Wow. Well, we recently returned from one of our best trips since we've been out in New Mexico. Unfortunately, it just means that we're ready to travel some more. :) But, this will hold us over until Thanksgiving (going to Asheville this year...definitely very excited).Our friends Nate and Susan had a two-week trip planned this fall, including Vegas and Cancun. However, they chose to include us since we're relatively close to Las Vegas. They arrived on a Friday at the beginning of October, the last weekend of the Balloon Fiesta. It was great to see them both again after way too much time. We spent part of the evening catching up, and then crashed so we could get up early for the Balloon Fiesta. It was an early and VERY cold morning (the Sandias had their first snow of the year the night before), but the Fiesta was, as always, stunning. The usual breakfast burritos, cinnamon rolls, hot chocolate, and tons of pictures made for a great morning. After coming back to shower off and take some power naps, we headed to the Frontier for lunch. Old Town and wine flights at St. Clairs followed, and we ended the day with a great dinner at sunset at Sandiago's. I think Nate and Susan got their fill of New Mexican food. ;)
The next day we got up fairly early and packed the car to go the Grand Canyon. We wanted to take our new Subaru because of the gas mileage, and we managed to get all of Nate and Susan's luggage (2 weeks worth), Cari and my bags, and camping gear in the car. We drove the 6 hour trip to the Grand Canyon, stopping at a great pizza place in Flagstaff on the way. Once we arrived, we set up our campsite (which was very homey) and then went to find the Canyon itself. The views from Mather Overlook were amazing, and we hiked down the Rim trail, taking tons of pictures along the way. We eventually decided to go to a lookout point to watch the sunset, but couldn't find parking (apparently everyone else had the same idea as we did), so we went back to the campsite and had a great dinner of sausage, veggies, potatoes, beer/wine, and some incredible reese's s'mores! After a night of sleeping at about 30 degrees, we woke up early to watch the sunrise and hike a bit. The early hour was worth it -- one of the most incredible sunrises I've ever seen. It also gave a lot of depth to the canyon, which made for some good pictures. We packed up after a brief hike down Bright Angel Trail and hit the road again.
Next stop...Las Vegas!! We arrived early afternoon and checked into our rooms at the Planet Hollywood Towers at Westgate. We finally got to shower off and rest for a bit before getting dressed up and hitting the town. Our evening in Vegas was a blast -- we started with drinks/appetizers at the top of the Stratosphere while watching the sunset and the city lights turn on. We then spent a few hours just walking around - went to see the lobbies and walk through the Wynn, the Venetian, Ceasar's Palace, and the Bellagio. We had some pretty good "Mexican" food at the Venetian and watched the water show a few times at the Bellagio. The next morning, we ate a great brunch at Mon Ami Gabi before Cari and I headed home. We wished we could have spent more time with Nate and Susan in Vegas relaxing, but work (and a lack of vacation time) called! Overall, it was a great trip!
In addition to the fun road trip, Cari and I also got a chance to get away for the evening to Santa Fe. We got a groupon for a night's stay at the Lodge at Santa Fe, so we packed up the car and Belle, and went up north for an evening. We ate at Tomasitas, hung out in our Kiva suite, woke up to snow the next morning, went for a fun drive in the mountains (had to turn back because of the snow), and came home. It was short but sweet! We are definitely looking forward to seeing family in less than 3 weeks back east for Thanksgiving, and then going back again for Christmas. Check back for updates soon!
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