The planning of this trip began when I was about 8 or 9 years old and got my Talking ViewMaster. The ViewMaster came with some reels with Great Wonders of North America like the Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore and the giant Redwoods in California. I never realized what an impact they had on me until I was an adult. Fortunately for me, I married Mr. Snoopynut who is a great outdoor fanatic and also has the same desire to see all of those places! Anyway, I found myself thinking about those places on the reels and really wanting to see them firsthand. They all seemed out of reach and sort of a pipe dream with the Grand Canyon being the biggie for me. We started talking about a trip out there "someday" but the trip never really seemed real until last year when we were talking about how to celebrate our 20th anniversary. We wanted to do something big and memorable and this seemed perfect. What really made it look like a good idea was to combine two other things in the visit. One was to meet some friends we'd made on the internet who live in California and are only a few hours drive from where we ended up meeting, Las Vegas. The other was to see a place that is listed on our Favorite Links page, Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah. Now, I have to tell you, I had no real "picture" in my head what Utah was like. I'd heard descriptions of Arizona, (hot and dry), and Las Vegas, (city in the middle of the desert), but I never had a clear concept of Utah.
We decided to fly into Las Vegas because we'd heard the airfares were low due to the poor economy and so were hotel rooms. And they were. We stayed at a place called the Imperial Palace, an oriental style hotel and casino right on "the strip". Our room was on the 9th floor and was so unbelievably quiet considering all the chaos in the streets and the casino below. It was a nice, clean room with *gasp!* comfortable beds! Those of you who know the Snoopynuts know we have slept in a waterbed for about 15 years now and find it difficult to find a comfy bed. :) Anyhoo, that afternoon we were to meet the "California Paces" and I have to say, we were both a little anxious and were wondering if we would have anything to say to each other. But when they drove up and whisked us off to the restaurant and we got to talking, we realized we had enough in common to talk the night away!
View from our room at the Imperial Palace
Snoops had a little jet lag the first day.
He managed to keep a smile, tho.
* East Meets West! *
The California Paces and the New York Paces
(L to R) The Snoopynut; Harley & Snoopy;
Joyce & Mr. Snoopynut
Snoops in the back seat, (where, he later informed us, he was very unhappy),
chocolate muffin by his side.
I couldn't figure out why the "HOOVER" was printed so small on this sign? Hee hee hee.
This lion was actually in a casino. Must not have had much luck at the slots...
The next day we all went to see the Hoover Dam, about a 30-minute drive from Las Vegas. It was quite the sight to see, especially considering that the water level was the lowest it has been in 30 years. The day was hot, in fact they all were while we were out there, but we finally got to find out what "a dry heat" meant. It means that you can tolerate 100ºF better when the humidity is in the single digits. It was hot alright, but it's just not as uncomfortable as when it's 85ºF and 85% humidity. The hottest it got while we were on vacation was 116ºF but that was while we were in the car with the A/C turned up to the third fan notch. LOL.
That night Harley and Joyce took us to a great little Mexican restaurant called Chevy's that was comparable to Chi Chi's or Don Pablo's. Then that evening they toured us around "the strip" in Las Vegas. Now, anyone that knows us knows we are outdoor types and the city life just isn't for us. Vegas was mildly interesting and full of what I would call "wretched excess". We had fun, though because we had the great company of our friends. Without them I think Vegas wouldn't have been half as fun. The next morning Harley & Joyce came to our hotel to have breakfast with us and to say goodbye before heading off home. The breakfast was great and as with the previous days, the company was even better. They came back up to our room to digest and we talked and talked and took a few pictures and then the time came to say goodbye. We were very sad about that because we really enjoyed being with them. We miss you already, Harley & Joyce!! (And Snoopy says "hi!")
