Las Vegas and Beyond

Our last night on the road was spent in Las Vegas.  We had been planning on having dinner at the best hamburger place in the country in Caesar's Palace, but when we got there we were told that  four of the resort's restaurants were without power in their kitchens.  Imagine!  No power in Las Vegas!  We noticed that the casinos were running full tilt - I guess the power is diverted to the 'important' parts of the resorts at times like that ;)  Anyway, never ones to go hungry, we wandered around until we found one of the famous Vegas buffets, also in Caesar's Palace, and had a plentiful meal there.

The last time Lloyd and I had been in Las Vegas we went to a show at Planet Hollywood.  It was a Beatles tribute band and we enjoyed it immensely.  So we decided to go again so Emily and Allan could learn to appreciate the early Beatles as much as we do.  It was great!  If anything, the show was better than the last time we saw it.  Ed Sullivan was there, Austin Powers put in an appearance, and of course there were 60's style go-go dancers.  But the singing was amazing..totally their own voices, no lip synching.  The 'lads' even slightly resembled the fab four. We weren't allowed to take pictures during the show so the only one I got was an after-the-show meet and greet.

Singers portraying ringo, George, Paul and John, with half of Ed Sullivan as well.

We walked on the Strip for awhile, stopping at the Bellagio to see the famous dancing waters performance.

Lloyd and I on the Strip

Emily and Allan with the Bellagio in the background

Then, because the strip is so long, we drove down it and back again so we could see all the neon lights and happy people, wedding chaples and neon lights.  It's an amazing place.

Emily on a pedway

Lloyd's favorite neon sign on the older part of the strip

A bit blurry taken from the moving car

In the morning we headed out, stopping at the Hoover Dam where we got out and walked across the dam before getting in the car and driving over the new bridge which bypasses the dam and cuts off at least half an  hour of travel time between Nevada and Arizona. The dam used to be part of the highway, with all traffic between Arizona and Nevada in this part of the state having to drive across the dam.  After 9/11 though with the threat of terrorism so real, the new bridge was designed and built to keep traffic away from the dam itself.  The dam's destruction would have catastrophic consequences in the the western US.

Allan, Emily and Lloyd on the dam with the new bridge in the background

Downstream from the dam - the Colorado River which was dammed and
created Lake Mead

Emily and Allan with Arizona and Lake Mead in the background.
It's an enormous lake spanning miles of Nevada desert.  The white mark all
around the lake where it meets the land, indicates the level the lake used to be.
It has been shrinking over the years, creating some concern.

Looking the other direction - toward Nevada - Lake Mead in the background

Looking down the dam

Me, on the top of the dam

We finally arrived at our destination in Surprise, AZ in the late afternoon, bringing an end to our adventurous three day drive down from Alberta.