Las Vegas

We left the Grand Canyon in the snow and hit 90 degrees by afternoon.  The Hoover dam is under serious reconstruction, as you can see.  We were stopped by border guards and searched as all vehicles actually drive over the dam.  This is a serious security issue since 9/11.  But what did they search you might ask?  The toilet, of course!  Don't ask us why.  But we laughed.  They are currently building a new highway that bypasses the dam.

The next series of photos show our approach to Las Vegas.  It is a city of contrasts.  Set like a fantastic jeweled box in the middle of the desert.  It is also a fairyland for the masses.  Huge superstructure hotels house casinos, shops, restaurants, and accommodation.  There may be some rich people around, the prices in some of the shops would seem to indicate it, but mostly we saw lots of people like us, mouths agape with wonder and betting pennies on the pokies.  

It is a city of decadence, selling sex and pandering to the material wants and pleasures of the people.  You walk the sidewalks and the corners are crowded with illegal Mexican boys and girls handing out little business cards which they ritually flick to gain your attention.  The cards are advertising call girls.  

Some parts have the feel of Tijuana and others of opulence gone crazy.  We stayed in an RV camp at the back of Circus Circus and to get out onto Las Vegas Blvd. we had to go through the casino.  It took us the better part of an hour to get out.  It felt like a maze and the noise and confusion and the lights and the cigarette smoke all made it a bit of a nightmare.  Even the maps of the casino floor were no help as they didn't actually show where you were and the exit signs just took us in circles.  We never went back. 

However, we walked until we had blisters on our feet looking at all the massive hotels and their individual take on grandeur.  Here are a few shots.  

Coming in to Vegas.

Some big hotel/casino.

The last burst of fireworks from the Treasure Island free show.  

One wing of the Venetian.  Most of these hotels take up the better part of a huge city block.

This is the inside of Caesar's Palace and the Forum shopping centre.  Very nice. 

Mary outside the Venetian - note the Gondolas.

This little watery jewel set in the middle of the Arizona desert.  It turns out that Vegas is the first city to get the benefit of the water from Lake Mead and the Colorado River thanks to the nearby Hoover Dam.  It goes on to provide water and power to much of Arizona and California.  

Posing in front of somebody's stretch limo.  Note how the front looks like a truck.

By the next morning we felt we had a handle on where to go.  We booked tickets for a show and set off to pick them up.  Some 5 hours later, we still had not exactly pinpointed the venue, but were getting close.  Mary was getting very close to the end of her tether.  So....we had lunch.  That was the highlight of that day!  This is a Nieman Marcus lunch at $13.00 a head.  Yummy! 

Clancy outside one of the many fountains based on Italian design.  

Eiffel Tower

And more....

We did go to the show in the end.  It was "Stomp Out Loud" at Planet Hollywood.  Fantastic entertainment.  The whole stage and all the crew went crazy for an hour and a half non-stop making music and rhythm with everything from their fingers and toes to brooms, newspaper, plastic tubes and rubbish bin lids.  

We ate at an Aussie Outback restaurant and had the best burger we've had since being in America.  We fell into bed exhausted.