Vegas, baby!

April 1 (Sunday)
Today was moving day. Us and several thousand other RV'ers all heading north.

We had the trailer packed and ready and with a few goodbyes from others we had met in the park we were off toward Las Vegas. It was about 85F when we started the long hill out of the river valley. By the time we crested the hill it was in the lower 70's. A great road and no wind made for an easy drive. Lots of RV's on the road today.

Lots of RV's heading north today.

Huge solar array on Hwy 93

Acres and acres of solar panels.

Las Vegas

We pulled into the KOA at Sam's Town on Boulder highway. Very tight spots, the place is packed and it's hot. We managed to get set up and headed over to the Casino to see if they might just have an Easter Buffet. Yes, they did but we could save $4 if we had their players card. Great! So we took advantage of the discount but not before we had to play their slots to get the $5 player bonus that was on their card. What marketing! They are geniuses! Now before you can get their $5 you have to play (and loose) $5 of your money! Aren't they good at marketing! Anyway, we put in $15 of our money, spent $10 of theirs and cashed in about $38 of vouchers, so our net gain was about enough to pay for one buffet. So I ate and Cheryl watched me. Well, OK I sprang for her meal too! Anyway, we had some free drinks, and had a reasonable meal (turkey (not great) and ham (very good)). I recall swearing off buffets a couple of weeks ago.......but that was last month and in another State. :-)

Inside garden at Sam's Town Casino

Every couple of hours they put on a fountain show below this waterfall. It was pretty good, but hard to get pictures on the cell phone.

Well lit Eastside Cannery Casino beside Sam's Town.

Nice sunset over Vegas.

Our home for a couple of days.

April 2 (Monday)
Sam's Town has a free shuttle bus that will take you over to the Strip. We caught the 9AM bus and were at Harrah's before 9:30. The sidewalks were not too busy and the temperature was still reasonable. We headed south with our goal being the M&M store next to the MGM. It was quite a walk but as anyone knows who has walked the Strip the entertainment is worth the walk! Cool cars, interesting billboards and ads, and outrageous people. One change to the Strip is the recent addition of traffic bollards, steel posts, to keep traffic from running down pedestrians. A sign of the times I guess.

Overpriced Margaritaville store!

Replica Eiffel Tower. I gotta go up there some day. I bet the view is great.

New bollards to keep pedestrians safe from wayward vehicles.

So apparently this is Spring Break for the Las Vegas County schools and apparently all the kids under twelve converged on the M&M store this morning. What a zoo! We spent quite a while shopping to the grandkids. We managed to get out of there a bit (well, a lot) light in the wallet.

Something for everyone.

Hmmmm, what size?

View of the strip from the restaurant where we had lunch.

These intersections didn't stay this quiet for long.

Rainforest Cafe

Nice view

Lunch and very expensive drinks! You got to keep the glass. Just what we need.......not!

We stopped at the Rainforest Cafe and got a balcony table on the second floor overlooking the Strip. We had a big plate of nachos and a couple of drinks while watching the comings and goings of the Strip. Time was creeping on so we headed back toward Harrah's and met the 3PM shuttle back to Sam's Town.

April 3 (Tuesday)
The Red Rock Canyon Park is located just west of Las Vegas. The temperature was going to be a more reasonable mid-seventies so doing a bit of walking would be possible.

A nice drive out to the west of Vegas. This is a very popular spot with line-ups of vehicles to get in. It was that way all day. They have an excellent visitor centre with the highlight being the Desert Tortoise exhibit. There is a 13 mile loop with numerous stops along the way. The scenery is without question, spectacular!

Nicely decorated overpasses.

Very nice drive away from the crowds.

A lot of haze in the air today.

Lots of Joshua Trees in this area.

Red Rock Canyon ahead.

They have a couple of big males and several females.

This one is not real, but she looks like it.

A real one beside her den.

Hugo, one of the males.

Out for a stroll in the sun.

Two more beside their enclosure wall. The wall is down a couple of feet into the ground to keep them from burrowing under.

This little guy is real......

This one is a fake.....thank goodness!

Very red

Very scenic.

See the lines on the face of the rock? The lines are in various angles. How do they do that? Apparently they were sand, then hardened into sandstone rock.

To get an idea of scale.....see all the people in the foreground?

Amazing mix. The red stone have oxidation from minerals.

Very popular for rock climbers.

There were a lot of ropes and pitons in the rocks.

Quarried sandstone

They fund it was too expensive to remove and then move the stones to Vegas.

Petroglyphs

Pictographs

There were likely lots of petroglyphs behind those trees.

Ponderosa pine grow in this area.

Large wash.

Ponderosa Pine

Popular hiking

It was late afternoon when we got back to Vegas. We came in on the north side and stopped at Freemont Street. Not near as busy as the Strip, but no less entertaining.

Looks like they've torn an old one down and no doubt building a palace.

Freemont 

Outrageous!

Of course Elvis was here.

These guys were really good percussionists.

Of course a wedding!

Nope, I didn't have one.

A fun atmosphere. 

See the zip-liners.

Even more outrageous. Not sure this is a good place for kids.

These spray can painters turn out some amazing artworks.

Super heroes were here too!

Lots of glitz

Lots of lights

It was getting dark by the time we left and I wasn't too sure about driving in this town after dark. We stopped for a few groceries and headed home.

April 4 (Wednesday)
Not much done today just laundry, the pool, the casino, and supper at the Big Mess BBQ in the Casino (which was excellent by the way).
Still not sure about our next move. The weather is not too favourable in Montana or Alberta for the next few days. I think we'll move further north and be ready for the charge to the border.
........and that was Our View From Here!