I probably shouldn’t even post this, what with the whole
“What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” thing, but, truth be told, we had a
relaxing time and didn’t get into any trouble during our week in Sin City. J
The drive from Pahrump was short and uneventful. We made our
way to NV-160 and followed it all the way, making the turn toward the Las Vegas
Motorcoach Resort just before we got to I-15. We’ve stayed here before but
haven’t approached from this direction. It’s always interesting to see how
things have developed in and around Las Vegas, one of the fastest-growing
cities in the country for years, but we didn’t even come close to getting lost.
We didn’t have big plans for this visit. In the past, we’ve
eaten at many high-end restaurants and seen quite a few shows, but adjusting to
a retirement income has reduced our desire to spend big. It’s not cheap to stay
in Vegas, of course, but we tried to avoid being extravagant.
Two things I did want to do were to visit Valley of Fire
State Park and Red Rock Canyon, both red rock (duh!) formations relatively
close to the city. We did the former, but will have to save the latter for
another visit.
The Valley of Fire is full of interesting formations,
similar to Sedona but much more accessible. It’s about an hour northeast of
where we were staying, so we made a day of it, packing the pups in the Rover
for the trip. I posted a series of pictures on my Facebook page here but I’m not sure everyone will be able to access that (it’s supposed to work,
even for people who don’t see the need to have Facebook accounts), so I’ll post
a couple here as well…
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| I saw faces in the rock. Scary faces... |
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| Geri liked this table rock formation. |
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| The rock formations are quite accessible, as you drive right through them on the park roads. |
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| This one is called "Balancing Rock"... |
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| Across the valley, we could see nubs of red rock starting to become visible. In a million years, that side will probably look awesome. |
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| Our bonus for the day was coming upon this little patch of day lilies, the only ones we saw in the park. There must be a little spring here. |
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| Linda and her granddaughter |
One neat surprise on this visit was that our friends, Linda
& Wendell, and assorted family members were in town over the weekend for a
wedding (one of Wendell’s son’s). We got a chance to catch up with them out in
Henderson. Chateaubriand for 12 and plenty of wine!
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| Palazzo Lobby |
On our last night, we did splurge a bit. OK; a lot. We left
the pups and headed for the Palazzo Hotel and dinner at Carnevino Italian Steakhouse.
I had a Filet, Geri had Veal, we shared a wonderful Barbaresco, and it was a
wonderful meal. We capped it off with a Grappa. Geri selected a
licorice-flavored one. I think she enjoyed it!
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