Las Vegas, NV - Death Valley, CA

I wasn’t looking forward to visiting Vegas as much as I now know I should have been. I included it on my itinerary mainly because it was ‘there’, in relatively close proximity to the Grand Canyon. 

What a city.

I arrived mid afternoon, after the temperature had cooled to 42c. I stayed at the Golden Nugget which isn’t one of the more obscenely extravagant resorts in Vegas, but still felt ludicrous compared to UK hotels, for example, the pool had a water slide which went through a shark tank! My 19th floor room overlooked Fremont Street, and had an objectively quite average (but, after days of washing from a water bottle with a bar of soap which I seem to be allergic to, subjectively brilliant) shower. I rinsed off the layer of dirt which I’d hoped was a tan, filled the bin with ice, and started drinking whilst getting ready to go out. 

I started my evening in the Golden Nugget casino. I left without much less than I started with, but I think I made a net profit when the free drinks are factored in. From there I watched the light show in Fremont Street, and then boarded a party bus for a lap of the city. From there I went to the Bellagio, the Venetian, and ended up getting free entry to a pool party at Encore. The bag search to get into this party was the most thorough I’ve ever had, and the guy who got me free entry seemed to think there’d be a problem getting my EpiPens in, but it turned out to be fine. His concern over the adrenaline issue, and the extent that he went to to explain its purposes to the door staff, was actually really helpful because it detracted their attention away from my bottle shaped breasts and allowed my vodka to stay in my bra. I’m very glad that plan worked out because it was $25 (yes, twenty five dollars) for a single and mixer, the robbing bastards. 

The pool party was immense, and unlike anything I’ve ever been to before. Officially there was a strict ‘no drugs’ policy but the extent to which this was enforced seemed inversely proportionate to the amount staff were tipped. I was sitting on the edge of a pool fully clothed, and a drunk Norwegian guy fell over and knocked me in. I left soon after, but even at 1am it was so hot that I dried out in half an hour. From there it was back to the Golden Nugget, via Stratosphere, for a tad more gambling.

As I didn’t expect to fall in love with Vegas as much as I did, I didn’t really factor a hangover into my travel plans. At 8am I was in the hotel lobby, still pissed, waiting to get on a bus to Death Valley. Also in the lobby was one of the guys I went to the pool party with, and got an Uber back to the hotel with. He was researching the phone number for the nearest British Embassy, having already called Encore, Bellagio, the Uber driver and half the people we were out with last night to ask if they’d seen his passport. He should have called me, because he gave it to me at the pool party to put in my bag. He clearly had no memory of this and it took a lot of effort to control my urge to exploit that fact for my own amusement, but I managed to because he looked so feeble, worried and hungover. 

Although the air conditioned bus to Death Valley was a good environment to sober up in, it didn’t prepare me for the heat outside of it. It was 46c (yes, forty feckin six degrees Celsius) and I realised I made bad choices. At no point during marathon training did I have sweat pouring out of me in the way I did today, but the beauty of the desert made up for it. 

I’ve now pitched a tent at the foot of some hills in Bishop, near to some gorgeous hot springs, and ready for an incredibly early night.

Love Emily x

Los Angeles, CA - Grand Canyon, AZ

Los Angeles, CA - Grand Canyon, AZ

Country #46 (an embarrassingly late entry), = USA.

I arrived in LA on Saturday, and stayed at a great hostel in Santa Monica for 2 nights.   Whilst there I did nothing particularly noteworthy, just chilled on the beach and had lunch with a UK work colleague who was also in the area. 

On Monday I went to Joshua Tree NP, and on the journey there the natural beauty of North America became apparent. I always loose perspective when huge numbers are involved, and all I’ll take from being told how many UKs could fit into Texas (for example) is “it’s bigger”. But when you’re in USA, particularly driving through countryside, you start to appreciate the scale of the vastness a bit more. Everything is bigger, mainly because there’s space for it. You can drive for hours and not see a town or another vehicle, in a way that isn’t possible in the UK. 

From Joshua Tree I set up camp just outside Lake Havasu City, right on the banks of the Colorado River. It was 36c so I enjoyed a swim in the open water, again, something that isn’t possible in the UK. Lake Havasu City is strange, in that there’s the original London Bridge right in the middle of it, with a ‘British theme park’ type feel to the place. 

After inwardly sniggering at the American replication of Britishness I swung by the Grand Canyon - my main reason for choosing this route. My guide suggested we put paper bags over our heads in the car park and form a sort of conga, ushered along in the right direction by her, which I agreed to. She lined us up against a railing, counted to 3, and told us to remove the bags. I’m so glad I agreed to make myself look silly for 5 minutes because removing that bag meant I felt the full extent of awe at the Grand Canyon in one go, rather than catching a glimpse from the horizon and then seeing a little bit more as I got closer. Again, when massive numbers are involved, I struggle to appreciate scale. I knew the Grand Canyon is 200 miles long, and the name very much implies vastness. What I didn’t expect was there to be nothing else on the horizon, only Canyon which was obscured by more Canyon. I hired a bike and cycled around some of the rim, hiked the Bright Angel route, and watched the sunset at Yavapai Point. I then camped underneath the stars, and woke early this morning to take a helicopter flight over the Canyon. 

As I write this post I’m on a bus en route to Las Vegas, where I’ll be for the next couple of days. 

Love Emily x