Wonder of Wonders

We drove over 2,000 miles this week. Starting with the journey to Beatty in Nevada from which we staged our forays into various parts of Death Valley and heading to Las Vegas where we spent a day exploring the Strip and ending with the Grand Canyon where we spent a half day gazing in open-mouthed awe at one of the greatest natural wonders of the world. Awesome - from two of the most inspiring natural eco-systems to one of the most gaudy of man-made environments. What a contrast.

What I did not realise when planning the trip to Death Valley months ago was just how far the different points of interest are from each other. And how far Beatty is from all of these points of interest. They look so do-able on maps and web sites. But the hotels within Death Valley itself were either fully booked or beyond our limited budgets and Beatty seemed like a reasonable compromise. Except driving to and from Beatty each day was almost an hour each way and with gas prices being what they are this week, the economics could have been better.

Still I am satisfied.

Death Valley is a land of contrasts in many ways. It is a contrast of geological formations - from the dry heat of the desert that gets less than 2 inches of rain a year to the stark craggy bare faced mountains that rim the vast desert to the snowy peaks of Telescopic Peak, highest points in the area, looming over the salty pans of Badwater which at 282 feet below sea level is the lowest point in North America. We stood at the edge of the huge Ubehebe crater, walked up the Mesquite sand dunes near Stovepipe Wells, admired the fault lines that were clearly discernible on the mountains bordering Badwater, pointed out the numerous alluvial fans that could have swallowed a city the size of Singapore, searched for pretty wild flowers up and down the mountain roads, roamed a ghost town that prospered on the Rhyolite (from which it got its name) that had seen better days because it had at least 3 banks and a school and of course, went on a guided tour of Scotty's Castle, a most unlikely luxury edifice built around the time of the Great Depression by a highly educated wealthy businessman who formed an unlikely and lasting friendship with a flamboyant con artist of little learning. The desert is so vast, getting from one place to another meant long drives. Because it is Spring, we did not experience the legendary heat of Death Valley but I am grateful for that. The weather was pretty near perfect for a visit to the famous desert. Summer temperatures can reach a sizzling 134 degrees F in the shade. We would have been miserable in that kind of heat.

I had planned for 5 days to see Death Valley but 2 days is pretty much all we could take. We did not have the energy to drive yet more distances to see the migrating rocks of Racetrack or the larger sand dunes in other parts of the desert. So we altered our plans and set off to see the famous lights of Sin City. A pleasant 2 hour drive and we found ourselves looking for lunch at Circus Circus at the northern end of the Strip. Of course, we did not know parking at the most extreme end of the Strip near Sahara Hotel was not really a good idea. It meant that we walked for what seemed like miles to see the casinos that makes Las Vegas the gambling capital of the world which were all at the other end of the Strip. The half man started complaining two thirds of the way so we did not complete the entire Strip. We did see from the outside only, of course, most of the big brand names - Mirage, Venetian, Caesar's Palace, Bellagio, Flamingo, New York New York, Tropicana, Planet Hollywood, MGM, Harrah's, Treasure Island, Wynn, the copy of Eiffel Tower at Paris Las Vegas and from afar, the Mandalay Bay. The city seems to be renewing itself. We saw a lot of new construction, including the gold clad Trump International Hotel and condominium. We stopped for a drink and ice cream at the food court in a spanking shopping complex called Fashion Show - the food court reminded me so much of a hundred similar food courts in a certain small city state. We also had dinner there later on the way back. We stopped for a rest break at the beautiful Forum, the shopping complex that is part of Caesar's Palace.

Not willing to forgo the neon lights that is the image of Las Vegas in movies, we did what we used to do along Orchard Road during Christmas light up although we were dead tired from the long trudge back to the Sahara Hotel. We took the car for a spin up and down the Strip to admire the sights and sounds of night in Sin City. And on the way, we saw a little of the dancing water at the music fountain outside Bellagio that was the ending scene of Ocean's Eleven or its sequel (I forget which) and the magical castles of Excalibur Hotel. But we did not see the pyramidal Luxor Hotel until we were driving out of Las Vegas heading for home two days later.

So we only saw Las Vegas' famous buildings from the outside. More indepth explorations will have to wait for another day, another trip, maybe with the family from Singapore.

Next day to last, we set off for a four hour drive to Grand Canyon. And what amazing sights awaited. Words cannot do poetic justice to what we beheld. It is almost beyond belief to think that a river seeking its way to lower levels, dropping some 2.200 feet along the way, can carve out what one can only imagine must surely be the handiwork of the mighty Creator. The teens were suitably awe struck. They strained to see a tour airplane that was just a tiny moving speck against the rock faces of the canyon - a scaling that brings home the enormity of what we were gazing at. We were fortunate that pollution that day was at a relatively low level, it being early Spring. Pollution in summer often blocks out the more distant sights of this hugely awesome natural wonder.

So here we are back at last, grateful for the opportunity to see two of the most incredible places in the world. It makes it so much more personal and meaningful therefore when Nic turned off all the lights in the house during Earth Hour today. Just as I started this post at 8:00 pm. And we were thrilled to see Google all black too to celebrate Earth Hour. We must all in our own ways, big and small, help to preserve this beautiful planet we call home.