Bonus Day of National Parks

May 14, 2023

Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Las Vegas

I woke up early and left Henry sleeping in the tent while MuoN and I drove into Zion to do a little sunrise hike. It was absolutely beautiful, the views were breathtaking and it was so nice to get to catch up with my friend about so many things since we’d seen each other last years ago.

While we admired the view at the peak of our hike we both mentioned that we’d love to see some Bighorn Sheep and kept an eye out for them. On the hike back down to the van, not only did we spot some- but there were two babies!! We squealed and watched them maneuver easily on the cliff face- we manifested sheep!!

We headed back to pick up Henry and headed to our next destination- Bryce Canyon. It was chilly enough for a puffy there and the snow contrasting with the beautiful orange and reds of the canyons was breathtaking. We drove through the park stopping at almost all of the viewpoints, wishing we had more time to backpack the entire park.

Final stop on our road trip was Vegas! We gave MuoN a hugeeee hug as she dropped us off at the MGM Grand. Our flight back to Pittsburgh is tomorrow morning but we had the rest of the day and evening to relax and enjoy Vegas. Our room was fancy especially compared to the hotel rooms we have been staying in. We walked down to the liquor/beer store to grab a little celebration six pack. Back in the room I had a cold shower beer while I scrubbed the layers of sand and dirt and sweat from me, then scrubbed myself again. We had planned on doing laundry here but realized the only laundry service required a hotel employee to come pick up your clothes and personally wash, dry and fold them which would have cost us approximately $40. Sink laundry once again. Lucky for me MuoN also gave me some old clothes she was planning on getting rid of, so I had an outfit that didn’t permanently smell of BO.

We went out on the town with a little buzz on when darkness fell. I was honestly expecting to be overwhelmed by the sounds, lights and vibes after just coming off trail but it was SO MUCH FUN. We walked the strip soaking in all the crazy sights, stopped at the Hershey store where I bought a piece of cheesecake.

Picked up some pizza and sprawled out on our huge, soft, king sized bed with approximately 11 pillows and watched Dirty Dancing. The best ending to a thru hike ever.