Day 1: Las Vegas to Zion National Park

The Watchman in Springdale, UT
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Day one began at 1 a.m. so I could drive to the Wilkes-Barre airport to catch my first flight. Needless to say I was already tired! I got to the airport and the place was practically deserted. There was no one behind the counter at the departures desk and the automatic machine did not like my booking number, I attempted to use to phone near it to call an airline employee for help but the phones didn't work. I tried my driver's license as a form of ID and it wouldn't accept that either so as a last resort I tried my credit card and thank god that worked!

Rockville, UT
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I sat around reading a book for awhile until about 40 minutes before the plane was supposed to take off and someone finally came to the departures desk. After waiting for what seemed like forever I finally made it to the front of the line. The woman took my boarding ticket and weighed my one checked bag.

No Rest for the Weary traveling through three states in under three hours!

There no longer is a such thing as free checked luggage or any luggage for that matter....you are now paying for every piece you bring with you. I had already paid $15 for my checked luggage when the woman informed me that my bag was 2 lbs over the limit and it was going to cost me $125.00 additional to check in my luggage. I was livid! As if you don't pay enough for a ticket and all the security taxes and fuel surcharges that they are going to pull this kind of bullshit for the matter of a few pounds! So make sure you check what the new weight limits for your particular airlines are so you don't get whacked with a crazy penalty!

Virgin River in Cooper Pocket, AZ
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I unfortunately didn't have another bag with me and I needed everything in my luggage so I had to suck it up and pay the penalty. Since the airline employees waited so long to come to the departures desk it was time to get right on the airplane so we boarded immediately. My flight went from Wilkes-Barre to Chicago where I had a transfer. It was then onto Las Vegas. We landed in Las Vegas about 20 minutes ahead of schedule but what time we made was quickly eaten up by the fact that it took another half an hour to get the baggage off the plane. I claimed my bags and got on the shuttle bus which took me to the MacCarran Auto Rental location. I used Travelocity to book both my flight and rental car for the trip. When I got to the car rental counter they added in extra fees and taxes which I was not counting on.

My rental car in AZ
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I collected my car which was a Mazda Tribute, a nice small 4 wheel drive SUV. I brought my GPS system with me and drove up route 15 to get to Utah. Route 15 runs right behind the Strip in Las Vegas. Traffic on that road is insane but as soon as you get past the Vegas and Henderson exits the traffic thins out. Its a very good idea to keep your gas tank pretty full out west. Exits are very spread out along the highway, its very different from the east coast. I drove for over an hour sometimes without seeing signs for another gas station.

Goats near the motel
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My travels took me through three states in just under three hours. Prior to my trip I purchased a copy of " National Geographic Guide to the National Parks of the United States" its a great book and details all of the National Parks in the United States. It also lists helpful info. such as the cost to enter the park, nearby campgrounds and motels and even restaurants. From this book I decided to make Springdale, UT my base camp for exploring Zion National Park. It took about 2 hours and 40 minutes to get from Las Vegas to Springdale, UT.

Bumbleberry Motel
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My impressions of Nevada is that it is very flat, arid and desert-like. I came across tons of tumbleweeds in the roads. Arizona seemed to have more red cliffs, higher mountains and more vegetation, the Virgin River Gorge was very beautiful. I stopped at Cooper Pocket, AZ to take some pictures of the Virgin River Gorge. The mountains in Utah seem to rise even higher than those in Arizona, the cliffs become a more striking shade of red and the landscape becomes very lunar looking.

As I approached Springdale I took several pictures along Scenic Route 9 near the entrance to Zion Park. Since this was a very impromptu trip, I only booked my flight and car the day before I left, I had no hotels booked at all. I went into Springdale because it is the closest city to the entrance of Zion National Park. I knew I was well out of the peak season for travel in the National Park system and figured there would be a room open somewhere.

As luck would have it there was a vacancy at the Bumbleberry Motel. Its a very nice hotel along the main road in Springdale, they accept AAA discounts as well. I arrived about 4:30 in Springdale which is how I discovered that Nevada and Utah are in two different time zones. My rental car was from Vegas and the clock in the car read an hour behind Utah time.

I checked in, got my gear unpacked and went to Wildcat Willies. The restaurant has a western/cowboy theme to it. The menu wasn't huge but the prices were a bit on the expensive side but the portion sized more than justified the price. I ordered a Bacon and Blue Cheeseburger and it was huge and delicious. I'd recommend this place for sure. I took more than half my burger back to my room to keep for the next days dinner.

After dinner I walked around town a bit. There are tons of little tourist stores, art galleries, outfitters, motels and restaurants in Springdale. Its a very cute little town with the some amazing scenery in the background.

I returned to my room, put my leftovers in the fridge and talked to Eric on the phone for about two hours. There are some goats behind the motel which were located near my room who made alot of noise while playing with each other. I went out and fed them pretzels and took some pictures before returning to my room to shower, watch tv, plan my trip to Zion the next day and get some much needed sleep.

Things Learned on Day 1 out West: 1. Check, Double Check and Re-Check on weight limits and amounts for luggage on your particular airline! Paying $125.00 fines sucks!

2. Know that your rental bookings from places like Travelocity don't have all the hidden fees included!

3. Make sure your gas tank is full! There are very few rest stops in Utah, things are very spread out and its a good idea to keep your tank fueled up because who knows when you will hit a gas station again.

4. Utah and Nevada are in different time zones!

5. A GPS is a very helpful thing in the desert.

6. "National Geographic Guide to the National Parks of the United States" is a great book with very helpful information.

7. Goats will eat anything!