Zion National Park & Las Vegas

Zion Canyon

Breakfast finishes at 10 am so there is no urgent rush other than to not be too late and delay getting started with the day’s activities.

At check-out I complain about the lack of facilities in the room. “There’s a full-size mirror in the room and behind that, it’s a door, is the closet,” the receptionist tells me. Well no-one told me, I replied. And why hide the closet behind a secret mirror? WTF? Am I supposed to be physic? Another receptionist pipes up that “There’s a sticker on the mirror saying closet behind.” Not in my room there wasn’t I replied, and anyway I still don’t get why you need to hide it away.

I leave the car at the hotel and catch the Springdale Line Shuttle, a free bus service, up to the Zion National Park entrance. A short walk to the entry booths, I flash my NP pass, and I’m in.

You can’t drive in Zion Canyon. It has a regular shuttle bus that takes you up the valley with multiple bus stops along the way. My impression of Zion was that many of the most popular and famous sights were a walk or hike away from the nine bus stops. Some of the stops are only a ‘up the valley’ stop or a ‘down’ stop.

Wanting to maximise my time I visited the Rangers Info Desk inside the Visitor Center. “I can’t walk very far”, I lie. “Which stops should I get off at to see the best bits and get the most of my time?”

Zion National Park leaflet

The elderly lady Ranger proceeds to ignore what I said and basically told me to get off at every stop. F****** useless bitch. Luckily, I had done some research and thought I knew which stops would be best. I thought though I’d ask for verification – but got none.

It’s Busy to the Temple of Sinawava

Unfortunately Zion’s website didn’t have a “only got 2 hours” section. I had to dig deeper on my own. So I leave the Center and queue for a bus. It is very busy in the Park. It’s mid-late September and there are loads of school age kids here along with adults. Why are they not at school? Why are there so many people – like me – on vacation now? I thought it was supposed to be quiet. But every bus leaving the Center is absolutely full.

I found a travel blog site saying don’t get off if the buses are full on the up route because you’ll never get back on. So I did the whole 45 minute journey to the end point at the Temple of Sinawava.

There’s a riverside walk here through a canyon that’s advertised as easy and flat. Indeed it is but it’s not by the riverside until about 20 minutes in from the bus stop. You can hear the river but you’re rarely walking by it.

Almost as soon as the river comes into view it disappears again. I walk on a bit further and it comes into view again. A look at Maps shows the path does not hit the river again for quite a while. I decide I’ve had enough and turn around and head back.

The canyon is immensely pretty and scenic with the mountain sides towering above me. Back at the bus stop, a bus quickly arrives. They are supposed to run every 5 to 7 minutes.

Temple of Sinawava – Riverside Walk – Virgin River panorama

I asked the driver of the first bus which side to sit on going up the valley. The left, he said. He was right, to a point. The problem is you don’t see everything unless you are in a window seat. Even then it’s a limited viewpoint. Interestingly on the way up to the Temple, I seemed to be the only person looking out the window at the mountains. Everyone else was just chatting with their friends and family.

Big Bend and the Lodge

I get off next at Stop 8, Big Bend. Again, impressive views but I just wander around the area immediately by the stop. Back on board I travel down to Zion National Park Lodge. This is very busy with lots of people walking about. There’s a café and beer garden here plus a restaurant, which is probably why it’s so popular. There is not a lot to see however as large trees obscure the mountains rising to the east. I’d seen the western view from bus on the way up, and it’s a little clearer off the bus.

I was conscious of time in respect of wanting to try and drive the Tunnel. I still of course had to get back to the hotel as well and pick up the car. The Lodge was Stop 5 but I wanted to get off at Stop 4. There is a short 55 step path to a nice view there, something the Center Ranger did tell me that was useful.

However the queue for the next bus back down is rapidly growing. I’d been sitting in the shade but I needed to get in line. Good job I did. By the time the next bus arrives, the line is really long. But the wait time for the next bus is way longer than 7 minutes. And then three turn up together.

As the bus I’m on is full, as will be the other two that arrived, due to the length of the line, I figured it is peak lunch time and everyone wants to go back to the Visitor Center. I can’t take the chance of getting off at Stop 4 as I might not get back on. In fact no-one gets off at Stop 4.

At the Visitor Center there is a wait for the Springdale Line Shuttle. I wanted to get back to the hotel by 2 pm but it’s 2.30 pm when I arrive. But as I’ll probably never come here again, I just need to deal with it. There is a short queue to get through the Ranger Entry Station at the Park officially but on the other side I get in a long line of cars behind someone at the front who decides to drive at 18 mph despite the 25 mph speed limit. I know there is driving slow to see the sights, but this is ridiculous.

The Tunnel At Last

I stop at a turnout to hopefully let the line of cars pass but also to take in the stunning scenery. I’m really annoyed to have missed this yesterday. The road twists and turns through the mountains as it climbs out of the valley. The sheer volume of traffic however does not make it a pleasant drive. Even having dumped the slow traffic, there is just too much on the road to make the drive enjoyable. Scenery great, road great, drive bad.

I get to Checkerboard Mesa near to the east park entrance and turn around here. There is however a ten minute wait to go back through the Zion-Mt Carmel Tunnel. The Tunnel is two lanes but not ‘full size’ in that a standard bus or truck cannot pass through in two way traffic. For a fee, such larger vehicles can pay for one-way access.

So what happens is they close the Tunnel to two way traffic whilst the larger vehicle transits through (with cars), straddling the centre line. This of course halts all traffic from the opposite direction. Hence my delay. When I set off again, we are now in one way mode as there is a coach up ahead.

I am glad I did the Tunnel and Zion Park Boulevard, UT-9, but it’s 3.30 pm before I’m leaving Springdale and on my way to Las Vegas. The drive there is almost all Interstate on I-15 S. Apart from the Virgin River Gorge, its mountains rising again seemingly out of nowhere, and the road cutting through them in spectacular fashion, it is flat, straight and boring.

Or to quote Google AI: “The Virgin River Gorge is a spectacular 15-mile canyon in northwest Arizona, carved by the Virgin River over millions of years. It is famously threaded by a dramatic, engineering-marvel stretch of Interstate 15 between Mesquite, Nevada, and St. George, Utah, featuring towering, colorful sandstone and limestone cliffs.”

“If you see it once, you’ll never be the same again” *

I was expecting severe congestion coming into Las Vegas but thankfully there was none. I’m staying in the same hotel as last year, Hilton Grand Vacations Club Paradise Las Vegas, and arrive at 6 pm.

The receptionist not only upgraded me to a Club Suite but also let me park overnight in the temporary parking bays just outside of the front entrance. Saved me having to drive into the attached parking garage. Something is going OK then…

Up in the room however just as I’d nearly unpacked, I kept hearing a loud beep every minute. I trace it to a wall box in the bathroom (there is also have a separate shower & toilet room in the Suite). I check tomorrow’s route through Death Valley. A flash flood last week wiped out the road to Badwater Basin and Artist’s Palette. There is an alternative route there but it’s not viable at 5 hours and 300 miles!

I have to re-plan. There’s a stop – Dantes View – that I might have done last year if I had time. Well, I have time now. I re-program Maps for this stop. It is however 8 pm before I leave the room.

“(Beep, beep)” **

I stop at reception to complain about the beeping noise, which frankly had become very annoying. Even if I wore earplugs, I’m convinced I wouldn’t sleep through it. The guy who upgraded me is still there, now with a young lady assistant.

They immediately know the problem. The wall box and its beep is to help disabled people. Not quite sure how, but the guy upgraded me to a disabled-access room. The guy profusely apologises and looks for a normal Club Suite. “You can change rooms” he says. Not now I think, it is really late. The lady says that if the beep is bothering me now, it will do later in the night. I realise I don’t really have a choice. I’ll never sleep through the beeps.

I’m given a new room three doors down. I rush back upstairs, pack up and transfer everything to the new room. Without a beep. I double-check I’ve not left anything behind in the first room then head back downstairs. It’s 8.20 pm.

Las Vegas Monorail ticket

My plan was to take the monorail to the MGM Grand and walk back up the Strip at night to see the hotels all lit up. It’s been many years since I did that. I seriously think about cancelling but, again, I might never be back here, or not for a long time. I go for it. By the time I walk out onto the Strip (or South Las Vegas Boulevard) at its junction with Tropicana Avenue it’s 8.50 pm. It was about a 10 minute walk through the MGM Grand from the monorail station. Big hotel!

“Turn the bright lights on” ***

The hotel New York, New York is opposite the MGM Grand. I stayed there on business 24 years ago. I pass Aria, Bellagio and Paris Las Vegas. I’m at the latter at 9.20 pm. The distance I’ve walked is much longer than I thought. I’d calculated 35 minutes to reach The Venetian, which I can see further up the Strip, but it seems a long way away. I make the decision to curtail the walk.

I’ve seen some of what I wanted but I need food and beer. I’d decided to go back to Chickie’s and Pete’s at the Sahara. I know there’s a monorail station behind Paris Las Vegas. I set off to find it. Oh Lord,  it was a long way. I had to walk through Paris and the hotel is a very noisy madhouse, I’m not sure I’d want to stay there.

Eventually I reach the station, catch a train and finally sit down at the bar at 9.50 pm. I tell the barman the type of IPA I like and he chooses one, Atomic Duck, which tastes excellent. So good I end up drinking three!  I order the lobster and crab fries as last year. They were very good again.

It has been a long and stressful day. Some great sights in Zion National Park though. After finishing my food I think it’s time to call it quits for the night. I walk back through the Sahara and get back to the Hilton, crashing out at 11.15 pm.

* Viva Las Vegas by Elvis Presley

** Road Runner by Bo Diddley

*** Bright Lights by The Killers, a song celebrating the city’s neon energy