Las Vegas Strip

We always enjoy taking a ride down the Las Vegas strip when we are in the area.  Our first trip to Las Vegas was in 1966 when we were a lot younger and poorer.  I remember we won $60 on dime slots and we used that to attend a show on the strip.  We went to the Tropicana and saw the Folies Bergere.  Claudine Longet, who went on to marry Andy Williams, was one of the principal dancers.  All in all, that was quite an experience for us.

We've seen the Las Vegas strip change over the years and have been amazed how much it has grown.  There are beautiful casinos, worn out ones and The Fremont Street Experience.  I must admit the changes have steadily made Las Vegas less appealing the last couple years.  They used to have reasonable buffets, a chance of winning on the strip, good entertainment and more than adequate parking.  All that has changed and it looks like it will even get more expensive to spend any time in Las Vegas.

The Bellagio Hotel and Casino has a beautiful changing display in their conservatory near the lobby and it is fantastic.  It's always on our must see when we are here and Sunday night we stopped by.  It was an eye opening trip when we saw that parking will soon cost, the exhibit was being worked on and not open for a week and the hotel was overrun with people.  It was a mob scene and nobody was watching where they were going and generally rude.  The glass flowers on the ceiling were still there and looked great so it wasn't a total loss.

Bellagio Hotel ceiling

Bellagio Hotel behind the reception desk

  One upgrade to the strip is the addition of fences so people can't run across the 8 lanes of traffic and dodge the cars driven by gawking tourists.  Some of the fences have flower beds and others nice views along them.

We drove through the Circus Circus parking lot (they call it a RV resort) and saw this neat camper with the Star Wars figures on the windows.  A large percentage of the campers there were rentals and we stopped and chatted with a couple.  Well, she sort of spoke English with a heavy German accent and he just smiled.  She said it cost them $43/night for their spot on the asphalt.

 Right behind Circus Circus was what looked like a National Guard site, but was some sort of shooting outfit.  They had all kinds of vehicles including tanks, trucks, etc.  We didn't stop but were fascinated with all the equipment they had there.  The 104 on the sign is the temperature, not their address.

The two Wynn Hotel/Casinos are striking buildings and the sun showed them off very well.

Did you know there is a Catholic Church on the strip?  We've been by it many times and never knew it was there.  Gerry spotted it and I managed to find the entrance after a series of wrong turns and 3-4 miles of driving.  Don't ask!

Most people have heard of the TV program Pawn Stars with Rick Harrison.  His pawn shop is on the strip near downtown and we've stopped there before.  He has added something to the area around his pawn shop.  

Yep, now he has the Pawn Plaza with shops, bars, restaurants and other things there.  We didn't go in but there were a lot of people there.  

We captured the photo below from the top of Bellagio's parking lot.  It shows a number of casinos and the Linq ferris wheel very well.

The photo below says it all.

We donated some funds to Bellagio and decided to head out to a casino nearer to Boulder City.  I decided to spend some money on the slots and went through another $35 and decided to stop.  Gerry kept gambling and was also loosing quickly.  She was down to $4 and then went on a streak and wound up $40 ahead.  I started on another machine and wound up winning $170 and walked out far ahead.  Nice!

Then it was back to the RV park and some relaxation and a couple adult drinks.  It was a long day but we enjoyed it.  That was our day, how was yours?