November 18, 2011
Originally we planned to stay 4 nights in Vegas and have now been here just over a week and don't plan to leave until Monday, the 21st. There is so much to see and do in the area. One of our favorite places was the drive to the Valley of Fire State Park, about 175 km round trip. The rock formations were stunning and RED. This area is the bottom of an inland sea with lots of fish and sealife fossils as well as petroglyphs as you climb the rock faces. Mouse's tank was named for a renegade who used the area as a hideout in the 1890's. Water collects after rainfall and can remain for a very long tme.
Today we were at Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area which has completely different scenery and we were in awe of nature once again. Large blocks of quarried sandstone were removed and shipped as far as San Francisco and L.A. for building fronts. They would have weighed up to 10 tons. Huge! There are lots of hiking trails in this area.
Attended the Cirque de Soleil performance of "O" on Wednesday night and were overwhelmed by the performers. The production uses a 25 foot deep pool as the stage and contains 1.5 million gallons of water and features swimmers, acrobats, high-divers (the job I want in my next life), synchronized swimmers, acrobats, fire dancers and contortionists. The two main clowns were great and had everyone laughing before the show even started. Highly recommend this amazing show.
We've visited The Strip many times, but are not gamblers. We've gambled $25. and lost $25. Not bad for a week. Love wandering The Strip with all the noise, colors and lights. Lots of free performances in front of the huge hotels. Went to the buffet dinner at Mandalay Bay for our 42nd Anniversary and enjoyed many crab legs, catfish (my new favorite fish), swai fish and on and on. Started with the best cream of broccoli soup ever followed by shrimp cocktails and carried on from there. Mm Mm Good! Took lots of time to enjoy this fabulous meal.
Saba and Pogo are enjoying Vegas as well. We try and take them to the Dog Fanciers Park once or twice a day unless we are hiking. Every city should have a park like this. 12 acres have been divided into 4 fenced and gated areas and two are reserved for big dogs (one for frisby and ball throwing), one for small dogs and the largest 4 acre site is for all dogs. Five times around the 4 acres does our dogs in. All areas are grass and the dogs are all off leash and run, play and sniff bums with all the other dogs. Have met lots of people here. Some have helped us decide what to see here and some are very strange, but love their dog/s. Great danes and St. Bernards are the big breed of choice and small dogs come in all sizes, shapes and colors. We have not seen any fights, but apparently there has been the odd disagreement.
I (Gord) found a private vintage race car museum (free), featuring rare old sprint cars, midget racers and the oldest unrestored Indy car from 1934. I stared at that old beauty for half an hour!! Many rare racing memorabilia bits and pieces. The owner is a well known car owner/restorer/engine builder/mechanic from the 50's on. He (Ed Rachanski) autographed a post card for me.
Have to report on temperatures. Although the first three days we were here were only about 16 degrees the last 4 have been in the high 20's up to 29. No snow and no rain! No humidity either. We drink lots of water during the day. To all our friends at home, hope you are enjoying the snow and the shoveling! Last night we went for a swim in the RV Resort salt water pool - ahhhh! It does drop down at night with the coldest being 2 degrees, but as soon as the sun comes up the temp goes up a degree every half hour or so. It's now almost 9:00 pm and the temp is still 16, which is unusual, but we'll take it.
Cheers from Vegas
Colleen and Gord
No comments:
Post a Comment