Mirage and casinos
Kris' conference was at the Mirage, which had a volcano that erupted every night for a few hours on the hour. You could feel the heat of it, and it lasted about four minutes. I was very entertained. We walked down to the Bellagio to watch the fountains, and there's just something about water dancing to music! Totally worth seeing. This also happens every ten minutes with different songs, so you can watch for a long time.
What I didn't like - this isn't a place I'd bring my kids. I went running off the strip and went right back because there were so many druggies. Both on the strip and off, there are a lot of cracked out people. The street performers are also pretty explicit. It's not awful - no one bothered me, but it's just not somewhere I'd bring them.
New York, New York
I couldn't remember if I rode the roller coaster here before, so if I couldn't remember - I should totally pay the $19 to do it again! Happily, I also got to go in the front car! This was a great roller coaster - seemed long and it was fun. I'll remember it this time!
Venetian
I remembered when I came the first time that there was a room that looked like the sky. I couldn't find exactly what I remembered (is it possible things have changed in 20 years?!) but I did find something beautiful. There's a place in the Venetian called St George Square, which looks and feels like you're outside in a city square. The ceiling is painted like the sky, and it really gives that feeling. There were performers here dressed in 1800s fashion singing 'Shallow' in Italian, and it was even better than dancing water.
Ferris Wheel at Linq - High Roller
We wondered why we hadn't been on this before, and it's because it didn't exist until 2014! It cost $20 to ride, and it was worth it for the view of the city. It's the world's second largest Ferris wheel, and definitely the tallest thing in Las Vegas. It takes 30 minutes to go around, and we really enjoyed it! It's roomy, glass, and not at all scary!
Cirque du soleil
I hear mixed reviews about these shows, but for me, it's definitely worth going. It features the most amazing athletes doing things you can't imagine...every night, twice a night! I'm talking roller blading on ramps over each other, doing tricks on trampolines, hanging from silks from the ceiling while someone bungees off of you to the floor, contortionists, people on a trapeze that circles and if they fell they would DIE because there's just a stage below them! I saw Love, and I'm not even a big Beatles fan, but I loved the performance so much. The talent!
Valley of Fire
We rented a car from the Avis in our hotel, which was one of the quickest car rental transactions I've ever had. I started driving north, and five minutes later...we were out of the city! Just desert. And there is really nothing. No houses, no signs - really, nothing. A half hour away, there was a gas station, and all the cars and trucks in front of us turned in. I get why! You better get it while you can!
Then in the middle of the desert, you can see the red rocks rising! The Valley of Fire State Park.
We went on a three-mile loop trail. We started on Fire Wave and connected it to White Domes. It was gorgeous and different the whole way. Red rocks, striped rocks, canyons, mountains, and bighorn sheep! In the wild! Vicious no doubt.
We had no service here, so check what you want to see ahead of time. We could have seen more, but they were out of maps at the entrance and visitor's center, and we couldn't look anything up. Happily we chose a good trail, but there are things like elephant rock, petroglyphs, and other sights I would have seen if I had known about them ahead of time.
I love that this is so close to Las Vegas, because it was a gorgeous hike. We wanted to do this AND go to Hoover Dam, but we didn't have enough time after Kris' meeting because when we came in November, the sunset was at 4:15 p.m. Not much daylight! So, I'm glad we came here, because we'll save that for another work trip!
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