Days 6 and 7: July 26-27

We're in Vegas baby. And it is really something. The heat, the endless glitter and neon and the fact that we have been on the road for a week have exhausted me. So much so that I am going to completely steal (with permission of course) Katharine's fun facts about Vegas:

• It’s hot. Mind bogglingly so. We use the remaining dregs of our humor to joke about being unprepared like a girl who died in the Grand Canyon. But it’s hot. It’s 6:45 am and I just stepped outside and the heat already is oppressive.
  
• It is powered by the Hoover Dam! I honestly can’t say how I learned this in the last 24 hours; I was hoping that it was from our brief stop at said Dam that I haggled eliz for yesterday. ‘Cause that would validate my request for the stop; if I’d actually learned something. And I love the idea that I am doing something great for the environment; Nay, I am nearly Al Gore by sitting here in this hotel room with the air conditioning blasting. Hydro power. Leave no footprints.


• It’s windstorm like. Why don’t I know about this? We got sandblasted walking down the strip last night. It may have been some crazy promotion from a Casino (those guys will do anything..) but damn. I had to keep pulling over from my stroll because my contacts were in mortal peril.

Katharine sums up a few important things here that I sure was unaware of. First of all, as a southerner I pride myself on being able to handle heat. I even love heat. The past two years I lived in an attic apartment that reached ungodly temperatures in the summer and though it was uncomfortable, I felt I had the unique ability to handle it. However, this does not prepare me in the slightest for Vegas in July. I am absolutely oppressed by the heat here. I feel like it is actually closing in around me and I just want to get out of it. As Katharine said yesterday, "Being in the casino is great because we get exercise AND we are in airconditioning." In fact there are really whole cities in each of these casino buildings so you really don't have to leave them.

I'll return to the Hoover Dam in my tales but the other incredible thing Katharine mentions was the sandstorm we endured last night. I had grit in my teeth and my face was covered in it. People screamed and turned around as it swept by. How have I never heard about this? But before I continue about Vegas, I should back track a little.

Day 6: New Mexico

I'll admit, the days are running together a little at this point. Thursday we woke up and saw Petroglyphs a mere exit away from our hotel.




Petroglphs, as Katharine read to me from the kid friendly guidebook we bought, are neither heiroglyphs which represent words, nor are they merely for decoration. They have cultural meanings that are beyond us. We walked around for about 20 minutes before I was totally done appreciating them and ready for an airconditioned car. From there we sped to Santa Fe and promptly met a rainstorm which cooled things down significantly. (This was merely the beginning of our new respect and admiration of rain)

Santa Fe came recommended by everyone we spoke to. So, maybe because our expectations were high or because we were exhausted, it failed to live up to its praises. Katharine swiftly decided that she hated it and I feebly tried to stick up for the place, reminding her that we barely saw anything. But this was useless and though we had a great meal and our first buffet, neither of us was wowed.


I think this is a parking garage but, being a tourist, anything adobe will interest me.

This is a staircase in the Loretta chapel that supposedly defies all architectural logic. There was beautiful rennaissance choral music playing in here that was recorded by a local group.

DELICIOUS. We love the buffet.

From here there were some painful decisions to be made. Katharine had her heart set on Jimnez Springs but it was 3:00 and we had plans of making it to Flagstaff. Somewhat discouraged and unable to cheer each other up, we headed out. Trying to drive across the country and actually see the sights is a delicate balance and we may have swung too far on the sightseeing end here.

Ok, from here I should be able to skip to the next day because all we did for the next six hours is drive. But this is where this trip continues to amaze me. Parts of this drive were better than any sightseeing we could have done. Giant rocks creep up and amaze us. Their deep burnt orange and lines of colors are stunning in the sunset.

And a sunset it was. We watched all the forces of nature come together-- the sun streamed around the clouds while we watched the rain pour like a steady sheet in the distance. At one point the clouds looked like they had opened over one small patch, with dark unruly clouds all around. Katahrine and I sat in silence when I wasn't taking pictures like it was a photoshoot. Finally the rain and the sunset collapsed upon each other and it felt like a symphony rising.

this is a pueblo we saw earlier in the day after pulling off at an overflook.

OK, in typical Elizabeth fashion, I have run out of time in the hotel room to work on this. Katharine, the lucky devil, was up early and is now out exploring a shark tank somewhere in Vegas.

I still need to write about Day 7: Grand Canyon and Vegas but that will have to come tonight at our next hotel. There is too much going on.