Alex, my oldest son, and I just finished a Spring Break trip to Vegas, Death Valley and Zion National Parks. In short, it was an awesome experience seeing both national parks. Vegas was Vegas, which is not necessarily bad, but I wouldn't want to live there. The concrete jungle of the city there holds little allure for me other than maybe Starbucks and the conveniences one would find in a large city of its size.
Death Valley is great in the Spring. We stayed at the Furnace Creek Ranch which was great by the way. The warm springs-fed pool was perfect. The temps this time of year are also pretty close to perfect. I rode the Hell's Gate Hundred mile bike ride which was pretty tough--climbing 8500 ft is no mean feat for someone living in the SC lowcountry and very few hills to speak of. The restaurant at Furnace Creek was OK, but a little too expensive. Also, the clerk in the general store confirmed my hunch that Spring Break is a good time to stay there. He said it is already too hot and crowded by the Memorial Day weekend.
We moved on to Zion and had a great time there as well, but it was cooler...like, below freezing in the morning, but it heated up nicely during the day. Once the sun climbs up onto the painted mountains there, it will bathe you with precious and luxurious warmth. Staying at the Zion Lodge in the park was also a great choice as we had hiking trails and million dollar views right out our front door. The free breakfast with the lodge stay was good, but the restaurant was again overpriced for the quality of food for dinner.
In Vegas we stayed one night at Luxor which was nice. Couldn't beat $50/night for a nice, clean room with a great view and easy access to most of Vegas. Enjoy the pics!
Death Valley is great in the Spring. We stayed at the Furnace Creek Ranch which was great by the way. The warm springs-fed pool was perfect. The temps this time of year are also pretty close to perfect. I rode the Hell's Gate Hundred mile bike ride which was pretty tough--climbing 8500 ft is no mean feat for someone living in the SC lowcountry and very few hills to speak of. The restaurant at Furnace Creek was OK, but a little too expensive. Also, the clerk in the general store confirmed my hunch that Spring Break is a good time to stay there. He said it is already too hot and crowded by the Memorial Day weekend.
We moved on to Zion and had a great time there as well, but it was cooler...like, below freezing in the morning, but it heated up nicely during the day. Once the sun climbs up onto the painted mountains there, it will bathe you with precious and luxurious warmth. Staying at the Zion Lodge in the park was also a great choice as we had hiking trails and million dollar views right out our front door. The free breakfast with the lodge stay was good, but the restaurant was again overpriced for the quality of food for dinner.
In Vegas we stayed one night at Luxor which was nice. Couldn't beat $50/night for a nice, clean room with a great view and easy access to most of Vegas. Enjoy the pics!
