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Knights Time
Entry 29 of 43 | show all | print this entry |
Finally, a chance to spend some more time in Zion, rather than just passing through. And with Springdale right on the outskirts of the park, it makes it easy to access early. With the off season, there is very little on in Springdale and we can't see the IMAX presentation on the park. Not only that, it proves a little difficult to even grab a carton of milk for a quick bite on the run. But, in a last gasp, we get something.
The visitor's centre at Zion is pretty busy, which is a fair effort from those visiting the park, considering its still below zero. Unfortunately, time does not permit any of us to hike to Angel's Landing, but there are a few small hikes available.
Its a brilliant national park and even the drive through is awe-inspiring. Highlights on the drive have to be the monumental sandstone formations which rise thousands of feet above the canyon floor. Zac feels pretty special that the formations known as the "Three Patriarchs" includes a "mountain" called Isaac. Trying to fit our Isaac and the mountain into a picture proves quite difficult, but we try anyway - it was only a short hike up to the viewing area (although exceedingly cold).
Zac becomes very excited when he spies some scat sitting on the side of the path, calling out quite loudly (and excitedly) to all around that he had found some scat. He also tried to analyze it a bit, noticing that it had berries and nuts in it. Probably a bit too big for a squirrel. We narrowed it down to probably a raccoon. Very exciting (?)
Also came across quite a few trees which had been "assaulted' by beavers along the riverbank running through Zion canyon. Not sure why the beavers moved on, but they have given the trees a fair scare - looks a lot more terminal than the garden variety ring bark you see in some parts of Australia. But pretty cool, if you are from half a world away. Did not see any beavers, though. And no dams.
Drove to the end of the line and took the Riverside hike - a paved hike to the Narrows trail head. In summer, the Narrows would be another must do hikes on our list, so the chance to hike to its trail head was attractive. But Zac was a little disappointed - he does not think a hike on a paved path counts - it has to be rough and laced with adventure, so a hike like this just means it is a bit more demanding for us to try and make it an adventure.
Fortunately, this hike was helped with the weather. The low temperatures had meant that the little waterfalls and weeping rocks were now covered in little (and some not so little) icicles. Some of the icicles had shattered on the path which made it even more interesting. Plus, the wind was racing down the canyon which made the wind chill factor was quite brutal. Still, the path was very well used - probably hundreds along the path during that morning.
Zac has embraced the idea of junior rangers increasingly well. He was quick to see when other park visitors were not doing the right thing (walking off trails, climbing over fences and throwing rubbish. He has become a regular little watchdog for the park service.
A quick trip back to the visitors centre results in another junior ranger award for Zac.
Then its off to Vegas - third time might be the charm - hopefully. But Vegas would not be Vegas this year without traffic and it does not disappoint, with a multi-vehicle accident on the I-15 on our way into town. And the city is buzzing with visitors starting to pack the place for New Years Eve. Fortunately the time change helps us pick up an hour, which is just enough to make it to the hotel (New York, New York) and spruce up before we are off to Excalibur for the Tournament of Kings.
Zac dresses for the occasion in a knights outfit we brought from home. He gets quite a few comments on the walk over and ends up about ten feet tall and bullet proof by the time we get to the arena.
The Tournament is a dinner and show underneath the casino floor at Excalibur. Cass managed to get us front row seats. This, plus Zac's costume means that he gets lots of attention - Merlin the wizard speaks to him before the show and during the show, King Arthur comes over to talk to him. After the show, Zac also speaks with (and manages to have photos with) the King of France and the Dragon Knight. He is just beaming from ear to ear and can't believe he has been speaking with wizards, kings and what he thinks are real knights. We try to explain to him about the role of actors in the show. He seems to understand it on some levels, but not sure about all aspects.
Dinner is just what we remember from about 11 years ago - no cutlery. They serve a soup with no spoon and then broccoli, bead rolls and an undersized chicken that you pull apart with your hands (thats the way they used to do it - isn't it?) Zac gets a challenge from our "servant" - eat all of your dinner and you can have double dessert. He takes up that challenge and easily does it. Unfortunately, dessert is a pastry thing that holds no attraction for him. Poor kid.
The show is a bit more rugged than we remember. In fact a bit too blood thirsty. And the "fair maidens" do not seem to be as fair or as maiden-like as we remember, something that was not lost on Zac, based on the comments he made during the performance. Not much gets past him.
Although we were part of the Dragon "team" for the tournament, evil did not prevail (phew), although it seemed pretty close there for a while. The jousting and sword play seemed pretty realistic and well choreographed. Sparks were regularly flying off the swords when the clashed and the shards which exploded off the lances on contact looked pretty serious. But, no injuries. Just took quite a bit of assurance and explanation that it was only acting and the knights and kings were not really hurt, it was just pretend.
Afterwords (thanks to the early show), we had a chance to play in the Excalibur games arcade and Zac had a heap of fun playing the kids games, winning heaps of prizes. He also played a pretty mean game of air hockey as well (although it was a bit of fun to try and drag it out, which Zac enjoyed). But, its a zoo in the arcade and after we wander around for a bit, its a relief to get going.
We head back to the car to finally see the strip at night. But with the city as busy as it is, it is hard to get anywhere. We don't make it all the way down the strip, but we see a fair bit - including Zac's favourite - the Awful Tower (aka the Eiffel Tower). He adds another favourite to his list - the volcano at Mirage. We manage to be right in front of the volcano when it explodes and he talks about it for days - feeling the heat of the blast when we are sitting in the car helps a lot.
Finally, back to New York, New York. It is very late. Its been another long day of adventure and overload senses. A very tired family.
No driving.
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