After a beautiful night of stargazing, I thought it would be a memorable next morning watching the sun rise over the canyon. We woke early and could tell it was a crisp morning. We should have worn pants and long sleeves! With our camping chair, tripod and camera we felt ready for a to capture the sunrise. What we didn't account for was the wind and how cold it would be. Ben kept me company for about 10 minutes and decided it was too cold. He enjoyed enough of the sunrise. I froze but managed to stay another 10 minutes to get the shots I wanted. I was chilled by the time I got to the cabin. It was probably around 7 so we curled up in bed to warm up and get some more rest.
Viva Las Vegas! Well, by now we were running out of clean clothes and were looking forward to being home. Vegas was halfway home from Bryce Canyon, about 4 hours away. I had seen several people post pictures of themselves visiting Las Vegas and thought I would be up for it. We booked a room at the Cosmopolitan. The check-in was very busy. They did a good job of wiping things down after each guest. The room included bags with masks and hand sanitizer. We were pretty hungry after our drive and ordered room service while we got ready to venture out.
First things first, we wanted to grab a drink and sit down. We were there on a Monday, so not all of the restaurants and bars were open. Ben and I found a restaurant called 'Blue Ribbon.' I enjoyed a Mai Tai and he enjoyed a craft cocktail with gin. These paired perfectly with the spicy yellow tail sashimi appetizer.
It was weird walking The Strip with the majority of people in masks and the billboards still advertising all of the shows that were halted. It looked like they were optimistically selling tickets for shows starting October 1st, 2020. To get out of the heat, window shopping seemed like a great idea so we ventured over to Caesars Palace and the Bellagio.
We really weren't feeling Vegas after we had been so careful with everything going on. We went back to our hotel and grabbed one more drink. Ben and I decided it best to get room service and stay in. While it would have been fun to grab a nice dinner in Vegas, I didn't bring dress clothes and I don't think it would have been as enjoyable given the circumstances. The room service was delicious. I ordered their Bolognese, Ben ordered a pizza (and ice cream) and we even had leftovers that we brought with us back home.
It was nice to feel rested in the morning for our drive back home. Ben was sweet and stopped and let me get a photo of him and Miss Reagan next to the Worlds Tallest Thermometer, which was up to 111 degrees as we passed through.
Overall, we had a great road trip, even during the pandemic. I recommend taking a road trip, providing a little mental break if you are able to get away. Just be safe and be smart. We are already planning our next adventure!
