Jacek
Lights! Glamor! Entertainment! Bla bla bla.
In my continuous attempts to understand Las Vegas, once again I have failed. Sure, it’s all flashy, colorful and um… ‘interesting’ looking but I just don’t seem to get the flow. At least we stayed in a neat place right next to the Strip - the beating heart of Vegas. So what can you do in Las Vegas? First of all gamble. After you’re done check out one of the many shows like the Blue Man Group, Pennn and Teller or Siegfried and Roy. When you’re done head over to a hot club and a cold Martini.
Well, we didn’t so maybe next time.
Jacek
From Grand Canyon over to Zion National Park in Utah. This visit was a bit surreal; I never thought I would come back to the place I used to live and work at few years ago. To my surprise pretty much everybody I knew there moved away but I was lucky enough to meet Lila and Joy (hello!).
Enough of that. Zion is awesome. Regardless of all the good memories I have of this place, it’s beautiful and definitely worth seeing. As usual - lots of noisy tourists but fortunately I know the place pretty well, so we took a hike away from all the crowds and did a bit of rock climbing to see a hidden waterfall. We finished the tour at the Bumbleberry, where we tried their famous pie.
But the day was not over just yet…
Jacek
Wow. Simply wow. Grand Canyon is an amazing place to see. It’s huge, it’s beautiful and it’s overcrowded. Fortunately we were able to find a quiet spot to sit down and enjoy the view. It’s really calming.
However when you look at it, it’s not easy to understand the size of Grand Canyon because you have nothing to relate to. If there are any humans down there, they are too small to see, if you find a tree, it looks just like a little bush.
Before getting to the South Rim of Grand Canyon, we kind of lost our way just a little bit and almost drove to Lake Powell but heck, we got to see more. Well, if you count driving down the same road three times…
We have some problems with internet access on the deserts, so you may experience a slight delay. Worry not, buckle up and enjoy the ride. That’s what we’ll do.
Jacek
Arriving at Roswell, New Mexico where and Unidentified Flying Object allegedly crashed in 1947, while the military officials claim it was nothing more then a weather balloon.
So what’s to see in Roswell? Well…. a few alien themed restaurants and a UFO museum. That’s pretty much it. No glowing trees or alien life forms on the streets.
And so, we took off and drove over 500 miles through the desert heading towards the Grand Canyon. If you think that’s boring, think again. We’ve seen dried plains, volcanic formations, cactuses, drove through a forest in the middle of a desert and found a NRAO Very Large Array (huge antennas checking out what’s going on in the galaxy).
Next stop - South Rim of the Grand Canyon.
Jacek
This is the longest drive we had so far. I think it’s the fourth day of driving or so. I may be wrong. It’s not easy to keep track of time or even days. Anyway, We visited Austin, Texas. Had a quick look at the Capitol building. Of course, since it’s Texas, the Capitol has to be bigger then the one in Washington. However, unlike the latter, we were able to get inside.
Now, what good is a visit in Texas if you don’t get to shoot stuff? We stopped at Red’s indoor firing range for a couple of rounds from M4, AK-47 Kalashnikov and a .357 Magnum by Smith & Wesson.
I honestly have to say that was fun. But… how did they check that I’m not a psycho and can handle a gun? Well I just had the check a little box saying ‘I do not have any mental disabilities or illnesses’ and sign at the bottom.
To buy a gun in Texas, all you need is a driver’s license. That’s it. What’s more you are legally allowed to carry around a loaded Kalashnikov on the streets. Not that we’ve seen that but you can nevertheless.
And the quote of the day is ‘If more people had a gun, we would all be safer!’… Rrriight.
After getting out of Austin, we headed west and stopped by a replica of the Stonehenge that is 2/3 size of the original. The rest of the day was pretty much even more driving in the general direction of South Rim of the Grand Canyon.
Jacek
And we’re heading west to Texas. Driving out of Miami through Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and through Houston to Austin, TX.
Of course for a ride like that we had to change the Mitsubishi Eclipse for something more appropriate. Say… a 2006 convertible Mustang. Yeah that should do the trick.
Honestly we were hoping for more desert driving in Texas but it’s all green around here. No deserts so far. We should be getting some of that in New Mexico and Arizona. And then we shall see what we were asking for…
Oh, and once again we found a great, American place to eat - Mel’s Diner in Louisiana, where they server real hamburgers that are absolutely delicious. No fast food here. Just real food.
