The US is a beautiful country!

So, I made it across the country. And perhaps more surprising, or at least more important, so did my car. After leaving Andy's house in Colorado, the drive got MUCH more interesting and beautiful. I'll include a couple of pictures here (the first two, left, and below right), but I'm not sure they'll do justice to what it all really looked like.

First, after leaving Denver morning rush hour traffic behind me, I headed straight into the Rocky Mountains on Highway I-70. I know this is going to sound way silly (that's me!), but... MAN those mountains are rocky! I was actually surprised! It's not an easy drive, I mean, the road had some seriously iced-up spots and was very curvy, but the sights were beautiful when driving past places like Vail that I'd only ever heard of in reference to skiing (teletext sneeuw hoogte etc.).

After coming out of the Rockies, I got into the flatlands a bit. I got lost a little bit on my way trying to find Arches national park, but with a little help from Trey I found the entrance. It was quite beautiful, an amazing drive into the park and all these random rocks sticking up from the ground, and of course the arches, it was beautiful. Though it was cold, the sun in the bright blue sky made it OK (see picture left, with the arch).

I then tried to make it to Bryce canyon that same day, which meant another 5 hours of driving or so (and I didn't leave Arches until about 4pm). But, it was OK, I was doing well, and so was my car (which was covered in salt, by the way!), so I made it out to Bryce Canyon by 9pm, got a motel room (more like a log cabin really) and spent the night there.

Wednesday morning, I got up early and went into Bryce canyon. As beautiful as arches was, Bryce canyon is absolutely indescribable. Such incredibly awesome small rock formations and shapes made for some incredible pictures. It was extremely cold, as I'm probably showing clearly in the picture (on the right, while on the phone with my dad), but a gorgeous, clear day once more. It looked like I would be avoiding all the bad weather traveling across the US!

I didn't really do any hiking there, it was simply too cold for that. So, around noon I left Bryce canyon. My initial plan was to drive to the Grand Canyon, but after talking to Barnes and Trey I figured a stop on the way, at Zion National Park would be worthwhile (it was ALMOST literally on the way). Zion again was very different; the cool thing there was that you got to drive way down into the canyon and be really in the middle of it, right at the bottom where the river runs. The rocks were amazing and showed all the different time periods that Barnes (geologist) could probably tell you all about. I just thought it looked cool, and that was enough for me (pic left is at Zion, at the river).

It was around 5pm when I was done at Zion and had a decision to make: either drive to the Grand Canyon then, or find a room and get going the next day. I figured it'd be easier to just drive now, while I was doing well. So, most of the drive there was in the dark, through the Kaibab National Forrest (which apparently is gigantic!!), past a lot of deer and ice and snow (on the road, not coming from the sky). It was hard to see where exactly I was driving, because I was really completely alone on the road a lot of the time. The stars were clearer and more visible than I've ever seen them in my life. I crossed over the Grand canyon (well, over the Colorado river) on the east side over the first bridge that's there, and then had to drive way out west again. Luckily I had a couple of podcasts of the Ricky Gervais Show, which were so funny and made the drive a lot easier.

I got to the Grand Canyon around 9pm. The park was technically already closed, but since they can't actually "close" the park (or no one would be able to get out!), I got into the park for free (saving $25!). So, I didn't feel too bad actually staying inside the park in one of the ridiculously overpriced lodges; the least comfort I got in any of the hotels/motels on the trip so far, but more expensive than any of them. But, since I got in for free, I figured it'd be OK, and just went to bed early.

Thursday morning, after a REAL southern breakfast (steak and eggs!), I saw the Grand canyon in the light of day. MAN, what an unbelievable sight!!! In this case, I know for certain that the many, many pictures I took there could not do it justice at all, it is simply too majestic, too giant, and too grandiose to capture in a single shot. It was reeeaaally cold (picture above to the right), especially seeing as I was there in the morning, but it got better as the earth warmed up (picture on the left). The cool thing about being here in winter is that you get to drive in places where they normally only allow the shuttle bus to drive. So, I saw all of it (well, not all of it, but all I wanted to see) at my own pace, and it was phenomenal.

After the Grand canyon, I'd pretty much seen all the natural wonders I wanted to see, and so I was on my way to Vegas; after all, this part of the trip was for me to say farewell to the US, and it doesn't get more American than Las Vegas! On the way there, I got my car washed in a town called Kingman, on Route 66, and it made me think of and miss Sumacappella (I also drove through Barstow and San Bernadino later, b.t.w.!). Also, I got to drive across the Hoover Dam, which I guess is one of the most famous dams in the world (and starring in the movie "Fools Rush In", if I'm not mistaken), which was quite cool (see pic here to the right)!

I had a room in the Aladdin hotel, right on the center of the strip, with a view of the Bellagio fountains. Vegas is something else... it was less crowded than the last time I was there, which was at Christmas with Char and the family, but still people were gambling at every strange hour of the day or night. I walked down the strip both ways, peaking in where I wanted to see things, such as the Russian ice bar (the name of which eludes me yet again...), the Venice and the Paris, I strolled around the Luxor at the other end, and of course peaked in on the Bellagio. I ate an amazing PF Chang dinner (one of the best Chinese restaurant chains!!) and slept really well in my fancy but cheap hotel room (picture on the left shows the Bellagio and was taken from my hotel room window).

Friday morning I went and got a massage in the Aladdin, and it was money well spent, after sitting in a car most of the week, and hiking the rest of the time. My massage therapist was the sweetest woman, and her Swedish massage was hands down the best I ever got (Theresa, if you read this, go to Korea!!!). Plus, spending a morning in the spa, in the steam room, sauna, and jacuzzi, well, that's not bad! I left Vegas around 12.30pm, and got to LA exactly 4 hours later. I will write more about Los Angeles shortly, but so far, so good ;-)