By Sunday morning we had done everything we had planned to do in Zion national park, and since Vanessa’s flight left super early on Monday morning we decided to wend our way back to Las Vegas.

Along the way we stopped at the Valley of Fire state park, which was a step down from the spectacular scenery on Zion but still pretty remarkable. And we got to lean about the local geology (fun) and walk through a lot of loose sand (less fun).

There was even a giant rock with 4,000 year old petroglyphs.

After the state park we arrived in Las Vegas, dropped our bags at the hotel and set out to explore. First to a container park where we are a surprisingly tasty lunch with a bunch of twenty somethings and very loud music.

Followed by a stroll through the “Fremont Street experience” which was, well, an experience. It was an attempt to bring some bling to the old downtown area and lure back dinner of the business from the Strip.

Then we went to the Strip and saw a performance of Mystere by Cirque du Soleil—it was as impressive a display of acrobatics and strength as the other shows of theirs that I’ve seen (and the audiences just as appalling) and a fun counterpoint to the national park.

After the show we felt a bit peckish, so we ordered takeout from Din Tai Fung and ate it in the lobby of the glossy Aria hotel. Yum.