VIVA LAS VEGAS

By

Gypsy Rhapsody

(a 1977 Airstream that's ready to break out)

That's right...

Holiday RV in Albuquerque is a great place,

but I'm ready to be FREE.

Vannie and Dave are picking me up Friday morning,

and that's not a minute too soon.

I got THE Las Vegas text yesterday.

These pics are a lot different than the ones from the Natural Parks,

FOR SURE...

Vannie's Text:

Just finishing up our 3rd day in Vegas, Gypsy.

Elvis had it right when he wrote the words to

"Viva Las Vegas"

...bright light city

...money to burn

...thousand pretty women

...need strong heart and nerves of steel

...neon flashin'.

Welcome to Las Vegas

The vintage Las Vegas sign was designed by Betty Willis

and erected in 1959.  It was put on the

National Register of Historic Places in 2009.

Betty died at the age of 91 last year.

Gypsy, this is our hotel...The Excalibur. 

It looked like we were in Disney Land,

but it only took a few minutes to realize we weren't.

One of the best things were saw was

Cirque du Soleil The Beatles LOVE. 

Gypsy, this was our first Cirque show.

It was fabulous to able to see it in Las Vegas.

Guess you could say we were feeling the "LOVE"

after the show.  

Jan and Chester

The full moon was a perfect ending to a great evening.

The Bellagio in Vegas

One of our favorite places...

I think if we ever return, we will swing for a room there.

It was filled with wonderful sights and sounds and smells.

The gambling part was off to the side.  It didn't hit you in the face

as soon as you walked in the door.

We did discover Uber while in Vegas.  With just a little app 

on our phones, we could go anywhere we wanted for just

a little bit of money.  It was so quick and easy.

We went to the Bellagio for breakfast and dinner.

The Chihuly Glass Sculpture in the lobby of the Bellagio...

"Fiori di Como" which means Flower of Como...a lakeside city in Italy...

The sculpture consists of over 2000 hand blown glass flowers.

This took your breathe away.

We felt like we were seeing the Rose Parade.

These sculptures were made out of fresh flowers.

...and then there was the chocolate...

...and the confectioneries... 

Oh my goodness...the diet went out of the window.

Some more sights...New York, New York...

...the little Wedding Chapel...

...Paris...

...Paris at night with the Dancing Waters...

...the Luxor...

...the Mandalay Bay... 

...the Hersey Store...

Dave can not resist that dark chocolate.

...the Twizzlers Statue of Liberty...

Yes, that's right...all made out of strawberry Twizzlers.

I know...I know...I bet you are wondering if I did any gambling...

and...did I win a bunch of money.

This picture is deceiving...It looks like I am serious.

I put in a TOTAL of $1.  I lost a TOTAL of $1.  

I won nothing but a whole lot of good times and a bunch of memories. 

Well, it might not be soon, but, who knows, it might be again.

See you tomorrow, Gypsy.

Love, Vannie

MARCHING TO ZION

By

Gypsy Rhapsody

(A 1977 Airstream still getting special treatment in Albuquerque)

Special Treatment is an understatement.

These guys at Holiday Travel Trailers

are on the ball. 

They have many newer model Airstreams

for me to visit and talk with.  It's been a delight

to stay here while Vannie and Dave see the country.

Today's text from Vannie is from Zion Natural Park.

Zion is in Southwest Utah...not far from Bryce.

Vannie's text...

Good evening, Gypsy.

We talked to Carl at Holiday Travel Trailers today,

and he said you were doing great. 

We'll see you soon.

After we left Bryce National Park, we headed to Zion.

...another beautiful creation from God...

We're marching to Zion,

...beautiful, beautiful Zion...

We're marching upward to Zion,

...the beautiful city of God...

This was words from an old hymn we

used to sing in the Baptist and Methodist churches in 

north Louisiana back in the 50's and 60's.

The words certainly fit this portion of our trip.

We stayed at the Zion Lodge.

It was nestled among the mountains and canyons of the park.

There were many forest trails along the Virgin River.

As usual, Dave and I hiked one of the trails

that led to "The Narrows".

It was a beautiful trail along the river...

and it was fairly straight...not too many ups and downs.

There was a wonderful treat at the end of this trail.

Being able to put my tired aching feet into the cold

water of the Virgin River made me shout...Hallelujah.!!! 

Loved this design made by dripping water...

Dave could hardly decide where to look...

Every which way was a masterpiece.

Gypsy, this was taken looking up the mountain wall..

It's called the "hanging gardens" section.

It was beautiful...dripping water and plants.

These steep red cliffs were mostly made up of Navajo sandstone.

...more of the natural hanging baskets...

Another cool fact...

Zion was named a national monument

in 1909 by President William H. Taft.

Vannie's dad was named after Pres. Taft.

It was born in 1908.

Zion includes mountains, canyons, buttes, mesas,

monoliths, rivers, slot canyons, and natural arches.

...truly a "beautiful city of God"...

HOODOOS OF BRYCE CANYON

By

Gypsy Rhapsody

(a 1977 Airstream that is still getting greased up in Albuquerque)

Albuquerque is a wonderful place,

and I love it.  I've been greased in places

that I didn't even know existed.

The latest text from Vannie

was from the hoodoos in Bryce Canyon.

Bryce National Park is in southern Utah.

Vannie's Text...

"Do do that "hoodoo" that you do so well"

Sorry, Gypsy, just had to sing a line from that

old Frank Sinatra song..."You Do Something to Me".

Dave has been breaking into song almost daily

since we have been in Bryce Canyon.

Hoodoos are spire-shaped rock formations.

The Paiute Indians said they were "Legend People"

that had been turned into stone.

Dave and I were mesmerized by the formations.

Just like another line in Frank's song...

"Let me live 'neath your spell"

We explored all the different overlooks.

Here is Jan and Chester at Sunset Point.

Me at Sunrise Point

Inspiration Point

Byrce Point

The weather was beautiful.

Just a little nippy.

We stared at the hoodoos for hours,

and made up our own stories about

the various formations.

Hike the Hoodoos...

Sure...that sounded like loads of fun.

So....Off we started at about 7:15 in the morning.

...at the top...

Beautiful Sunrise

On the way down, my knees decided I needed a break.

Seeing the hoodoos from the bottom up was fascinating. 

We peeked around the corner and spotted this unique site.

It was called 2 bridges.

Dave didn't tell me about this sign until we got back up to the top.

Look closely, Gypsy...Dave is on the trail at the bottom right.

It helps with the perspective of the size of these things. 

A little chilly...still had on my earmuffs.

The trail actually went through this tiny opening.

Tight squeeze...

Not many people on the trail...

You can see another couple about in the middle of this picture.

Part of the trail is on the bottom left.

Finished...Yay!!!

We started at 7:15 am and finished at 8:45 am.

I think we hiked at least 10 miles.

Someone got this sign wrong.

Sing it, Dave...

"You do something to me

Something that simply mystifies me

Tell me why should it be

You have the power to hypnotize me?

Let me live 'neath your spell

Do do that "hoodoo" that you do so well

'Cause you do something to me

That nobody else could do."