27/8 I woke up in Vegas, Nevada

This could actually be statement on it’s own. I was on the mission yesterday to get the pic with the sculpture of horses in Cesar palace, but we got there late and it was shut. Lesson for me: don’t ever assume Vegas rolls 24/7. People here need to sleep too.

So we made it eventually and I’ve got a pic with the horses. It was a sentimental thing for me as both of my parents and my late grandma love vegas, and one of the early memories vie got of my dad is him in a pic with those horses.

So horses – check, now we are off to MGM to stroke a lion. Yup, thats the rota for today: 1pm, stroke a lion, 2pm, lunch.. lol

We were in a short queue to pet and have a pic with an 18 month old lion called Dash. The guy who looked after him, gave him a bottle with milk and just before the pic, took it away, so whilst me and leah look all smiley in the photo, the lion looks confused: “Where did you take my bottle??”

After the pleasurable afternoon, the reality of what’s coming hit us: Death Valley ahead, two Dutch tourists died this week not too far from where we are going due to exhaustion after 8 hour walk to find help, when their car broke down. Splendid.

For the few of you who don’t know what I am talking about, Death Valley did not take it’s name after Dexter like citizen murdering hitch hikers with a bland pair of scissors. This dessert valley holds the record for the highest reported temperature in the Western hemisphere, 134 °F (56.7 °C) at Furnace Creek on July 10, 1913, just short of the world record, 136 °F (57.8 °C) in Al ‘Aziziyah, Libya, on September 13, 1922. So ..well, it’s damn hot. Better even, we are heading there in the Summer. Hallelujah!

So now you may expect to hear me moaning about how hot it was, and how I am never going to come back there again, but in fact, due to the awesome air-con, and tons of water, I could concentrate on something else, than the crazy hot temperature, and to save your eyes going through the letters, I am going to show you. It is truly magnificent area, and the views are out of this world.

We crashed in Bishop. Night night. Bring on Yosemite!!