November Explorations

I’ve been very lazy on the blogging front yet again. So much has happened in the last month! We have a shiny new president, for one thing! Now, the thought of the Palin woman being just a “heartbeat away” from arguably the world’s most responsible job seems like a distant nightmare. We had a friend around for dinner that evening, so weren’t concentrating on the TV, but I remember hearing the whoop of joy erupt in a nearby apartment as Obama passed the 270 electoral vote mark. What a great day for America! Whatever your politics (and I do know the odd Republican sympathiser), the country now has an intelligent, eloquent front-man that world leaders are lining up to work with. That has to be a good thing, even though he has a very tough job ahead of him. Talking of presidents, a few weeks ago, we saw the new film, “W” at the cinema (about George W. himself, who else?!). Very entertaining, but a little facile in its approach, portraying Bush as a largely innocent dummy who was misled by family and advisors. I don’t buy the idea of him being either that dumb or that innocent, myself, but at least his era will soon be over.

November also brought us a heat-wave. Two weekends ago, I was sunbathing on the beach, enjoying some of the most pleasant temperatures San Francisco has to offer. We topped it off by heading out into the balmy evening on the Alcatraz Night Tour. We had lovely views of the city and bridges from the ferry, then alighted on the island, where we did a very good audio tour and went to a talk about the Birdman. The spookiest bit by far was the hospital wing (coincidentally, where the Birdman had his cell), which was lonely and empty, but for the odd piece of outdated medical equipment, looking for all the world like something out of a horror film. I’d been to Alcatraz before, but that was back in 1999, so I hadn’t visited since moving out here.

We’d had a good few weekends without leaving the city, so I was ready to go somewhere. We decided on a mini-break in Zion National Park and Las Vegas. I’d heard good things about Zion, a “mere” 150 miles from Las Vegas, and we’d recently seen the film “21”, about a group of MIT students who make and lose their fortune playing Blackjack, so we fancied a bit of Vegas action, having only spent an evening there previously, when we went to the Grand Canyon in April. This time, as then, we had the experience of driving to/from the most fake place imaginable to one of world’s most lovely natural landscapes. Zion was a delight – kind of like a red rock Yosemite.

We did a couple of short walks on our first day, one up to the Emerald Pools, the last one of which stops sharp against a huge 1000 foot or more vertical wall of rock. The second was up to a viewpoint a little above the canyon, with vistas of Mount Watchman and the increasingly red hues of the rocks. We set off mid-afternoon (or so I thought), convinced that it would get dark later here, since we were some way south of San Francisco. Of course, I didn’t stop to think that we were actually a fair way to the east, and I also failed to realise that we’d crossed a time zone (Zion is in Utah), and were actually an hour ahead. By the time we got back down from the viewpoint, it was dark, and we startled a mule deer along the path. We made our way swiftly to our accommodation, Zion Lodge, and settled in for the night as the temperatures dropped to a surprisingly chilly level.

Our second day began with a huge breakfast. It was healthy, but enormous. Mine consisted of four immense whole-grain flaxseed pancakes the size of dinner plates and at least half an inch thick, with a berry compote. It was a good job we’d planned to do a fairly decent hike that day. The walk took us relentlessly upwards to a narrow monolith above the canyon with steep drop-offs on either side. The last half mile is really a scramble, using hands almost as much as feet, pulling oneself along by the chains strung along the ridge. People had warned me that it was very scary, but I’m fortunate in not being a vertigo-sufferer, and found it to be no problem at all. The views up and down the canyon were stunning. We were also rewarded with the sighting of a California Condor, the largest land bird in North America (wingspan can be up to 9½ feet) and one of the rarest birds in the world. S/he landed on a rock just a few feet away and posed for a good few photos. Later, we saw him/her soaring past the walls of the canyon, far below. As for us, we hadn’t had enough walking (the hike up to Angel’s Landing and back is strenuous, but only five miles round-trip), so we continued a bit further and found a quiet, sunny lunch spot with splendid views. Before we left the park, we had chance to visit the Weeping Rock, a wall that seeps droplets of water that have run through the porous rock until they reach harder stuff and are forced to dispense themselves. It was then time for the long, monotonous drive back to Sin City.

We were staying at the Bellagio, probably Las Vegas’ most exclusive casino-hotel, but because we were there out of season and on week nights, it was really good value – less than half the price it would be on a high-season weekend. The room didn’t disappoint – a plush marble-floored bathroom with an immense shower and a huge, tastefully decorated bedroom with electrically operated curtains and a view out onto the Tuscan-style pool area. It also features a gorgeous reception area with a glass ceiling by Chihuly (this is the guy whose smallest glass bowls fetch $3,000 – $4,000), a conservatory with regularly changing themes (at this time of year it was harvest and pumpkins) and a dazzling array of fancy restaurants and shops, but still the same old tacky casino area, of course. At half-hour intervals it also offers impressive fountain displays over the huge artificial lake at the front.

The first night, we went to a Cirque du Soleil show, then slept in the next morning and partook of a tasty – if pricey – breakfast down at the café. We then headed out to the pool area and relaxed for a couple of hours on the sun deck, taking the occasional swim. By mid-afternoon, it was turning chilly, however, so we headed across the road to take a look at another casino-hotel, Paris, then made for the one next to ours, the Roman-themed Caesar’s Palace, complete with its own “Fontana di Trevi”, and more reminiscent of modern than ancient Rome. That evening, we dined at the Michelin-starred Michael Mina restaurant in our hotel, which was truly exquisite. I was especially delighted with the way they offered trios of dishes in one – perfect for me, who wants to try everything on the menu. After dinner, we had a go at one of the Blackjack tables. Things started well, and we were soon $20 up. After that, things didn’t go quite so well, and we came away half an hour later with our tails between our legs.

On our last day, I had a quick swim in the morning, then we had crêpes for breakfast at a patisserie with the largest chocolate fountain in the world, before heading up the Strip to take a look at the Venetian, a very elaborate casino-hotel themed around Venice. It had its own Rialto Bridge, Ducal Palace, Grand Canal and Piazza San Marco, including a huge array of exclusive shops. We took a look around the Peter Lik photo gallery (= store) – he’s a photographer who takes wonderful landscape shots, many of which covering places we’d visited in the States. However, I’m pretty sure I overheard someone saying one of the larger pieces was $49,000. That didn’t deter the manager from pursuing us around the shop in the hope that we’d buy something, however.

The desert climate took its toll, as it did last time, on my skin and eyes, noticeably drying them out. And while Las Vegas is certainly lots of fun, I think I’d had my fill of it by the end. It’s really an absurd place. Sure, it has some glamour, but it is also tacky, materialistic and fake. However, it provided an enjoyable and much-needed getaway. We had one day back at work upon our return and now we have four days off for Thanksgiving – hurrah!