Vegas Vacation

cletuscletus Registered Users Posts: 1,930 Major grins
edited November 11, 2007 in Journeys
Got to spend four days in Las Vegas with my wife, her sister and brother-in-law. Thought I'd share a few pics!

Monday: First stop was the stockyards...
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...I mean the airport. We just happened to park at a shuttle stop with a sign describing the history of the Kansas City stockyards.

Next stop, Vegas!
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Nothing says welcome to Vegas like standing in line for an hour to catch a taxi. After our wait in line and a short taxi ride we arrived at our hotel.
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Not my first choice of places to stay, but hey the price was right!

Tuesday: We decided to spend our first full day in Vegas visiting Hoover Dam and Valley of Fire. We got to Hoover around 10 A.M. I could not believe how low Lake Mead was:
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The lake was 55 feet below the normal October level. It's been averaging a 10 foot drop per year.

More Hoover
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Got to see one of the new construction towers going up for the Hoover Dam Bypass project. There are four of these towers, two on each side of the canyon. In September of '06 one of the towers collapsed taking the other three with it. It's estimated that tower collapse will set the completion of the bridge back by two years!
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We left the dam, got some lunch and then headed north to Valley of Fire State Park. We timed our visit to Valley of Fire perfectly. Right about the time we hit the Eastern entrance to the park the afternoon light started getting really good.
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Wednesday: Our second day in town was going to be a day on the strip, but it turned out to be a day of shopping. I did get to snap a couple pics.
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Wednesday night we headed down to Fremont Street.
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Thursday: No pics I'm afraid, but we did walk through one of Peter Lik's galleries and see Phantom :thumb

Friday: No pics to speak of. Spent most of the day traveling back to Kansas City.

Had a great time and I can't wait to go back.
ab0wa.smugmug.com

Comments

  • wxwaxwxwax Registered Users Posts: 15,471 Major grins
    edited October 22, 2007
    Binion's??!!!eek7.gifeek7.gif

    lol3.gif

    Nice set. This is what I remember of the Hoover Dam, uuugggly.

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    Sid.
    Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam
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  • mr peasmr peas Registered Users Posts: 1,369 Major grins
    edited October 23, 2007
    Glad you had fun out here!

    Next time, hit up 'RED ROCK CANYON' State Park. It is located just east of the 215 freeway going west on Charleston Blvd, towards the Red Rock Casino.

    Lots of awesome hiking and photo-ops there (bring a circ. pol, a good wa, a light zoom and a light tripod + lots of water).

    Here's a tip from we vegas locals: Its free there after 6pm gates close at 7 or 8pm. Perfect for sunset shots. Just giving ya the heads up. thumb.gif

    Hope to have you back soon.
  • cletuscletus Registered Users Posts: 1,930 Major grins
    edited October 23, 2007
    mr peas wrote:
    Glad you had fun out here!

    Next time, hit up 'RED ROCK CANYON' State Park. It is located just east of the 215 freeway going west on Charleston Blvd, towards the Red Rock Casino.

    Lots of awesome hiking and photo-ops there (bring a circ. pol, a good wa, a light zoom and a light tripod + lots of water).

    Here's a tip from we vegas locals: Its free there after 6pm gates close at 7 or 8pm. Perfect for sunset shots. Just giving ya the heads up. thumb.gif

    Hope to have you back soon.

    Thanks for the tip!
    ab0wa.smugmug.com
  • dogwooddogwood Registered Users Posts: 2,572 Major grins
    edited October 23, 2007
    cletus wrote:
    I could not believe how low Lake Mead was:

    Two words: The Bellagio rolleyes1.gif

    Seriously, all that green in the middle of the desert such as palm trees (which are not native to that area) are bound to suck up some water. Not to mention the rapidly growing population.
    Portland, Oregon Photographer Pete Springer
    website blog instagram facebook g+

  • ian408ian408 Administrators Posts: 21,938 moderator
    edited October 23, 2007
    Pretty different from Kansas. Yeah?
    Moderator Journeys/Sports/Big Picture :: Need some help with dgrin?
  • DavidTODavidTO Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 19,160 Major grins
    edited October 23, 2007
    dogwood wrote:
    Two words: The Bellagio rolleyes1.gif

    Seriously, all that green in the middle of the desert such as palm trees (which are not native to that area) are bound to suck up some water. Not to mention the rapidly growing population.


    They're not native to this continent! :D
    Moderator Emeritus
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  • schmooschmoo Registered Users Posts: 8,468 Major grins
    edited October 24, 2007
    DavidTO wrote:
    They're not native to this continent! :D

    The population? :D
    SmugMug Editor / News Flash!
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  • ightenhillightenhill Registered Users Posts: 64 Big grins
    edited October 24, 2007
    will be flying out in two weeks after a few days in california.. Is the Qs for taxis always so bad??
    gallery http://ightenhill.smugmug.com/
  • cletuscletus Registered Users Posts: 1,930 Major grins
    edited October 24, 2007
    ightenhill wrote:
    will be flying out in two weeks after a few days in california.. Is the Qs for taxis always so bad??

    Not always. We just happend to arrive on the opening day of a large week-long convention. If there aren't any big shows in town, or you arrive on a day when there aren't a lot of convention attendees arriving, the lines should not be that bad.
    ab0wa.smugmug.com
  • cletuscletus Registered Users Posts: 1,930 Major grins
    edited October 24, 2007
    If someone is looking for a challenge, try taking a picture anywhere near the strip without a crane somewhere in the background!
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    ab0wa.smugmug.com
  • dogwooddogwood Registered Users Posts: 2,572 Major grins
    edited October 24, 2007
    ightenhill wrote:
    will be flying out in two weeks after a few days in california.. Is the Qs for taxis always so bad??

    Yeah, it's not always that bad but there is generally a line for cabs at the airport. I've 'done' Vegas several ways -- flown in and taxied to my hotel. Driven and parked at my hotel and walked everywhere. And I was just there two weeks ago and decided to drive everywhere (instead of walking). Don't get me wrong-- I'd rather walk and I'm not a driving advocate.

    But... there's always reality and the reality in Vegas is that it's almost always easier to drive everywhere (unless you're staying downtown - even then you'll want a car if you want to leave downtown). Every casino has free parking and as long as you avoid driving sections of the strip at certain times of the day (there are parallel roads like Paradise), it's remarkedly easy to drive every single place you want to go.

    My point? Consider renting a car. I know others may disagree with me, but I've really never been in a city that was so "car friendly" (but again, you HAVE to avoid driving the strip at times... it can be brutally slow).
    Portland, Oregon Photographer Pete Springer
    website blog instagram facebook g+

  • lennyteelennytee Registered Users Posts: 29 Big grins
    edited November 11, 2007
    something different...
    We've been to Vegas a number of times, staying on the Strip, downtown, etc. The last time we went (Apr 2006), we stayed in Henderson for 5 days. Each day we went a different direction; Hoover Dam & Lake Mead, Mt. Charleston, Red Rock Canyon, Death Valley, and one day cruising the "back" streets of Vegas. Loved it!

    Len
    The Loblolly Galleries
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