Las Vegas to Bryce

We arrived in Las Vegas late Tuesday night, and from the very beginning did not like it one little bit (to use Noga’s expression). On the bright side, our car was waiting for us at the airport, as we hoped it would, and so we drove to the hotel. Just the initial journey through the blaring, blinging, ringing, flashing lobby was enough to give us a headache. And when we ventured outside the following morning, we found suffocating heat and dreary streets. That evening we did go out to the infamous strip, but again were not favorably impressed. Everything was oversized and tacky. The various gambling machines looked like evil contraptions, designed to suck the life out of those sitting in front of them. And the people walking down the street, reveling in the fact that they can carry their beer bottles in plain sight, reminded me of that specific glee of young children, when they manage to get away with something that is usually forbidden. So, yeah, anyway – we didn’t like Las Vegas much…

Thursday morning we hit the road, heading north towards Utah and Bryce National Park, where I’m writing from. We stopped en route in St. George, and visited the Mormon Temple, or rather the visitor center, because entry to the Temple itself is not allowed. The visitor center had very nice air conditioning, and a lot of explanations geared towards both children and adults about the main tenets and history of the Mormon church. The people were very nice, but I couldn’t help feeling what I usually do in response to any decisive religious teaching. Although I actually agreed with most of the presentation, or at least the parts dealing with being kind to others if not so much the parts about our Heavenly Father and his plans for us, I find it difficult relating to any belief so absolute that it does not leave room for other possibilities.

The final leg of the drive took us higher and higher up towards Bryce. The air gradually became cooler, and the landscape changed from arid desert to cliffs covered with lush green vegetation. We arrived at the campground and settled down in our cute log cabin. As the day progressed, I felt that this is the real start of our trip, with Las Vegas just being a necessary pre-beginning detour. I also had a strong sense of relief that we were escaping from the seediness, decay and sleaziness of Vegas towards life and light awaiting us in the open landscape of blue skies, majestic cliffs and tall trees.

Anat