GRAND CANYON to LAS VEGAS – bright light city gonna set my soul, gonna set my soul on fire
Friday – waking up this morning after yesterday exploring the Canyon by ourselves, our enthusiasm for the drive to Las Vegas is good. Breakfast of the usual and check out sees us heading South on US-180.
In four and a half hours or 455km give or take a km we will arrive in the City of Over Indulgence – Las Vegas! We start off by getting ourselves in the mood – let’s put on the Elvis music so singing Viva Las Vegas together with my Elvis impersonation – thank ya, thank ya very much – we remember it is the 30th anniversary of Elvis’ death and what better way to remember than be in Vegas – well it would be great to be at Graceland but this road trip cannot have everything!
Travelling along, the ground is very flat with now and again clumpy bushes and some volcanoes in the distance on the left hand side of the road.
Ever ingenious I hand the DVD to Tyler and of course the minute I do, we go into a low part of the ground and can’t see anything.
Tyler graces us with the lesson he learnt in school about the active but permanent volcanoes.
Passing through Williams Arizona we are travelling on Route 66.
STOP!!!! Time for a sign photo because we are motoring west and we’re on the highway that’s the best so obviously we get our kicks on Route 66.
Back in the car and a return to Elvis rocking on the ipod. It’s a gigantic Elvis sing-a-long especially when Heartbreak Hotel plays! Looking around at the scenery – not much of it – every now and again we glimpse the famed Sonora cactus but they are too far away to take a photo.
Still on the fabled Route 66 we pass through Kingman Arizona where we take the turn off for Las Vegas. There are helicopters above our car – are we under surveillance? No – it is only the tourist flights over the Grand Canyon. This place is like a desert community built amongst tall rocky outcrops reminiscent of Monument Valley but not as monumental.
Our next major stop is Hoover Dam and Lake Mead. There is a lot of construction work going on and we drive under the new bypass being built and have to stop at the inspection point.
The officer asks us ‘are you carrying anything illegal?”- well of course if we were we would tell him! I think they just look for the reaction to the question but after deciding that we are tourists and not terrorists we are allowed to progress. Every car, truck etc is stopped and inspected.
Further along is the Tourist Lookout and we get some good views of the Lake side of the dam and it’s structure. We also go into the little shop where we get the usual souvenirs and I get a set of dice with my name on them! How did they know I would be here I wonder? Did the helicopter relay the information to them? Anyway driving ever so slowly we begin our crossing of the dam.
You cannot stop and look – you have to drive straight across although there are parking areas which cost $7 to park so you can walk over Hoover Dam and then walk back – no thanks. We will stay in the car and drive slowly. Of course driving slowly brings the problem of the dreaded tourists walking slowly. I am taking DVD and trying to avoid them is a challenge but I suppose it adds realism.
There are also two clock towers – on is on Arizona side of the Dam and the time is 1.10pm and when we get half way across we change to Nevada time which is 1.10pm.
On the Nevada side after crossing the dam we notice two large statues which are Winged Figures of the Republic seated either side of a huge flagpole.
There is also a new landscaped Tourist Centre with a memorial statue to the Hoover Dam builders. Over the bridge we continue our drive to Las Vegas and we spy our first casino – The Hacienda.
Kylie reminds us that we have now been in 7 states in 7 days and it is worse than a #*#*# Kontiki tour. I tell her that the States of Exhaustion and Excitement are not eligible for the list – to which she replies – well I can’t tell you what she said – let’s just say she tells us the seven States – Oregon – Idaho – Montana – Utah – Wyoming – Arizona – Nevada; and tomorrow we will be in California.
Let’s just see those touristy shows at home like Getaway do that!
Anyway – we drive along Lake Mead but once again too far away to get some good photos. Next place we go through is Boulder City – more boulders than city and the temperature is rising to 105 degrees centigrade outside the car. Most of the houses are of a Spanish Hacienda design and there is a lot of contrasting greenery which makes the place look like an oasis of sorts.
We finally get to Las Vegas – traffic, traffic, traffic but the good old Trip Tik does it’s job. Here you will see the touristy Welcome to Las Vegas sign – I don’t know what happened but we didn’t see it therefore we did not get to take a photo – but you cannot have a tale about Las Vegas and not have the sign – so there you go!
We finally get to our hotel – The Flamingo. The colour scheme of this hotel is PINK!
Bugsy Siegel’s Flamingo is long gone and this newer typically Vegas style one has replaced it. Poor old Bugsy would roll over in his grave if he could see what they have done to his casino. I cannot do Bugsy justice with an extremely cut down version of his biography so just click here and you will get the full story. A read well worthy of the effort.
Back to the reality of today – we pull up out the front and unload the car which is then taken to Valet Parking. Our luggage is taken to a holding area until we check in and then they get the room number and bring it up. At check in we are given a complimentary upgrade to one of the newer suites – a Flamingo Go Room with a View. It is Room 20066 on the 20th floor.
Getting out of the elevator we see construction work still being carried out on our floor which includes uncovered wiring and pipes in the ceiling, this is not looking too good and we are apprehensive about what we will find in our room let me tell you. Tyler and I can see the ‘What the #*#* I’m calling the Manager’ look on Kylie’s face but we encourage her to at least have a look at the room.
What a shock – it is brilliant! Two big queen size beds, a flat screen TV about 2 metres long – surround sound and we have what is called a Strip View. Looking out the floor to ceiling whole wall of windows we get a view of Caesar’s Palace and the Bellagio Hotel with the famous fountains.
Unfortunately there are wire mesh screens on the outside of windows – possibly a safety feature but also possibly so that they can paint the outsides of the screen with a mural of the latest artist appearing here.
Tyler has discovered that the curtains are on remote control. You’re kidding me! Two layers of curtains that either open or close depending which button you press – so Tyler has his fun and the curtains open and close and open and close and then one lot opens while the other ones close. He is having the time of his life until it is pointed out that the people in Caesar’s Palace across the way may think it is some kind of terrorist warning system.
Before anyone else had a chance I grabbed the bed closest to the windows so I can look at the lights when we go to bed!
Now for the bathroom. Pink walls, pink lighting and there is even a phone and another flat screen TV in there. The huge walk in shower has massage points on the wall – sheer luxury. After gathering our senses we decide to go exploring so ignoring the construction work, it is down the elevators and out the door to The Strip!
On our way to the streets below we pass by the pool. Shock horror – it is a full display of ‘indulgence, loudness and too much food for their own good’ category of person. There is even blackjack being played under the umbrellas – and while I am on the subject the pool area is awash with umbrellas carrying the Fosters logo. So that the tourists do not get run down by the traffic there are walkways that cross over the main thoroughfares.
So you can practically go from casino to casino to casino without ever touching a sidewalk!
Our first stop is Caesar’s Palace. Palatial is a mega understatement. The Colosseum with a revolving world out the front stating Planet Hollywood – Trevi Fountain – statues – columns – I have never seen anything like it.
The size of these buildings has to be seen to be believed. No expense has been spared to make some of them look as authentic looking as possible and the Trevi Fountain even has coins in it!
I stop and toss a coin and hope that one of these days I will be able to throw a coin in the real Trevi in Rome. A chorus of Three Coins in the Fountain sees K&T walk away pretending they don’t know me!
Entering this place and the jaw drops open even further. Statues of Gods and Goddesses everywhere, tall, tall columns and there is even a spiralling escalator. As we walk around we just don’t know where to look. There is just too much going on and I realise that no matter how hard I try, I cannot take a photo of everything.
There are loads of people around and most of them look just as flabbergasted as us. I cannot begin to imagine what the hotel rooms are like – maybe just as flamboyant and decadent – I would like to think so. Vegas is certainly an ‘over the top’ place to visit and everyone should visit at least once.
After consulting our ‘what to do’ guide we decide to go and have a look at the animated statues of the Gods.
This is in another foyer – still under the roof of Caesar’s Palace and it looks like it is real marble – but most probably isn’t. A fanfare of trumpets and a laser light show on the ceiling heralds the start.
The music begins and the Gods and Goddesses start to move and speak! Bacchus the God of Wine welcomes everyone and then Apollo – God of the Sun; Venus – Goddess of Love and Plutus – God of Wealth give us their welcome and words of wisdom.
If you ever go to Vegas it’s a must see. After the show we decide we had better get something to eat as our tummies are rumbling!
We decide to have dinner at Planet Hollywood. Another incredible adventure. This place – yep still under Caesar’s roof – has memorabilia from movies all over the place and is really interesting. When we finish dinner we decide to head up to the Hilton to see the Star Trek Experience – Tyler’s choice of Las Vegas entertainment.
Off to the monorail we trot and we see Vegas by night – although not the Strip just glimpses of the hotels and a lot of construction work going on everywhere.
Arriving at our stop we see the advertisement for Star Trek and also a great big advertisement for Barry Manilow who is appearing here. It would have been good to go to one of the Vegas shows but alas, time was against us.
But onward to the Star Trek Exhibition which has a full on exhibition of Star Trek artefacts, uniforms etc. Clips from the TV series – the movies and it does bring back a lot of memories.
Funny how after all this time I can still remember those immortal words –
‘Space the final frontier. These are the voyages of the Star Ship Enterprise. It’s 5 year mission to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no man has gone before’.
They are all there – well not in person but in film – James T Kirk, Mr (Vulcanistic logic) Spock, Dr ‘Bones’ McCoy, (beam me up) Scotty, Sulu, Ahura, Chekov. What an incredible display and we walk around here for about an hour.
After Tyler has his photo taken sitting in the Captain’s Chair on the bridge of the Enterprise, we walk back through the exhibit where Tyler meets some alien life. Fortunately we do not encounter any Klingons or Romulans and escape unscathed from our adventure in space.
Now it’s off the see more of Vegas by night. So back on the monorail which is a real hoot as the monorail stations have animated mural type aquariums on the ground that have fish swimming around and when you jump on the mat the fish scatter. Needless to say I jump and jump and jump all the while taking movies! K & T have walked away again!
Off the monorail back at the Flamingo – more photos of Vegas by night. This is our hotel again all lit up.
Avoiding walking along the streets – as you do because the traffic is unbelievable – we use the overhead walkways and head off to the Bellagio Fountains.
We arrive at our destination and there are tourists everywhere.
This show is really popular and it is not long before the music starts – some very, very American patriotic song by Kenny Rogers I think and it is during this time that an altercation starts up between us and some very argy bargy pushy people in front who are spread out like cheese on a cracker and will not move to let us see. They won’t even move to let us take a photo so we decide to get even.
When the show is finished they endeavour to push their way out from the front and we do not move, we are staying for the next one in about 20 minutes so they have to change tack and push their way out somewhere else.
The lights on the Bellagio go out and the mist and subdued lighting starts and then the dancing water. There are now noisy tourists beside me humming along to music from Lord of the Dance so I politely ask her to please be quiet and she apologises. Manners in Vegas! Who would have thought it?
The Fountains are mesmerising and as with everything in Vegas ‘bigger than Ben Hur’. The jets of water leap high into the air – sway back and forth – spray at different heights all over a distance of 8 acres of pool with the Bellagio Hotel in the background providing an excellent backdrop for such a show.
Just have to show you more photos – one is not enough to do it justice!
When it is finished we join the throngs of people on The Strip and see some more landmarks by night – Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall & Saloon – and further down the strip is Paris and the Eiffel Tower. Of course it is not the real one – just a replica – but a beaut of a replica if I do say so.
Apparently you can climb to the top of it to get fabulous views over Las Vegas but unfortunately we do not have the time. Maybe next trip? The signs that I remember from the early days of Vegas are no longer on The Strip – they are at a special Museum which we will not have time to see – oh well.
We then head off to the Mirage Hotel to see the volcano. Lots of tourists lining the streets waiting for the eruption. The Mirage Hotel is where Cirque de Soleil in The Beatles Love are appearing. Unfortunately as luck would have it – the show was not showing on our one and only night in Vegas. Bummer.
Waiting, waiting, waiting the volcano finally decides to erupt. Rumbling and smoke and then lots of light and flames leaping out from the top of the volcano and flames in the side pool – most probably acting as lava. It is not as good as Bellagio I must say – bit of a disappointment. There were other features on the strip I wanted to see but we are getting a bit weary so decide a return to the Flamingo is in order.
Returning to our room we can see the Bellagio Fountains but to get good DVD footage is impossible as the camera keeps on focusing on the wire mesh screens outside – and anyway you cannot hear the music. We have tomorrow morning to do some more sightseeing, so it’s time to crawl into bed – lights out and I drift off to sleep looking at the lights of Caesar’s Palace!
Highlight of the day : The Bellagio Fountains