Sin City, Zion and a large canyon

1/5 - Sullen, green eyes peaked over the top of a cardboard sign the homeless young man held in front of his face on Fremont Street in Las Vegas. The sign read, “Go fuck yourself.” 

This was my lasting impression of my third visit to Sin City this past weekend. I was in the city for two nights because there was cold and snowy weather in both of my ultimate destinations in southern Utah and northern Arizona. Nevada’s desert oasis has plenty to offer a traveler, if they’re willing to fork out a hefty amount of cash. 

If not...then you have to look elsewhere outside of the gleaming lights, glitzy skyscrapers and casinos of The Strip. 

Or, you can take a portrait with one of the many Elvis impersonators throughout the city. But make sure to tip them; I gave $1.25 in quarters and he was happy. This photo was good for a cheap laugh and it did indeed lift my spirits.

Since I had one full day in the city, I chose to get tickets to the Mob Museum and the Neon Museum. The two locations are normally packaged together for $48. After several hours, I got a pleasant walk through some of the history of Las Vegas. The Neon Museum was essentially an outdoor boneyard of old, faded, tired neon signs from some of the city's most famous buildings. This was like a retirement home for neon. Most of the signs had lost their original luster, but still others still lit up the night, memories of a luxurious past. 

I made the road trip to Vegas from Sacramento via Reno as a celebration; I quit my job last Friday and will begin my new job on Monday. That was 450 miles through the desert on Highway 95 in Nevada, braving dust storms and driving rain in the darkness on a two-lane highway. I find the desert interesting because you can see forever. It's a desolate, barren, dull environment that feels as if it won't end, but I still find it fascinating because things pop out of nowhere, such as Walker Lake. I prefer it much more to driving the 275 miles from Bakersfield to Sacramento on Highway 99 because the Central Valley in California offers no landmarks whatsoever. It's flat, featureless and straight, and it's the most boring road trip I can think of.

1/7 - As I sat in my silver Toyota Camry while facing the entrance to Zion National Park and its many jagged red and orange peaks, the tops of which were shrouded in mist, I chatted on the phone with a Human Resources representative from San Quentin State Prison (it was surprising that I had cell reception in the valley).  

“Am I to report to the prison on Monday?” I asked. 

“Yes,” she replied. 

After I hung up the phone, I started laughing hysterically. I was ecstatic. I was high on life. Moods do not get better than in moments like that. Not only was my job search officially over, but I found myself in the world famous Zion National Park where the sharp and imposing sandstone peaks look so massive that they feel fake, like a stage backdrop. It is similar to Yosemite National Park, but a different color altogether. The combination of good news and good vibes created a rapturous concoction of endorphins. I felt elated as I drove along the valley, blissfully taking in that awe-inducing natural setting.

Typically, the entrance fee to the park is $35, which is good for one week. However, since the United States government has been shutdown due to negotiation based on a selfish need to win against the other party, few of the park’s services were available, including the collection of entrance fees; The State of Utah provided some funds to keep services such as the visitor center operating, but for just a short time. And since I visited in the winter, the park was quiet and relaxed. Absent were the massive crowds that show up during warmer weather. 

Before arriving in Zion, I had booked a spot on a tour with Enlightenment Photography Excursions for $235. Sean, a man my age who grew up in Utah, was leading the group and gave technical advice to us when shooting a scene. Along with me, David and Addie joined us as well. 

David was 80 years old, but he had little issues keeping up when we decided to park off to the side of Highway 9 and trek through untouched snow on top of slick sandstone. And though he has been in the states since 1966, his British accent is still going strong so his sense of humor was as dry as can be. At one point we were talking about animals and asked if he had any pets. He responded with, "yes, my wife. I feed her and give her flowers. That's all there is to it, really." His wife, Addie was a pleasant woman whose enthusiasm was infectious. She would see something in the hills, point it out and be the first one to hop out of Sean’s truck with her camera, in hot pursuit of her subject. 

While we shot the sunrise the morning after my arrival, I giggled out loud again. There was plenty of pink in the sky to complement the epic, intimidating peaks of Zion, and I found myself awestruck at the opportunity that I was given. To be in the park at that moment and photographing the sunrise, I was content (though the wind was chilly and bitingly cold).

1/8 - After 5.5 hours of driving through silent and lonely desert bordered by the red walls of Vermillion Cliffs National Monument and home to the Navajo Indian Reservation, I gasped. 

"Wow!"

The Grand Canyon makes Zion look like a warmup. I braved the packed-down snow and ice at Moran Point on the South Rim at sunset and ignored the camera for a few moments. I drank that setting in like a shipwreck survivor dying of thirst. My jaw fell open. I giggled. I felt a deep chill quite unrelated to the near-freezing temperature. I had goosebumps. 

After seeing the chasm with my own eyes, I quickly accepted that a hike into the Grand Canyon was out of the question. At an average of one mile deep, 277 miles long and 18 miles wide at nearly 7,000 feet in elevation, the trails into this canyon are not ones that can be taken lightly. Planning and preparation are essential. The Colorado River has carved the canyon so deeply that it cannot go much further. The bedrock through which the river flows is billions of years old, and one can see history through the layers of rock along the canyon walls. The higher one goes, the younger the rock

I have finally seen one of the wonders of the world with my own eyes. Check another box off the list. 

1/9 - With two cups of coffee in me at 5:30 a.m. I felt ready to chase a sunrise over the Grand Canyon. I even shadow-boxed in front of the bathroom mirror for a moment to let off some of that nervous energy. 

My target was either Navajo Point or Desert View Watchtower. As I gingerly drove along the icy surface of  Highway 64 before dawn, I nervously kept my eyes on the sky above the Kaibab National Forest. I saw clouds. Soon I saw color. Magenta! 

After 30 minutes of driving and one moment of frustration while driving through a spot of fog, thinking I wouldn’t be able to see the sky, I arrived at Navajo Point. Here I was able to capture photos of the Canyon with tinges of pink on the skyline. 

I snapped photos while my fingers burned with cold and my breath rose before my face in the below freezing temperature. There was just one other person there, a man with a large red beard who had never been to the Grand Canyon before either. 

With the sun up and slowly casting its light, I watched as the rock formations in the canyons seemed to change color. In fact throughout the day as I trekked that five-mile round trip along the Rim Trail, I noted how light and shadow always seem to create different scenes. Early in the day, patches of sunlight found the ground inside the canyon, creating individual spots of vibrant color. In the afternoon with the help of a sunny sky, the shadows of individual mesas and temples intertwined with the orange, red and brown of the canyon system, like they are engaged in an eternal dance. 

In the evening, I noticed how the remaining sunlight poured into the canyon at increasingly shallower levels, creating vast sunrays which eventually only illuminated the tallest parts of the cliffs. It was as if Mother Nature was pouring shadow into the canyon until it was full for the evening. There also seemed to be a blue tinge to the light. Some of the photos I got simply made me giggle out loud. A small group of Chinese travelers stopped where I had set up shop and watched me work; they chatted with me for a few minutes and I pointed out what was happening to the colors during the sunset progression.

Though I was mesmerized, these details are nothing new to the people who have been visiting the canyon for thousands of years. It’s one of the World Heritage Site for a reason. I had never seen anything like it before and might never seen anything like it elsewhere. 

I spent 24 hours inside the Grand Canyon National Park and throughout that time I kept the word “gratitude” in mind. I was fortunate enough simply to be visiting, but it was special that I attempted to chase sunsets and sunrises. I was grateful just for the opportunity even though I arrived late for the first sunset and sunrise and felt the inevitable stab of disappointment in myself for not starting a few minutes earlier. 

These two parks were places I had wanted to visit for a while. I did what I wanted to do and though my trip was a bit hurried, I still have the memories of how both places made me feel. I laughed hysterically more in 3 days than I had in a long time, and adventures such as these do well to rejuvenate my soul. 

1/11 -  I made the journey home yesterday and not much of note happened besides a pleasurable sunrise over the Mojave Desert. It was the most golden of light and there were sunrays washing over each of the numerous mountains in the desert. Unfortunately, there were no safe areas to pull off the highway to take a photo. 

Plus, my memory card was completely full. 

In conclusion, I drove more than 2,000 miles, and I drove 630 miles on Thursday alone, spending about 12 hours on the road. It was the longest road trip I have done in my life in a 24-hour period.