EVERYONE SHOULD VISIT LAS VEGAS ONCE — no one should have to visit twice which hardly explains why we are here again. Our previous times in “Lost Wages” were business conventions and we never left the confines of the Strip to see the countryside or to visit the National Park sites.
We arrived on Sunday afternoon, the same day that Las Vegas suffered the most devastating mass killing spree in the nation’s history but we didn’t learn about it until morning. As shocking as it was, Americans shouldn’t have been surprised. Guns may not kill people but people who have guns do and those who have large capacity assault rifles kill a lot of people! Charlton Heston be damned, it is past time to end this madness. ‘Nuff said.
The FamCamp at Nellis AFB was undergoing construction so we stayed at the Hitchin’ Post, just outside the gate but in the flight path of the F15s, F16s and A10s doing a round-robin of touch-and-go landings. The noise made even Buckley seem pastoral by comparison. But we were far enough from the insanity of the Strip to make it worthwhile.
Power. Hoover Dam
Hoover Dam is an engineering marvel, designed to provide power and water to places that were never supposed to be populated. Vegas could hardly be Vegas without neon and green golf courses. The view looking down from the dam is surpassed only by the view of the dam and Lake Mead from bridge.
Fountains at the Bellagio
Tuesday was the 24th anniversary of when Connie and I met, certainly worth celebrating considering how well things have worked out. For a change of pace we spent the night in Las Vegas proper at the Tuscany Suites, not on the strip but near enough to walk to. We were probably the only visitors who didn’t place a bet or see a show but we enjoyed looking at the opulence of the Bellagio, then had a nice dinner back at our hotel.
Glass Ceiling by Dale Chihuli, Bellagio
Ever resourceful, Connie found a birding hotspot in the desert at the former sewage treatment plant in Henderson. It’s a major watering hole for migratory waterfowl and waders and some desert residents, too, with miles of trails around a dozen large ponds. We weren’t able to coax the Virginia rail out for a photo but we got him to respond to our call.
Beep! Beep!
