Hello everyone,

We are back in Vegas for our last couple of nights before we head back to California. Since Sian's last blog we have been quite busy!

Firstly we took a trip to the top of the Stratosphere Tower to see the views of the Strip at night. It was really cool, they had sofas you could sit on and just take in the view. Also at the top of the tower are three rides to scare yourself on. One spins you around over the edge of the tower, one slides you over the edge and stops you, dangling over the edge, and the final one shoots you straight up and drops you (like the Playstation in Blackpool). The one that spins you over the edge was shut due to the wind, but the other two remained open. The one that slides you over the edge was actually quite scary, you don't feel like you are going to stop! Great fun though - especially so high up over Las Vegas!

The following day we went to explore the south end of the Strip, visiting the MGM Grand, M&M store, Coca Cola store, New York New York Casino and Excalibur Casino. Inside the MGM Grand they have a Lion habitat where they bring lions in from a ranch outside Las Vegas everyday. It was crazy to see Lions walking around and sleeping so near to all the slot machines! At New York New York we took a ride on the Manhattan Express, which is a huge rollercoaster that circles the hotel and casino. The rooms of the hotel are built to look like the Manhattan skyline, and you shoot past them, spin and loop for what felt like a long time! It was good, but rough - I had a headache afterwards!

Next we took a trip out to Lake Mead. Originally we were going to camp there, but when it was still 35 degrees C at around 6pm we decided we would drive back to Vegas after visiting the Hoover Dam! It was incredible to actually see the Hoover Dam - it is huge - although it needs to be to power Las Vegas. Halfway across the top of the dam is the state line between Nevada and Arizona, and in one of our photos you can see Sian with one foot in either state. That night we stayed at the Stratosphere hotel which was very nice - back to an air conditioned room!

The next day we drove out to a hotel near the Grand Canyon National Park, which we visited the next day. It was amazing. The visibility was really good, which was lucky because we had a helicopter ride! As we were the lightest people on our flight, we got to sit at the front next to the pilot, so we had the best views. Even the pilot himself took some photos for us! We think it is the best way to see the Grand Canyon.

After our helicopter flight we were back on the road again heading to Bryce Canyon in Utah. It was quite a drive but well worth it. We got to Bryce Town too late to visit the Canyon the same day, so we stopped for the night at Ruby's Inn. It was a nice place, but in crossing into Utah the clocks had gone an hour forward and there was nowhere open to eat! We were hungry! In the morning we headed into the park and spent a couple of hours walking around the viewpoints. We enjoyed it as much as the Grand Canyon, if not more.

On our way back to Vegas we got to see some more of Utah. The road we took went up to about 9000ft and passed a semi-frozen lake, and pine forests that still had snow on them. There was also lots of wildlife, although most of it was unfortunately dead at the side of the road! Three cows and a young deer, which was sad. Also there was a live deer that ran out in front of our car about 10m ahead, but my awesome cat-like reactions saved the day, and the deer.

Back in Vegas we have spent some time in the sun and have visited the casinos we missed the first time around. We were especially impressed by Caesar's Palace, which is massive! It is our favourite of all the casinos.

We are here until friday morning when we are heading to Death Valley. Our next blog will probably be from Yosemite National Park. Keep leaving us messages!

Fin and Sian