Las Vegas

I went back to Las Vegas last weekend. It was my 4th time. Years ago, fresh out of college, I would not have thought I will be able to say that. That is one good thing being in Salt Lake city - Vegas is 7-hour drive away only.

As usual, those who got to see it the first time were in awe. I remembered the first time I saw the strip and I felt the same way. Las Vegas is really a shining, shimmering, and splendid place. I just hoped it was a little cooler. It was so hot that for the first time, I believed Las Vegas was once a desert.

This time around, instead of just doing the usual hotel tour of the strip, I also watched Mama Mia! the musical. I figured that I've been here a couple of times, it is time to do something different. It was worth every dollar (110 USD in all).

Here are some pics I took of the trip.

American Fork Canyon

Over the weekend, we went to American Fork Canyon which is 30-minute drive away from the city. The pics below were taken last Saturday at North Fork Reservoir. It seemed like a great day to fly fish. Unfortunately, we don't have any fishing rods.





The next day, we went back to go to Timpanogos Cave National Monument which can be found at the top of the American Fork Canyon. The 1.5 mile hike took us more than an hour due to mulitple stops for picture-taking and resting.







The Timapanogos cave system consists of 3 caves - Hansen, Middle, and Timpanogos. These caves are connected by 2 man-made tunnels. Each cave has unique colors and formations. This is called the "Great Heart of Timpanogos"



Timapanogos Cave is also referred to as "Father Times Jewel Box". The picture below tells why.

MSP

Last June 24-25, I and Nico (officemate) went to Minneapolis Minnesota. This was our side trip, which means it was free. Some of our officemates from Manila were assigned here. We stayed at their place right in the middle of downtown and right in front of the office!

We only stayed overnight so we wasted no time and went straight to our first destination - Minehaha falls. This one is a few train stations away from downtown. The place is very calm, relaxing, and peaceful. This is the sort of place I would go to if I want to meditate and think about life and what I am doing in Navitaire.

Another train ride and we got into the famous Mall of America. This is supposedly the largest mall in America. There is a mini theme park inside the mall - complete with roller coaster and ferris wheel!

The next day, everybody woke up late so we only were able to go to Sculpture garden which is a few blocks away from the condo unit that we stayed at. The picture below is called Spoonbridge and Cherry.


What is so great about being assigned in MSP is that the condo and office are right in the middle of the city. All tourist spots are easily accesible, either by walking or taking the train. Here in SLC, our apartment is 25 minute away from the city and 10 minute away from the office. The only place I can go to through walking is Smith's marketplace. Worse, I don't have a license. Which means the only place I can go by myself is Smith's marketplace.