A Night in Las Vegas

12/2/12:
After enjoying the amazing views in Zion National Park, we headed to Las Vegas as it seemed like a good stopping point between Utah and California. However, little did we know, this "stopping point" turned into a very hectic experience. We arrived in downtown Las Vegas around 5:30 only to find out that there was a marathon in progress which was going on from 5pm to midnight! As a result, we ended up driving the streets of Las Vegas for about an hour and a half in an attempt to reach our hotel! After finally getting to our hotel, we decided to get some dinner and call it a night.

Kathryn and Anthony Kiedis at the Hard Rock Hotel....the highlight of Kathryn's night! 

12/3/12: We left early the next morning (somewhat frustrated with Las Vegas), and headed to California to spend some time with the Goldsmith's!

Utah, Zion National Park!

12/01/12: After an early morning start, we headed through Colorado to Utah and enjoyed more fantastic views through the Vail Pass, including a surprise sighting of a big horned ram alongside the highway (no picture--sorry)! Eventually, we hit the Utah border and witnessed the amazing transition of landscape from Rocky Mountains to sandstone and clay. It ended up being a very long ride, but the views made up for it. We drove through Zion National Park during sunset (quickly turned to night) and found ourselves winding through the canyon walls, later finding our place to stay in Washington, Utah (45 minutes outside Zion National Park). We couldn't wait for the next day's hike! 

This is Kathryn walking along a ridge at a scenic rest stop along the highway!

The changes of color and rock formation was amazing!!

Sunset just outside the park!

12/02/12: The next morning, we got up and headed back into Zion National Park to hike some trails in and around the canyon (Angel's Landing/West Rim trail). Before our hike we stopped at a local breakfast place in the park called, Oscar's Cafe...food was great, it was about 8 in the morning on a Sunday and i think we were the only people under the age of 70 there (no offense to our older readers)! We then made our way to the trailhead and ascended the trail, eventually reaching the top. Angel's landing was a place at the very peak of a mountain that required chains to climb (for security). After climbing that portion of the trail, we made are way further up the west rim to see some more sights. 

 Starting off on the trail...

 Yes, more wildlife!!

 A look back down at the trail and the canyon (not even halfway up)..

 Just a sample of the sandstone color that we saw at a higher point in the trail!

 Right towards the top of the trail...a good look at the canyon from here!

On a nearby cliff, there were some California Condors posing for the hikers.

 The cliff pictured here is the actual "angel's landing".

 The chains that "supported us" on the steeper parts of the trail.

 A view directly down from the peak of Angel's Landing...

At times, we felt like we were hiking on a beach due to the sand!

Needless to say, we had an awesome time hiking in and around Zion Canyon. After our 3 hour hike we stopped by at a cafe just outside of the park to get a bite to eat. From there, it was off to Las Vegas--quite a contrast from the beauty of Zion!

Colorado

11/28/12 After a long drive from Santa Fe, with a brief stop over in Taos, we arrived late to the Kringle's house in Golden CO. We enjoyed a colorful sunset as we entered into Colorado; it was absolutely beautiful! We were greeted at the Kringles by three little cousins and their Nerf guns (ready to ambush us). We had a lovely dinner with my cousin Perrin, her husband Kirk, and my cousin Sam. So nice to be united with family on this long journey!

11/29/12 We began our exploration of Colorado by heading out on a hike in the "Flatirons" right outside Boulder. We hiked the "Royal Arch" trail, which took us up to an expansive overlook of Boulder/Denver.

 

 After our hike we headed into Boulder for a bite to eat after which we walked down the main street, the "mall", in Boulder. We came upon some commuter bikes which we rented without hesitation and cruised around the city and checked out the UC Boulder campus. We then headed to "Mountain Sun Brewery" to grab a beer  before driving back to Golden. It was a fun and full day.

11/30/12 Our morning began by going for a refreshing run through the mountains with Perrin and the two dogs (Sailor and Dory). The trail took us to a gorgeous overlook of the Rockie Mountains. It was a fabulous way to start our second morning in Colorado. The rest of the day we took it easy and explored the area a bit more.  For our last night with our Colorado family Alex and I made a dinner of spicy peanut noodles with chicken, peas and broccoli for our wonderful hosts!

  Perrin, Jake, Kate, and Whitney!

Cousin Sam, cousin Perrin, and Jake! No photo of Kirk, per his request (you got out of it this time Kirk). A great visit with awesome people! Much thanks and love to the our Colorado family.

12/01/12 We got off to an early start as we had a long drive to Utah ahead of us, but only minutes after leaving the Kringle's house there was a large herd of about 20-30 Elk awaiting us on the road....a proper Colorado send off, of course.

 And THEN we were on our way to Zion National Park!

 

New Mexico (Santa Fe & Taos)

11/26/12 (continued):
Later in the day, after making our way through West Tx, we finally crossed the border of New Mexico. We were instantly exposed to the beautiful red sands, mesas, and rock formations the state had to offer--a big change from west texas scenery. While the views were stunning, it was certainly a long car ride and we were happy to roll into Santa Fe with just enough time to walk down town grab a beer at a local saloon and eat an excellent dinner at a tapas restaurant called, La Boca.

11/27/12:

This morning we woke up to a great breakfast at the Inn at the Paseo (blueberry waffles and all). We then went to a rather lackluster yoga class downtown, but followed it up with some further exploration of downtown (including a visit to the Native American jewelry market). For lunch, we went to "Vinaigrette " ( a cool restaurant with salads as their main menu item)--our meal was fantastic. Later, we walked up Canyon Road to check out a ton of art galleries and took a short rest at our B&B. Our day was complete after a quick workout at the gym and dinner at Jambo Cafe (African cuisine). 

11/28/12: For our last morning in Santa Fe, we started our day with a run. After another wonderful breakfast we headed to Ojo Caliente where we took a dip in some hot mineral springs! As we made our way up north, we traveled through Taos, NM (big ski town) where we got the chance to drive down some very steep canyon roads and see more spectacular views of the Rio Grande River. Golden, Colorado was the next stop on the list and we were excited to see the Kringles!