We left the Grand Canyon area on Friday, July 27, 2007 and headed towards Las Vegas. It was my day to drive, and it was our first real animal encounter of the trip. Afterwards, it seemed that most of our animal encounters occurred while I was behind the wheel. Our scenery today was breathtaking, and I was glad to be driving because the landscape before me seemed as beautiful as museum masterpieces. Sometimes, Arizona and Nevada can seem a little other-worldly to those of us from the East Coast. We stopped at Hoover Dam and Lake Mead to snap a few pictures before going on to Vegas. We did not do the "dam tour" because some of us had done it and the others claimed to be too claustrophobic. While rounding a bend right on the "dam road," a bighorn sheep ran right in front of me. What was even more amazing is that he was catching up to two of his buddies who were lolling around in the "dam parking lot." No pictures of the sheep; he took us by surprise.
We tried using our AAA books to make reservations in Vegas, but the rates we were quoted on the phone were out of sight. Jane called her daughter Iris, who had access to the Internet, and she found us really good rates at the Paris Hotel. I had visited there before and knew we would like it. My husband and I stayed at the Bellagio for our 25th wedding anniversary, and I had taken photos of everything on the strip. That is why I don't have any Vegas pictures to post. I did have my picture taken with an Elvis, but that's on my refrigerator, where it belongs. We went to the Bellagio for the lunch buffet, because Jane and I both swore that Betty Jo and Kristee really needed to see this for themselves. They were suitably impressed.
Kristee and Jane made for the Mirage to pick up tickets for Jay Leno's show, which started at 11:00. Betty Jo and I bought tickets for The Producers, which was right at our hotel. Quite frankly, I didn't want to bet on staying awake that late, as the 106 degree temperature had worn me slam out. Plus, it had been my brainstorm to buy the monorail tickets, which were a big waste of money. The Vegas tourist industry has not yet realized that moving visitors around in a cool, comfortable atmosphere and location would benefit them all. The stupid monorails dropped us off in parking garages from which we had to walk half a mile to the front of the hotel. This place needs a modern subway system, with entrances to each hotel in the lobby near the casino. Hello, Vegas transportation people! Is anyone out there listening? Betty Jo and I were so frazzled from the heat and the hiking back and forth to the stupid monorail that we split the cost of a taxi to take us back to the lobby of our hotel. Money well spent!
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