excursion to the Hoover Damn. They rallied the boys and I was the odd woman out. I gave in to peer pressure and rescheduled it for tomorrow. To the strip we headed.

It was hot, hot, hot. We had lunch at an Irish Pub in the NY NY hotel, and then headed to the roller-coaster. It was pricey, so we decided that we’d only send Hunter and Audrey. Audrey begged me to go, and I stupidly relented. I like wooden roller coasters, but I’m not a fan of mac daddy coasters. 

This was somewhere in between, and it was a couple flights up off the ground to begin with.

It is the last roller-coaster I will ever ride. I almost threw up and it jerked me around so much I had a headache for an hour. I am officially too old for this.

We walked down the strip to the Bellagio. I wanted to see the fountains, but unfortunately they weren’t on. We checked out the lobby of the hotel, which is pretty, but insanely crowded. Everything is just so, so crowded. And there are weirdos everywhere. We encountered one lady while we were walking on the sidewalks that was so strung out (blabbering to anyone and anything she passed) that the homeless guys told her to lay off the drugs.

We got back to the hotel around 4 p.m., and rested before going out to an early dinner. We ended the evening the pool, where Barrett terrorized some preteen girls with his constant jumping in the pool. They were basketball players. Thank goodness for understanding parents.

Quote of the day – from a stranger.

We had a rough dinner at McCormick & Schmicks. Our server was awful and we had to wait an hour for our food. Rich heard a little girl at the table next to ours (we both had “private tables, with curtains – kind of cool) say the following:

“It never fails, we get a sucky table and great service, or an awesome table and sucky service.” She was correct (and they had the same waiter).

First some photos from last night that didn't upload...

Pre-show selfie

 The Venetian at night.

Show photos..$$$ Cha-ching

Ah, youth...

And me...

Aud & B...walking on the strip.

Gardens in the Bellagio.

The Paris hotel 

The Bellagio

Day 17 – July 15, 2016

St. George, UT – Las Vegas, NV

159 miles/ 2 ¼ hours

Temperature – 118 degrees!

It was a relatively easy drive to Vegas. The highway took us through some pretty mountains. And it was kind of cool how we drove over a hill and then all of a sudden – we could see Vegas in the distance. It’s a huge payoff after miles and miles of nothing. But oh, how I wish I could have seen it in the 1960s and 1970s.

We arrive too early to check in, so we found a place for lunch and then drove to the strip. Very crowded and an assault on the senses. Poor Bear Bear. There’s just so much to see and everything is big and bright. We drove to the famous Las Vegas sign, so we could get our obligatory picture. Rich was not happy about getting out in the heat (we passed a digital thermometer that read 118 degrees). But its Vegas and we had to have the picture. And of course – it’s dry heat. Amazing that it can be so hot, and yet none of us were sweating. I love it.

After check-in, we hit the pool for a little bit. We got ready and headed out for an early dinner, because we had show tickets! On the hotel’s recommendation, after I asked for a decent family restaurant that wouldn’t break the wallet, we ended up at Café Grand Deluxe in The Venetian, which is on the strip. The hotels on the strip (ours is a few blocks off the strip, thank God) are enormous. We entered through the front door of the hotel, and had to walk about mile to get to the restaurant. Of course the restaurants are all located on the other side of the casino. So we had to walk through the smoky casino and were treated to quite a show. Oh boy! Quite the crowd in Vegas.

After dinner we walked across the street to the Mirage for our show. Cirque du Soleil – Love, a tribute to the Beatles. Oh my goodness – hands down the best show I’ve ever seen. And that my friends was the consensus of everyone in the family. It was a big score for me, because even Barrett liked it. Every time I looked at him, he was smiling.

After the show we got to see the Vegas lights for real and the crazy was just starting to get wound up. Time to head back to the hotel, must to the chagrin of Rich, Audrey, and Hunter. I swear, the older I get, to bigger stick in the mud I’ve become. It’s rather sad.

Cammy quote of the day

the kids were talking about were they wanted to live one day. Audrey mentioned that she liked the dry heat and maybe she would move to the dessert. Cammy said, "I'm thinking big baby! I'm moving to L.A.!"

Bryce Canyon

Day 15 – July 13, 2016

Provo, UT – Bryce Canyon National Park

239 miles – 4 hours

Temp – 96 degrees.

We had another four drive today, which got us to Bryce Canyon just after lunch time. The park is very, very pretty, but smaller than I’d anticipated. We explored it mostly by car, and were finished after a couple of hours. I hate to admit it, but at this point the parks are starting to blend together a bit for me. Audrey kept asking me which one was my favorite of this trip, and I couldn’t come up with one.

The kids all gave me a hard time because we’re staying at a Best Western. Spoiled, spoiled, and spoiled. They are Marriott people, for sure.  Hunter was particularly surly about our accommodations. Thank goodness for Camden, who always tries to look on the bright side. He told me that he was quite impressed that the bathroom had two sinks.

The kids were on my nerves today – and each other’s. And I’m sure I’m on their nerves.

We had dinner at a different Best Western, located across the street from our hotel, which offered a dinner buffet. As you would expect, I was less than enthused. I am dying for a nice healthy meal.

That was it – a rather uneventful day. It’s kind of sad when you see the pictures below.

Quote of the day:

Hunter was crashed on the couch in the hotel room, pretending to be asleep during our “reading hour.” Audrey was complaining that it wasn’t fair that Hunter didn’t have to read like she and Camden did. Camden said, “Audrey maybe he’s just tired.” And then after a beat he said in a stage whisper to Audrey, “Nah, he’s just tired of US.”

Salt Lake City

Day 14 – July 12 2016

Park City, UT – Salt Lake City, UT – Provo, UT

117 miles – 2 hours

Temp – 93!

I was sad to bid adieu to Park City – as was Camden. At breakfast he asked me if we could come back and stay for more than one night. I said, “Of course.” His reply, “I’m so glad, because they have Lucky Charms here!” It’s the little things…

We headed into Salt Lake City to see the Mormon Tabernacle, the capitol building, and the Family Heritage Center. The Tabernacle was out of town, so it was just some dude playing the organ. I had to watch from an observation room, because you’re not allowed in the church if you’re not Mormon. Talk about exclusionary. The Capitol is gorgeous, inside and out. We did the self-guided tour and ran into a group of Chinese tourists who were on a guided tour – and they were ra-hude! And people say Americans are rude. One woman elbowed Audrey and nearly knocked her over to get her picture of the Utah’s House of Representatives. Good Golly – it’s not Independence Hall!

I wanted to get to the Family History Center and look up a few ancestors, but it’s located in Temple Square. Parking in downtown Salt Lake City is a problem and eventually, I just gave up.

Next we headed northwest to The Great Salt Lake. This is where the day took a weird turn.

I always imagined the Great Salt Lake as being in Salt Lake City and a center of recreational activity – ala Lake Michigan for Chicago. The lake, however, is located 20 miles northwest of the capitol city. Still, being the largest salt water lake in the western hemisphere, I was curious. We made the drive. From the highway I could see the lake and it’s a beautiful bright shade of blue. It also appeared that there was a huge beach, yet very few people where on the shore. This should have been a warning, like in the horror films - TURN BACK! It was hot, and I actually said out loud, “I wonder why no one is at the beach?” We parked at the Great Saltair (a creepy looking building that is billed as a concert venue), and headed to the beach.

The smell was weird and the sand was not sand. It was hard and crusty and we surmised that it must have once been the bottom of the lake and the water had receded and the sun dried it up. The closer we got to the water (about a mile away), the muddier (& yuckier) it got. Audrey was barefoot (?!?!?!?!?), so you can imagine her commentary. We also discovered that about every ten feet, there was a bird carcass encrusted in the mud. Disgusting. Barrett and Audrey made it to the lake first, and of course, Barrett took his shoes off and headed in. I had to yell for him to stop – I was afraid he’d jump in. Not to be out-done, Audrey headed in. By the time I reached the shore, there was a scream. All of us were under attack by these strange bugs. They were like locusts – it was so gross. Hunter never even made it to the shore, he saw the chaos and turned around. I grabbed Camden and yelled, “Let’s go!” The bugs followed us for about half a mile, before we got some relief. I have no idea what they were and I don’t care. We escaped relatively unscathed (they didn’t bite, thank God).

We spent the night in Provo, Utah. We once again ended up eating in the hotel, because there were very few options for dinner.

Quote of the day:

Cammy:

“These bugs are really attracted to me.” Then he groaned and continued, “I just want it all to end!”

The SLC Church of Latter Day Saints

Inside the capitol.

View of SLC, from the steps of the capitol.

The kids heading to the Great Salt Lake.

Aud & Bear - brave...

The creepy Great Saltair building.

Zip Lining!

Day 13 – July 11, 2016

Moab, Ut – Park City, UT

247 miles – four hours.

Temperature in Park City – 67!

We had a slow morning due to the fact I had some work to do and some bills to pay. I kind of lost track of time, which was unfortunate for the day’s plans. We drove north from Moab to Park City and much of the drive was through very barren countryside. Lots of cars – but not buildings and no trees. About 45 minutes outside of Park City things started to turn green, and I relaxed a little.

Park City is adorable, as I knew it would be. I love these cute little ski villages we’ve been visiting – and I don’t ski. Go figure! Because of our late arrival, we only had a few ours to spend at the Utah Olympic Center. Hunter decided to hang back at the hotel with Barrett. He said he had to run. He’s been very diligent about sticking to his training schedule. I’m proud of him.

The Olympic Center is cool, especially for the kids. The Salt Lake 2002 Olympics where very spread out, with venues in Salt Lake and Park City and I’m sure other places, as well. The center in Park City is where the ski jumping, luge, and other skiing events took place. Their museum wasn’t as good at the one in Lake Placid. I personally preferred our visit to Lake Placid a few years ago and loved how we could walk down the street in Lake Placid and see where practically every event was held. I know the Olympic Center in New York offers rides for the kids, but we didn’t visit them. I remember offering to take the kids up on the ski lift and they were all too scared. Times have changed! Audrey did the freestyle zip line, and Cammy did the adventure course – which ended with him zip lining. I didn’t think he’d do it, I really didn’t, but he did. This was huge for him! He told me that he was scared before they let him go, and his stomach felt funny, but midway through his flight he said he was fine. It was cool.

Bleak....

Getting better the closer we got to Park City...

Aud on her way up. 

Off she goes...

He did it!