I’ve fallen behind again but that’s because I have been researching on how to improve the blog and it’s readability. So excuse my tardiness and watch out for future changes. One such change will mean more videos starting with this post.
Anyway, We left Longstreet Casino & RV Resort with some reluctance because in the current heat they had a pool that was wonderful. Just up the road, part way to our next stop, Las Vegas, we came to the famed Area 51. No sign of any early ‘stormers’ or aliens but what we did see was a USAF UAV (Drone) at Creech Air Force Base. Interestingly enough, our car radio was working fine until we came within a few miles of Creech when it suddenly faded and died. Three miles past Creech and it came back to life as if nothing had happened. USAF frequency blocking? Aliens? Or just coincidence?
We made Vegas but I’ll reorganise the photo’s to get some sense into a crazy week of fun and games. The first gallery (actually our second trip from the RV Park) was to Hoover Dam. It’s not a huge dam but it has a high level of national importance as a National Historic Landmark so before you can cross the dam you have to stop at an inspection station where the officers there went right through our car including the toolbox.
After the inspection we stopped at a parking lot which led up a short path to the Mike O’Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge otherwise called the Hoover Dam Bypass Bridge. This bridge is in itself an engineering marvel and is the second highest bridge in the USA (side note – We have now walked over the two highest bridges in the USA). It affords a fantastic view of the dam at the expense of a dangerously high wind area.
That done we drove down to the dam and investigated what there was to see there. There’s really not much I can tell you that you can’t see in the photos or read on the hot links above except that it is an impressive construction that is a noteworthy location that all visitors to Las Vegas should visit. The lake made by the dam, Lake Mead, is a wonderful location to camp which is exactly what we did a week later.
What Happens in Vegas
Naturally we were busting to get into Vegas. This first Vegas Gallery is from the 16th of August on our first venture into the famous ‘Strip’. It took us a few visits to start to find the best deals but on this day we just walked the middle section which holds New York, New York Casino, Paris, The Bellagio, The Venetian and Palazzo Casinos and a range of shops including the top of the market stores like Gucci, Prada etc. Doesn’t sound like much but in 105°F plus temperatures we were pretty tired by days end.
Also in this gallery you’ll notice the first of several visits to a bucket list item in the magnificent Bellagio Fountains. Shane and I timed our walks to go by these fountains as they went off as often as possible. To the timing of various songs this attraction is a fountain of joy. See a video of the fountain day show here.
The last few pics are just samples of what you can find there. ‘Elvis’ in his Tiger onesy was funny because we saw him several times through the day. By day’s end when this photo was snapped he was barely upright after imbibing on a hot day.
Second Trip to the Strip
Our second venture was to another section of the Casino Strip where after a meal we went to see Cirque De Soleil’s show “Zumanity”. Breathtaking, fantastic, brilliant, awesome. All words that are synonymous with this troupe. I had to cheat here and ‘borrow’ some photo’s from the web because you weren’t supposed to take pics in the theatre and in any case the lighting would have made decent photos impossible. The show was brilliant and when it finished we were too fired up to go straight home.
We passed by the Mandalay Bay Resort where that crazed maniac let loose with assault rifles in 2017 killing 59 people including himself by shooting into a crowded concert across the road from the hotel. Eventually we wandered a bit until we found a great piano bar in the Excaliber ‘Castle’ Casino where we stayed and sang until closing in the early hours of the morning.
We had a great night.
Who would be mad enough?
Trip three began with a visit to Stratosphere Tower. At 1149 feet (they took a third off it during construction due to the danger it imposed on jet aircraft coming and going from the LV Airport) the views are incredible. However there is no way Shane nor I were going to try any of the three thrill rides available at the top. That was for lunatics. The ‘car’ that shot to the end of a rail extending over the edge was bad. The ‘carousel’ that hung over the edge, spun you around then opened up leaving you looking down to the street below was sickening. But to top those rides were the idiots that hooked a single wire to their bodies and then leapt off the tower to the bottom. This was death defying and not for us.
On this trip we found ourselves at the famous Flamingo Casino where the current headliners are Donny & Marie Osmond. By dark we’d meandered through the Venetian before I was accosted by some of my fans in black lingerie. We consumed a fine meal at Denny’s in time to have a great vantage point for the fiery show across the road at the Mirage Resort. People were lined up on the footpath but we had a verandah seat right in front of the volcano. Video here
We ended the day with a night time look at those fantastic Bellagio Fountains returning once again to the Venetian where we’d parked the car.
Another day, another show.
Yet again we started this day in the Venetian. Two reasons for this. One was free parking. The other was that after dinner we’d be going to see Australia’s own Human Nature, one of the most sought after tickets on the strip. But prior to the show we tried to take in some more new territory. This trip we inspected Treasure Island, and the Mirage. In the continual heat of the Nevada Desert we opted to stay indoors as much as possible so we wandered less then on previous excursions.
By dinner time we were revved up for the show and Human Nature did not disappoint. They delivered a performance justifying the demand for tickets and doing Australia proud. At the end Shane got a Human Nature DVD signed by all four of the boys and her night was made.
That was it for Las Vegas but we still feel there was much more to see and do if only we had more cash because in the end that is what Vegas is about. M-O-N-E-Y.
Next blog we moved only a few miles to Lake Mead (the water body made by Hoover Dam) and from there we have some great photos of some magnificent scenery for you. So keep an eye out and hopefully I’ll be able to give you some interesting reading.
Cheers for now
Garry and Shane
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Great pics as usual and no way I would even go up to the top let alone go for a ride on that tower…………. New page is colourful , seemed slower to load but black writing please, the grey stuff is hard to read outdoors I found….