We're being accosted by Chipmunks!

We did our best to wake up early on Monday morning, but still didn't leave camp outside of Zion until 8:30 am. Our plan was to do the 5.5 mile hike in Zion from the Grotto up to Angel's Landing, which is the most talked about hike in park. We got to the trailhead at 10am, just as the sun was cresting over the far side of the canyon.

Luckily, only the very beginning of the trail was bathed in sun. Once we got up the first mile or so, we were in between the mountains and out of the sun. The trail was at a pretty steep grade. Once we got up the long switchbacks, 2.2 miles up, we reached the Angel's Landing segment.

The 1.1 mile round trip was a narrow path up to the very top of the mountain. We had to walk along steeps right next to the edge, and there were chains along the way to hold on to. There were footholds here and there, but it was still a tough climb. The view at the top was a great sight of the valley. It took us an hour and a half to get to the top. We ate our lunch at the top. There were a crazy number of chipmunks running around, looking for some morsels of food. After spending about 15 minutes up there, just looking around, we made our way back down.

The Angel's Landing segment was still difficult, but the remaining 2.2 miles down was easy. We had so much momentum that it was easiest to just jog or skip down. After we got to the bottom, we took a quick swim in the stream. It was nice to be refreshed before our three hour drive to Vegas.

We did a lot of calling around to the various hotels before settling on the MGM Grand for $99. Great deal, and by far the nicest room we have/will sleep in. But Vegas itself? The worst. What a depressing place. We were optimistic in the beginning, determined to have a good time, but for naught. It was just... dirty. Skeevy. Stupid. It also didn't help that it's a bit out of our price range. We did go on a Monday night, so I guess that could explain some of it.

We went to a large number of casinos: the MGM Grand, Bellagio, Paris, Casino Royale, the Venetian, and the Palazzo. Gambled a little bit, drank. We also went to a piano bar called Napoleon's. It was okay.

Our plan tomorrow (today) is to go to the Hoover Dam, on our way to the Grand Canyon. We were going to camp in that area, and then drive thru Monument Valley on our way to Arches the next, on our way to Colorado. But wait, there's fire!

Don't know if you've been seeing it in the news, but there's been wildfires spreading across the southwestern heartland. Utah, New Mexico, and now Colorado. One of the Parks we planned to visit, Estes Park, was on fire. Another town we planned to stop in, Colorado Springs, was being evacuated. Out of a desire for self-preservation, we're skipping Colorado.

So, we spent a lot of time completely re-doing the entire second half of our trip. It'll be a Southern route, more cities than national parks. See the attached envelope for a bit of detail. Nothing's set in stone, but we are making that long overnight drive to Texas after the Grand Canyon today. To the open road!

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