Ringing in the New Year Weathering the Storm With Smashing Wins and Celebrations the Norm!

I have zero plans to get back to Vegas right now but I had a close call with wanting to book a weekend in March when I saw those $299 Mint fares.

Have you been to Antelope Canyon? Not driving limits me to what I can do freely. I would suggest looking into it if you haven't

 

Until your post I had never heard of Antelope Canyon but I just checked it out online and it looks amazing. Given the length of the drive -- close to 5 hours each way -- I will probably take a pass this trip as that would be effectively as that would be one LONG day or potentially an overnight but many thanks for mentioning it as it looks breathtaking.

I'm hoping to fit in Joshua Tree NP by getting a VERY early start on April 26th, visiting the park for most of the day and then ending up at Death Valley later that day or, more likely now that I think about it, I may take on Joshua Tree at the tail end of the trip before my second visit to Death Valley.

The rest of my "adventures" are going to be local things, like finally visiting the Atomic Testing Museum, catching Seven Magic Mountains at sunrise or sunset, etc.

I'm getting even more excited even as I type.

When you visited did you stop at any places of interest along the way?

Edited to add: Assuming it's open by that time, I'll finally going to take a Hoover Dam Tour and hit Lake Mead and Boulder City, all experiences that have been on my To Do list for a long time.

 

If your interested in Antelope Canyon, you'll have to table it to another time. Antelope Canyon is on the Navajo Nation land outside of Page, AZ. Unfortunately the Navajo people have been hit extremely hard by Covid. The whole place has been closed since early in the pandemic and shows no signs of reopening anytime soon.


I love your plan to do a couple of side trips from Las Vegas. That has been how our trips have been for the last half dozen years or so. We'll start in Las Vegas for a few days then leave for a few days to either Zion, Bryce, or Death Valley and come back to Las Vegas for a few more days. It's almost like 3 vacations in 1. We had plans to visit Joshua Tree NP last Fall, but cancelled that trip. So maybe we'll do that this Fall or go back to Zion.

 

Thanks again for your tips!! And yes, I saw from the website that Antelope Canyon was closed and may not reopen for some time.

I like how you roll!! Best wishes with your continued trip planning and thanks again for all of the helpful info!

 

Thanks for the kind words.

Sounds like you have a fun next trip in the planning. For me half the fun is the planning!

 

With you 1000% regarding the planning. I was supposed to be unpacking (from my return last Sunday) and cleaning all day and ALL I have been doing is eating, watching the Hallmark Channel with a dose of QVC and trip planning.

And now that my host shared with me that he took an astronomy class in college and how much he loved viewing the Red Moon last year, well, my trip planning has gone to another level . . .

 

And I LOVE Zion but I'm now thinking about nixing Zion in the middle of my trip and adding Joshua Tree, with a potential overnight in Palm Springs or 29 Palms (great advice from Ken), to the day before my second visit to Death Valley.

As I was working with the itinerary and trying to figure out when different girlfriends might be joining me plus factoring in double bookings, local visits (e.g. Hoover Dam), while still leaving plenty of time to play or do nothing, Zion in the middle for an overnight started to feel too intrusive.

 

Love that first picture. Something about the LV lights in the dark seem to get me every time.

 

No one is as big of a Sting/Police fan as I. A few yrs back i was able to walk to the sm venue he played at here locally in my city. Standing room only show since venue was sm and i got so many close/4th row pics of him. It was the Shaggy & Sting tour that year. So AMAZING.

 

Oops. Wrong TR.

 

No worries. LOL. I did that a few times during my last trip but in my case it took me a couple of hours before I realized I was posting in the wrong place while I was complaining about my "missing" posts in my trip report . . . which I had posted elsewhere. LOL.

 

Ok, let's see how you feel Feb 1...
also I'm trying to finally graduate from a huge backpack (I'm getting too old for this..) to a rolling suitcase,
just became a big fan of packing cubes, need another set in a different color (or else I'll have to label them)
also spending a lot on stuff, but skipping a month of Vegas, probably still net up on that...
if I'm mostly still stuck at home, let's make it nicer. (a lot of cosmo room inspiration)

 

Closing the loop on the health and safety front, I took a Covid test on Friday and my results came back negative around 11 pm last night.

 

It's impressive that you have been able to work traveling with just a big backpack!
I'm also focused on getting my home space prettier and more organized.

 

Westin Heavenly bed, very nice sleep for sure! In case someone else didn't answer about the bed, yet

 

@Flowers - if you want any ideas about JTNP or the PS area, give me a shout. Have stayed and visited numerous times. It's a pretty big area so best to focus on one or two spots.

As well, there are a few driving to/from options so you don't need to repeat.

GG

 

Thanks and will do!!
And I officially last night nixed visiting Zion this next trip by cancelling the reservation I had at the lodge. Those two days/one night are now filled with more local activity and more great restaurants.

 

Finally finishing my unpacking a week later....

I am not a klepto but, uhm, I couldn't resist this little dish from my Jet Blue flight, which held condiments that I also brought back with me. I love mini things like this. The tiny packet of chili oil makes me want to cook.

 

That little dish is so cute. I would have done the same.

 

Here you go

https://www.vivino.com/IE/en/retour-manifest-destiny/w/2256352?year=2012