Death Valley

It was 7.30 AM when we all gathered in the lobby to check out of the hotel. We went to Denny’s for breakfast (for the 4th time or something) and got our bags into the car. We drove off, stopped for gas (as we do not want to get stuck in Death Valley), and did some groceries as well.

From Vegas, we drove two and a half hours to get to Death Valley. Right before the gateway to Death Valley, we stopped at a shadowed pick nick table to have our lunch.

As we drove through the mountains, entering Death Valley, we saw the dry salty ground in front of us. It is a really weird thing to see, since there is literally nothing there to see actually. Rocks, sand, salt, mountains and more rocks, sand, salt and mountains. We drove to the visitors centre and later on to Badwater point. Badwater is the lowest place of North America. It lies 86 meters below sea level. We got out of the car, in 117 degrees Fahrenheit, which is about 48 degrees Celsius. It was extremely hot and so dry! This place is actually really dangerous, as you lose water in only seconds of time. We only walked like 10 feet and got back really fast. We tried making an omelette on the hood of the car, but that went really bad, so now we have a hood full of traces of egg!

We got in our cars really quick again, since we were almost boiling ourselves. We drove out of Death Valley, heading towards Yosemite National Park.

On our way, we ate some dinner at a local diner. We all had pastas, and we all weren’t able to finish it, as one portion was big enough for probably four people to eat off. After dinner, we drove to Mammoth Lakes, were we stayed at the Austria Hof Lodge. We had our own condo here, with three bedrooms and three bathrooms! It was kind of a ski resort, with blankets made of wool and places to store your skis and boots. When the evening fell, we heard some noice in front of our little house, at the dumpsters. So we went outside on our balcony and looked down. There was a large mama brown bear, together with her two little ones. She was breaking in the containers and got all trash out of there, to look for food for her children. The bears were just a few feet away from us. It was really exciting, as I have never ever seen a bear in real life before (except from when visiting a zoo). After the bears left, we went to bed. Tomorrow, we will visit Yosemite! Cheers!

Broke and broken

Today, we took the shuttle from our hotel to the strip, and went to the forum shopping mall of Caesar’s palace. There, we all did some shopping (again). We admired the Vegas buildings once more as we walked down the strip. We also went in the Hard Rock Cafe, where we admired some awesome showpieces of artists like Frank Sinatra, Led Zepplin, Elvis, Black Eyed Peace, Queen, Maria Carey, Tina Turner and many more.

In the evening we went to one of the outside neighbourhoods, where we had dinner at a place called Ada’s. They served us some amazing pastas! Everything is cooked locally, so they have the most tasteful dish! It was really delicious!

Vegas is really exhausting, so after dinner, we went back to the hotel. Some of us went into the casino for one last night, but I was tired and had a little stomach ache so I went to bed directly. It was our last night at the Downtown Grand Hotel and Casino.

Load, aim, shoot!

Today, I did something both cool and terrifying at the same time. I held the apparatus in my hand that is able to kill another human being, a pistol gun. Terrifying, really. Today, we went to a shooting range in the desert of Vegas, and learned how to shoot a gun. We used a 9mm pistol gun. The organisation we went to is called Clark County Shooting Complex. The people there were really nice to us, and guided us through everything. The whole place is very safe and strict, which is a really good thing of course. My target was a red painted farm on a piece of paper. I must say, I am not the worst aimer! Yet, I still think being there and shooting guns is one of the most terrifying things I ever did.

After the shooting experience we went to another outlet centre, where I scored two pairs of sneakers! It was about 115 Fahrenheit outside, which is above 40 degrees Celsius, so it was nice to be able to walk into AC controlled shops. At 7 PM, we went back to the hotel, freshened ourselves up and took a cab to the strip, where we ate some Pizza Hut pizzas.

Then, we visited Venetia, Paris and New York in one night. More impressive, we walked from Venetia to Paris to New York. And we also stopped at the Balagio, to watch a really fun water show!

It was a great night, and we had a lot of fun. I think Vegas looks very nice and lovely, because of all the warm coloured lights. So far, I really enjoy being here and seeing all this craziness. I think I might have to process all of it for a few more days. However, now it is time for bed. Tomorrow a new day. Cheers!