Four Corners, USA

Last summer, my niece and nephew wanted to visit Four Corners.  They were trying to visit as many states as possible (they visited 5 states last summer), and this would add 4 at once.  We couldn't make the trip happen, but we did this year on our way home from Las Vegas. (This year, they visited or passed through 6 states.)

I knew, looking at a map, that the monument was in the middle of nowhere, but I really didn't understand the concept of "nowhere" until we drove from Flagstaff to Four Corners.  Because we left the Grand Canyon and made this crazy decision to go visit Four Corners so late, we started looking for a hotel.  Within the 4 hours it would take to drive from Flagstaff, Arizona to Four Corners, USA, there were few towns.  If the town had a hotel/motel, it was full. No vacancies!  Of the other "towns" we passed through, they didn't have hotels/motels.  We decided to drive straight to Four Corners, where we parked outside the locked gate and slept in the van.  In order to find a bathroom when we woke up, we had to drive around 40 miles into Colorado.  We got a few hours of rest and made it to the bathroom and back with an hour to spare (sleep!) and then we entered the Navajo run area to see the monument.  It is a nice monument encircled by little booths where the Navajo sell their goods.

Each state is represented with their name and state crest.

This is a view of the whole monument.

Utah is on the left, and Colorado is on the right.

Arizona is on the left, and Utah is on the right.

Colorado is on the left, and New Mexico is on the right.

The very center of the monument.

3 generations, each in a different state all at the same time.

My mom is in Utah, my nephew is in Colorado, my niece is in Arizona, and I am in New Mexico.

I am in all 4 states at the same time!

Grand Canyon

Today, we visited the Grand Canyon. It is a beautiful, natural creation that is just awe-inspiring. We arrived around 5:00 pm, but we still had plenty of daylight, and the weather was beautiful.  We walked part of the Rim Trail.  I loved it!  I would have loved to have walked the entire Rim Trail. 

 There's water down there!  :-)

We drove to another area and walked a trail "back in time."  Every so many feet, there was a medallion on the sidewalk telling how old that area was.  We walked up through 3090 million years ago, and there was more trail to follow.

 There's water down there too!

The views are just breathtaking!

There was a geology museum that was very informative about the rock layers, age of rocks, and much more.

While driving through Grand Canyon National Park, we saw many Elk just eating along the side of the road and sidewalks.  People could literally walk right next to them.

Golden Nugget in Las Vegas

The Dance Competition's host hotel was the Golden Nugget.  It is a very nice hotel, the beds are comfy, and the pool is very neat.  The pool has a shark tank with 5 different kinds of sharks at its center.  A 3 story slide takes the slider through the Tank and out the other side.

Slide

Shark Tank

Waterfalls

 Inside the hotel/casino:

Painting with glass sculpture in front. 

They had glass sculptures and glass light fixtures throughout.

  

Lobby and stairs leading to valet.

A lighting feature with crystals and colored glass.

 A fish tank in one of the restaurants.

 The Golden Nugget

The hotel opens up right onto Fremont Street, which has music and videos playing overhead, other hotels/casinos, eateries, and shops.

View of the screen above Fremont Street

Discovery Children's Museum in Las Vegas

My niece and nephew love Science museums, so we decided to find the local museum while visiting Las Vegas.  We visited Discovery Children's Museum.  It has three stories with 3 or more learning areas on each floor. In the center of the museum, there is a climbing system that stops on various levels allowing for more learning.  There are also areas to climb to different levels or slide down to other levels.

Las Vegas Zoo

My niece and nephew love to visit the zoo, so we try to visit our local zoo a few times a year, and we try to visit zoos wherever we go on vacation.  While many wouldn't think twice about what to see in Las Vegas . . . the Strip, casinos, shows, etc, we had to add Las Vegas Zoo to our list.  First, we had to see if there was a zoo, and the kids were excited to learn there was.

The zoo is 3 acres.  THREE!  Have you ever visited a zoo so small?  It is also in the middle of a somewhat busy area and neighborhood.  Many zoos we have visited might be near a neighborhood, but b/c they are so large, you still feel like you are away from the busyness of life.  We were driving along when I saw a wall, about a block long, that was painted with animals on it.  We made our u-turn and found the front, which was along another wall that was about 2-3 blocks long.

Here are a few pictures from our visit.

Entrance

Turtles and Flamingos

This little turtle was away from the others trying to escape through the fence.

 Petting Zoo--Goats

Peacocks and other birds wandered all around.

 

 

 

  

 Wallabies lounged in the shade.

Mountain Lion resting in the shade.

American River Otter

Chinese Alligator looking up at us.

 A Lion is in the corner.

Raven

Barbary Apes--the only troop in the United States

 Since these are so rare and can't be found anywhere else in the US, we sat on a bench watching the one that stayed out in the open for a while.

Vulture

Chimpanzee lounging on the cot and using a ball for a pillow.

Ostriches