see something other than the strip

Today Alison and I took off for the Hoover Dam.  On account of my occasional claustrophobia, we opted on the tour of the power plant instead of the dam.  Cool tour to see the workings of turning a river into electricity production.  The elevator was unpleasant but didn't send me screaming through the halls.  Our tour guide was funny and knowledgeable.  I won't claim to have understood everything, but the parts I did I was interested in.

Don't pour booze in a glass or shoot it

Sending the power out takes many towers

I did see anyone who looked like this guy

Dividing line between NV and AZ

Native American mosaics in the floor of the power plant

We walked the dam and walked the new bridge above it.  Coincidentally, the bridge is partially named after Pat Tillman,  and I watched The Pat Tillman Story last week.

Finally. Nevada welcomes me.

We had lunch at a great mom and pop joint called The Southwest Diner in Boulder City on our way back.  Alison convinced me to stop and smell the cacti.

We weren't the only ones strolling through the cacti

Looks like a stool but don't sit down

Teddy Bear, don't you just want to hug it?!?

Cow's tongue prickly pear

Saw lots of lightning each evening, but no rain or thunder.  We took in a show, Mystere, at Treasure Island.  The worst Cirque du Soleil show I've seen.  Mildly entertaining and more than a little confusing.  I'm hoping that something went wrong and they were just covering it.  We had dinner at a little Cuban place that had great food (I had the "old clothes"--delicious!).  And then off to bed to rest for a long day of driving tomorrow.  Goodnight!

ps, Thanks again Alison!!

Vegas Baby!

Woke up to a huge black spider on my bed.  The cleaning guy told me the name of it was  “I blanked it out cause it sounded scarey” and that they can make you sick for days.  He asked where it went and told him that it ran behind the bed.  Then he back out of the room, said, “I don’t feel like dying today, I’ll take care of it later.”  So don’t stay in room #72 at Stovepipe Wells, Death Valley, CA.

After that fun moment, I took a couple pictures from the motel and hit the road.  Death Valley is appropriately named.  I drove out to Beatty, NV—a trailer park of a town in the middle of nowhere.  Their closest neighboring town is a ghost town just outside a park called Death Valley.  I didn’t stop to check out the local color.

cute little birds were everywhere chirping for their dinner

I like clouds

The only other incident along the way to Alison’s house was being followed by the Las Vegas Paranormal Investigators.  They followed me for 2 stops (grab a drink and then stop for gas) and then got off onto the brand new ramp I took to Alison’s.  Behind me, they took all the same turns behind me until I pulled into her neighborhood.  I was just hoping Alison’s wasn’t the house needing paranormal investigators.

Alison and I caught up over lunch and then headed out to see Red Rocks and the tortoises.  She let me have a little internet time first. The tortoises had gone to bed for the day so we miss out on them but the sunset in the little valley was beautiful.

Can you see the turtle in this picture?

Sorry Alison, I mean tortoise

Desert wildlife captured on camera for the first time!

We had an okay buffet dinner at the Palms and then a drive down the strip followed by a walk through casinos, shopping “venues” and outdoor shows.  I was much more impressed by the water show in front of the Bellagio versus the TI’s pirate/siren show.  I guess the good pirates were performing inside and getting paid.

Crazy candied apples--smores apple anyone?

the volcano