I’m still buzzing from adrenaline from the food selections and tastes of The Buffet. Or am I buzzing from all the sugar I had from all those lavish desserts? Who knows.

Today was a day of extreme contrasts. We began the day bright and early at Zion National Park to hike the Narrows and ended the day in Las Vegas. Now the Narrows was probably the most adventurous thing we’ve done on this vacation. The trail isn’t even a path of dirt or rocks; the trail IS the Virgin River. We had to wade against the cool current, with rocks surrounding us on both sides like a fortress. You couldn’t see the river bottom even though it was only knee-deep because the current churns the water into white foam, so we navigated using our hiking sticks. The riverbed was stacked with uneven rocks but gave way to smooth sand at times. After what seemed like four miles (it was probably only one mile, considering how slow upstream we had to hike) we ended our hike in a place called Wall Street. It was a wall of smooth black rock towering above us, hence the name “Wall.” It felt as if the walls were closing in!

Las Vegas was a cultural slap in the face after spending days in the wildnerness, whisking me to an overly large, exorbitant, and bright world. Huge hotels and resorts greeted me instead of rocks and trees. Instead of hikers hiking to their destinations, drunk tourists milled about with too much makeup caked on their faces. Bright sounds and sights had me very dizzy and disoriented. I was experiencing some A1 culture shock.

And about conservation in Vegas? Forget it. For dinner we ate at The Buffet at Wynn. It is a world class buffet, featuring international cuisines prepared by world renowned chefs. After a weeklong diet of sandwiches and granola bars, I sure was ready to indulge in some fine dining. And I did! The dishes ranged from roasted quail enveloped in a flaky crust, to ahi tuna poke bowls. The sirloin steak was seared to perfection. Steaming vegetables were slashed with cool little grill lines. King crab legs piled high on the buffet tables. Artisanal bread tumbled out of the baskets. Each little station featured its own cuisine: Italian, Mediterranean, Chinese, you name it! I got a tiny bit of everything. My experience could be compared to Katniss feeling overwhelmed at the Capitol feast, if you know the Hunger Games.

The desserts almost outdid all the cuisines. There was a long table displaying an assortment of fancy carrot cakes, butterscotch pudding, Black Forest cones, tiramisu, key lime pie, coconut cake, and the list goes on and on. I tried almost every one of those, too.

And if The Buffet does not sound like enough, afterwards we watched La Réve, an aquatic acrobatics show. The aquatic factor really enhanced the visuals and the performance itself.

That’s a wrap for summer 2017.

Katie