Day 12 - 27 Sept: Hilltop, NV, to Zion National Park, UT

After a wild night of gales, we busted out as soon as we could as it was too windy even to make a cup of tea. We'd spotted various massive malls on the outskirts of LV the night before, so headed back looking for breakfast, a grocery store and somewhere to buy Dylan some cheap trainers. Not much was open at 8:30am on a Saturday...but one store fulfilled all our needs - Walmart! Our first experience of this phenomenon was surprisingly positive - plenty of mobility scooters and morbid obesity, but not an unpleasant shopping experience - until Ruth got spewed on at the checkout. In truth she was splashed rather than in the direct path, and it was all liquid - I think the poor kid had had too much pop - but it was simultaneously hilarious and appalling, appropriately enough for the venue.

Having picked up donuts as well as all our other supplies, we set off for the Hoover Dam, east of Vegas, eating breakfast on the way. Tried to buy coffee but ended up with some nasty, bitter, nuclear liquid, acquired while having to listen to a local explain to a long-lost acquaintance how he had just been arrested on a domestic charge...

Hoover Dam - impressed by the sight, we were even more so after the tour - jolly interesting. Checked out the various exhibits 'n' stuff, then did one.

Next stop, Zion National Park. Today was a three-state day. We'd already stepped into Arizona as the Hoover Dam is on the border with Nevada, and we'd walked across. The drive from Vegas took us back into AZ, then on to Utah, through some fairly mundane scenery, then some more stunning stuff.

As we neared Zion we were disappointed to see signs saying that the park was closed. Seems the tail end of a hurricane had brought unseasonal heavy rain over the previous couple of days and the Virgin River, which flows through Zion Canyon, was a raging torrent. We had noticed it was very full and chocolate brown as we'd followed its path on the I-15.

Enquiries at the St George Visitor Center revealed that the rain in the park had stopped, much of the flooding had cleared and parts of it had reopened, so we decided to press on. We didn't have a campsite booked - they're walk-up only - and got to the South Campground to find it showing 'Full' signs. The rangers were there, though, and revealed there was one solitary spot left. Relieved, we coughed up the outrageous $16, set up camp, marvelled at the beauty of the location and cooked dinner, before planning tomorrow, contingent on no further flooding, and crashing out, hoping it wouldn't rain again...