had breakfast in the hotel room then went across the street to a small cafe shop called tsunami and had some tea. also bought some vegan jerky. spicy!

view of the back of the hotel

we drove into zion national park and parked at the visitor center. we took the free park shuttle and got off at various stops to take a look around the park. unfortunately, it was overcast and rained now and then, preventing us from exploring the park further.

weather report for the day

the park

the park and me

cactus enjoying a bit of moisture

after zion, we went back to springdale and had lunch at panda garden, a chinese restaurant. then we walked across street to zion canyon elk ranch. they had elk and other animals that you could feed for a donation. feeding them was cool but their tongues felt a bit weird on the hand.

my mom's boyfriend fed the bossy elk to distract him

so that twiddle thumbs could feed others

too cute!

enough of utah, on to vegas!

treated to more spectacular views while leaving utah

then into arizona, then into nevada. we arrived in las vegas and parked at the bellagio hotel. my mom and her boyfriend took a nap in the car while twiddle thumbs and i walked around for about 1 hour. we checked out the nearby hotels that we had not been to before: aladdin and monte carlo.

bellagio's water show

i see paris, i see france; no wait, it's just vegas

we went back to the car and drove to caesars for dinner. my mom really wanted to eat at a buffet. i hate buffets. luckily the restaurant had the option of items off a menu or buffet. my mom and her boyfriend had the buffet. twiddle thumbs and i had spaghetti pomodoro, which was excellent. after dinner, we walked around the shops a little bit.

take me home already