The Freemont Street Experience

Since we had the car, we drove to see the old Glitter Gultch of Freemont Street, the old downtown section of Las Vegas. This 5 block pedestrian mall yields everything old Vegas and more. Nice place for walk but not my cup of tea. We passed hundreds of wedding chapels, pawn shops, seedy motels as we drove the entire Las Vegas Strip from Feemont to the Luxor Hotel.




The ceiling of the mall puts out an hourly light show illuminating millions of LED lights to a musical score - the Freemont equivalent of the Bellagio's fountain and light show, I suppose. The lights and glitter of Vegas never turns off here either.

Red Rock Canyon

Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area is only a 30 minute drive from the Vegas Strip. We visited in the late afternoon shortly after picking up our car. Kurtie had an epiphany in the middle of the night - suggesting we stay a 3rd night in Vegas at the Luxor (it was offered to us at a cheap $50) - so we could see some desert scenery and food shop for our camping trip in the Canyon.



There's Kurtie to give the shot some scale. We did a 13 mile scenic drive around the conservation area, baffled by the cyclists. How do they cycle in that hot, dry climate?






Some silliness....




Okay, more silliness....




I can't tell if he is serious or silly....knowing Kurt, probably both. Nice view, huh?




Gorgeous red rocks, desert scenery.....




Unusual desert plants....





The sun setting.....

Las Vegas and The Strip

Here is our Hotel - The Luxor. It is actually shaped like a pyramid and the elevators run on an uneasy slide as it goes up the side of the angled structure. A little unsettling at first but then it becomes kinda' fun. Or at least worthy of idle small talk chitchat during the elevator ride...."Gee, I just can't get used to the way this elevator movies...tee hee".

Once we rested from our afternoon nap, we went for a walk. A VERY very long walk.....Did I mention it was a VERY long walk?


I'm still not sure why Las Vegas is so popular...but it sure is an opulent, outrageously decadent adult Disneyland. Where else can you lodge in the pharaoh's pyramid, slay knights at Excalibar,



.....catch a thrill-seeking ride on a roller coaster in New York, New York.....

.....consider climbing the Eiffel Tower and walking the Champs Elysees....


.....get swallowed up by human eating plants inside the Bellagio Garden.....



.....watch the light and water fountain show outside the the Bellagio ....



And all this in one short evening!

But our feet were burning hot with fatigue. I wanted to stick my feet in ice when we got back to our room that evening.