Jason and I have traveled to Las Vegas many times, brought there by conferences, anniversaries, and juvenile frolics. This November it was business that took us to Sin City but amusement and cuisine that kept us there.
Las Vegas is an odd place. It may look modern but in lots of ways it’s completely backwards. Although elsewhere humanity has made progress, in Vegas it’s still okay to objectify women and blow cigarette smoke in someone’s face. Yes, some things about that epicenter of indulgence literally stink. However, few places on this planet are packed with as many tantalizing restaurant and entertainment options. I’m salivating simply at the thought.
Attending La Reve gave us an excuse to wander around Wynn.
Jason had company business and clients to attend to the first couple of days we were in Vegas but that didn’t stop us from enjoying ourselves. We ate fabulous dinners at Delmonico Steakhouse and Tom Colicchio’s Heritage Steak and caught The Beatles LOVE with his customers and coworkers.
Jason didn’t mind following my suggestion for a little sunshine.
Once Jason’s work was over, we spent the rest of the weekend shopping, showing, and soaking in all 76 degrees of the sun’s glory.
The Venetian, like many of the hotels on The Strip, has a posh pool area.
We sampled scrumptious seafood at AquaKnox and saw Le Reve, the aquatic masterpiece voted best show in Vegas. But, even with all that fanciness, my favorite part of our whole trip was just sitting by the pool with an iced green tea and a laptop. Relaxation is the rarest adventure in our lives.
Las Vegas isn’t a place I could be content for more than a few days but for a limited amount of time, surrounded by sunshine and shops, I can cope just fine.
Oddly, although the temperatures were rather cool in Moab, we spent the afternoon, following our Dinosaur Stomping Ground Tracks excursion, in a Fiery Furnace. The Fiery Furnace is an area of Arches National Park that’s covered in a labyrinth of towering sandstone fins. There are no paths or signs in this region and access is limited to special hiking permits and ranger-led tours. We’ve been trying to join one of these tours for years now but tickets are hard to come by. Finally, this time, success was ours!
Beyond this slit, three arches awaited.
The Fiery Furnace was impressive and worth the wait. Our three-hour expedition involved discovering quite a few arches, crawling through cracks, hopping over fins, and wedging up steep rock. It was fantastic! It’s easy to see why searches/rescues happen in the Fiery Furnace every two weeks on average though. Getting lost or breaking a limb would be simple in that sea of crevices.
We hiked down fins, over fins, and up fins in the Fiery Furnace.
Skull Arch is among the Fiery Furnace’s numerous surprises.
We finished our hiking day with what should have been a quick jaunt to Eye of the Whale Arch, which is also in Arches National Park. This arch is accessible via a short hiking trail that juts off a 4×4 road. Although only about two miles of four-wheeling is required to reach the arch’s footpath, it’s a rough enough journey to discourage all but the hardiest of off-roaders…and my too-assured husband.
The Fiery Furnace is both roomy and squishy.
The Fiery Furnace frequently required crab walking and undignified scampering.
Jason suggested that we check out Eye of the Whale and was convinced that our Forester could handle its bumpy access road. I, on the other hand, remained thoroughly unconvinced. Clearly, if I’m taking the time to convey this story in great detail, I was right but let’s proceed as if you don’t already know that.
Trekking through the Fiery Furnace felt like an adventure.
Jason’s confidence bested my caution and off to Eye of the Whale we went. A little over a mile in, the road traversed an extensive wash area where it had been so distorted by the intermittent flow of water that our mighty Subaru seemed unavoidably destined for High Centerville. Yet, Jason remained irrationally undaunted. We made it halfway through the washy patch before he finally realized that, as ever, my assessment was correct. However, because we were surrounded by steep embankments, we ended up having to drive backwards for quite a ways to a point wide enough for turning around. Going forward was bad enough, trying to navigate in reverse was completely unsettling.
Balanced Rock, the size of three school buses, is just one of Arches many wonders.
After all that, there was no way I was missing Eye of the Whale so we parked our car and trekked the last bit to its trailhead on foot. Eye of the Whale was pretty cool and provided great views through its opening of Herdina Park, the western section of Arches. So, at least, this ill-conceived outing wasn’t a complete flop.
Eye of the Whale is “fishy” on one side. This isn’t that side.
During our return drive, a souped-up Jeep passed us. Its passengers were plainly concerned about our ability to make it out. They made sure we cleared one particularly brutal hill before continuing on their way. The moral of this story? Wives should be heeded at all times. They are infallibly wise and always right. Don’t agree? That’s because you’re wrong.
Jason loved Intrepid’s constantly changing surface.
Intrepid just kept dishing out the awesome.
We spent our last day in Moab biking the Intrepid Trail System at Dead Horse Point State Park. Intrepid offers seventeen miles of mouthwatering singletracks. It provided us with nonstop delights, from its breathtaking and intimidating panoramas of Canyonlands National Park to its twisting joy of a path. While biking nine miles on the Big Chief, Great Pyramid, and Raven Roll Trails, we took in the Colorado River from 2,000 feet up and raced through playful rock gardens and undulating grasslands. Dead Horse Point is a mountain biker’s dream, a dream I hope to have again soon.
The views from Intrepid are unbelievable and worthy of pause.
Oh Moab! No praise could ever overstate you, no frilly vocabulary could ever adequately describe you, and no amount of visits could ever make you commonplace. Between your stunning scenery and diverse diversions, you will forever remain one of my favorite spots on earth.
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