January 2000
Our first stop was in Vegas. I didn't think I'd like it, but I ended up enjoying it a lot. I managed to win $12.50 at the Blackjack table. Better than losing money... We stayed at the brand new Venetian, complete with a replica of the Grand Canal on the second floor, with lots of stores of course. At the end of the "canal" was a piazza with a couple of restaurants where we had dinner one night.
From Las Vegas, we took a day trip to the National Parks of southwestern Utah - Zion and Bryce Canyon. They aren't far apart from each other, but are vastly different in character. Zion (above) overwhlems you with the sheer size of its formations. Vertical cliffs rise 3000 feet from the valley floor, straight up into the sky. On the other hand, the beauty of Bryce Canyon (below) lies in the intricate details of the rock formations and it bright red colors.
Also, Bryce Canyon is on a plateau much higher than the floor of Zion Valley. Therefore it was much much colder there, as you can see from the snow.
Continuing on our tour of the southwestern canyons, we went to the biggest of them all, the Grand Canyon. You hear and read about the Grand Canyon being a mile deep and however miles wide, and this and that, but you don't really realize the immensity of it until you see it in person. It is huge. As far as you can see, it is one canyon after another. It was pretty darn cold here too. It makes sense when you consider that the canyon is a mile deep, and the Colorado River, flowing at the bottom of it, has to be above sea level. Which means that standing at the rim, you are at least 5300 feet above sea level - pretty high.
A small part of the Painted Desert is located in the northern part of the Petrified Forest National Park. The bright pink, red, and brown colors of the landscape are incredible.
In eastern New Mexico is the gaping hole left by a meteor as it hurtled through the atmosphere and crashed down in this remote part of the US. Meteor Crater is only 6 miles south of Interstate 40 and was an easy detour. Remnants of the meteor are still buried underneath the ground, but it had broken into small fragments from the force of the impact and are scattered in a very large area.
We spent a couple of days in New Orleans sightseeing, listening to jazz, and eating gumbo. Above is Jackson Square, in the heart of the French Quarter, across from the St. Louis Cathedral.
There are many jazz halls in N'awlins. We went to a couple, but I liked the dark dingy atmosphere and good music of Preservation Hall the best.
