Southwest Vacation - Day 7

Friday morning we got up and first order of business was to head to the famous Gold & Silver Pawn Shop.  You know the one on "Pawn Stores". We were hoping to catch a glimpse of Rick,  Big Hoss, Chumlee or the Old Man...but no such luck, they were "in a meeting."  The shop itself was pretty interesting, seeing some of the items that we'd seen on the show and they are making a mint on souvenir t-shirts, mugs and various other sundries.  There were security guards inside and outside!  CRAZY!  I was a little surprised by how small it was...it looks much bigger and impressive on TV!

 

 

Next stop was breakfast!  First place we saw was Denny's, so that's where we stopped!  Now, it's become one of our favorite places!

Next stop:  The World's Largest Gift Shop!  (to pick up a few souvenirs)

Then we decided to drive to the far end of the strip and park and then walk that end of the strip. 

MGM Grand was impressive with its miracle mile of shops and huge casino.  They also have three lions that are kept in the Lion Habitat, but they were pretty lazy.  Another of their attractions is the CSI Experience where you get to analyze forensic evidence and test your investigative skills.  I think my brother in law, Andrew, would love that.



This was amazing to me...screens and screens of sporting events
 to bet on.  They even posted odds on the upcoming
Arkansas game.  pretty wild!



The Mirage offered a tribal volcano/fire/water show that was entertaining as well.

The Venetian had outdoor and indoor gondola rides around its property with an authentic Italian to serenade you along the ride.  Our Gondolier was Figaro.

New York, New York was all right.  It had very interesting architecture details inside but not quite as over the top as some of the resorts.  They did have a Coyote Ugly bar that I thought would probably be pretty fun.



Replica of the Brooklyn Bridge



 

See the miniature Coney Island in the background?




Restaurant where you literally choose
your

Made ENTIRELY of jelly beans.

 



















Before we headed back to our room to rest for a bit we decided to have a snack at the Hooter's Casino so Mark could add another location to his list. 

Here's a few more shots from the strip.



The Monte Carlo

  

The Excalibur


 

The Luxor





Ipods, Software, Cell Phones from a vending machine -- REALLY?



Harley Davidson Cafe

 

Rent your Dream Car for cruising the Strip.

Big Spender didn't win anything, but this girl won $19.00 on a Quarter Slot machine!
Not bad odds.

 After a little nap, we ventured back out to the strip for a gondola ride and dinner.  Although our choice was the Cheesecake Factory, we found ourselves way down on the seating list so we opted for Mr. Taco in the cafe court of the Fashion Mall!  Nothing fancy, but good.  We saw a couple of guys wearing Hog Shirts -- kinda funny seeing someone from Arkansas so far from home.

My take on Vegas is too many people, open drunkenness, overwhelming number of casinos with their smoke, lights and noise, brazen prostitution from girls walking the street to vendors handing out girlie cards inviting you to their show to trucks driving around with pictures of life size scantily clad girls advertising "Hot Babes" - we deliver - college girls $69. -

Now anyone who knows me, knows that I am not prudish or relatively naive, but this was all just a little too much for me -- Been there, done that -- it is appropriately names "Sin City."

Southwest Vacation - Day 6

Well - it's Thursday and our vacation is slowly coming to an end...but we've got lots more to see!

On tap for today is Hoover Dam and then on into Vegas!

If you've ever considered going to Hoover Dam, you've no doubt heard about the long line of traffic (sometimes hours) to get across the Dam.  October 16 (the weekend after we were there) - they opened the Hoover Dam bypass bridge.  Which will be GREAT for those going TO the Dam and those just traveling the area.

A few bridge facts:
• The highest and longest arched concrete bridge in the Western Hemisphere.

• The second-highest bridge of any kind in the United States and 14th in the world.

• The world's tallest concrete columns of their kind.

• It is perched 890 feet above the turquoise blue waters of the Colorado River

• Construction on the bridge began Valentines Day 2005

We had intended on taking the Dam tour, but got there a little bit late.  We would have waited 2.5 hours for the next tour to begin...had we known there was plenty to do and see, we would have waited. Instead we opted for the Power Plant tour.

After watching a video on the history of the Dam, we took an elevator (YEA!  The elevators were working!) down 530 feet through the rock wall of Black Canyon.  You then walk through a tunnel (reminiscent of my cave experience earlier in the week) to an area above huge pipes that are 30 feet in diameter and transport 90,000 gallons of water PER SECOND from Lake Mead (the Dam's reservoir) to the Dam's generators.  And when the generators kicked on, you could feel the vibration of the water rushing through the intake pipes.

I'd hate to have her job!!

You leave that area and go through an exhibit area and then out to the observation deck. 


FIRE POWER!

Construction on Hoover Dam began in 1931 and the last concrete was poured in 1935.  Even with the remote location and harsh working conditions, the government's contractor completed the project two years ahead of schedule and well under budget. 




One of the original drilling rigs.

But the construction was not without loss of life.  96 workers were killed during the building of the dam.  And No One is buried in the dam!



Hoover Dam (first known as Boulder Dam) is located in Black Canyon near Las Vegas, Nevada and is a
National Historic Landmark. It spans two states (Arizona & Nevada) and two time zones.  Today it provides domestic water needs for more than 20 million people in Arizona, Nevada & California.

The water has never gone over the top of the dam and probably never will.  That's the purpose of the spillways.

There are four intake towers - 2 in Nevada & 2 in Arizona



The spillways are so large that a World War II battleship can be floated in each one!




Lake Mead

Lake Mead was absolutely beautiful.  In 1983 a record high-water level of 1,229 feet above sea level. (As evidenced by the white line.)  At this elevation, the water would be more than 7 1/2 feet over the top of the raised spillway gates.

After our tour of the dam, we stopped in the on site cafe and had some fish & chips...probably one of the best meals I had on our trip!  But before I left, my completely full large sweet ice tea got hung in my purse strap and went everywhere!  Including all over my white shirt.  NICE!

It's early afternoon when we leave and head out for Vegas.  This was my hot spot of the vacation.  I have never been to Las Vegas and I was excited to see all the lights and activity.

We drove through old downtown, which was the place for the Rat Pack back in the day (and for those of you who aren't familiar with the Rat Pack, it was Sammy Davis, Jr, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Joey Bishop & Peter Lawford they ruled Las Vegas and Hollywood during the 1950's & 1960's).  Then we spotted the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop - as in Pawn Stars on TV!!  We decided we'd make that our first stop Friday morning before it got too busy.

First thing we do is find our hotel and PARK our car!  Driving that strip is CRAZY!  We stayed at a small hotel, Bills Gambling Hall & Saloon...it was in the middle of the strip and very affordable.  It was probably the nicest hotel room we stayed in the entire trip...but being directly on the strip, it got pretty noisy at night.  But we walked so much while we were there, I had no problem going to sleep. 

After we unloaded and checked in, we set out to explore the strip on foot.  Cruising through many of the bigger hotels/casinos.  These place are like cities within themselves, each offering hotel, casino, numerous shops, theaters and several restaurants.  Resorts like Bellagio, the Mirage and Venetian offer shops way out of my budget.  Some of the ones I saw were Jimmy Choo, Chanel, Fendi, Prada & Tiffany, it was fun seeing how the "other half" shop!  : )

The bigger resorts had some sort of "gimmick or feature" outside.  The Bellagio had fountains that danced to music and lights.  This was by far my favorite attraction on the strip.

We got a kick out of watching a guy act like he was a statue and then reach out and touch or speak to some unsuspecting person walking down the strip.  It was hilarious.

We had walked so much, my feet and legs were killing me...so sleep came easy that night!

Southwest Vacation - Day 5

This morning while getting ready we turned on the local news and learned there had been tornadoes in the area the night before and earlier in the morning.  As we looked outside we saw rain & dark clouds.  We wondered if we would be able to salvage the day.

First up on the agenda (as it was everyday) was Mikki D's $1 Sweet Tea for me and unsweet Tea for Mark.  Only at the Grand Canyon Villages it was Mikki D's $2.59 Tea!!   When the guy on the other end of the speaker said that will be $5.69 we about fell out! 

Next stop was the National Geographic Visitors Center to kill a little time (hoping for a ray of sunshine) shopping the souvenirs and while there we bought Mark a new jacket with a hood - that he graciously let me wear...since it was cold & rainy.  (Thanks, honey!)


Yaki Point

As we entered the park we were hit with a terrible thunderstorm complete with hail.  We really started wondering how the day would play out.  Would we need to reserve a room in the park and stay the night and try again the next day...that would mean we probably wouldn't get to Hoover Dam or Vegas.

The Canyon is truly amazing.  We drove to a couple of scenic overlooks, but to travel the rim and see the best vistas you have to take one of the Park's shuttles.  We were seeing a few pockets of sunshine so we decided to hop on the shuttle.  After driving around a while through every nook and cranny we finally found a parking spot and walked down to the shuttle stop.  And there we saw this:

Now THIS is the way to see the Canyon...by pack mule.  This 5 1/2 hour round trip ride takes you into the base of the canyon.  I would LOVE to do this...but I think I'd like to make it a 2 day trip and spend the night in the canyon at Phantom Ranch.  But they say you have to make reservations about a year in advance. 

There are several stops on the Rim trail and the shuttle runs every 12-15 minutes so you can get off when you want and stay as long as you like, just hop on the next shuttle coming.  Or you could walk to the next stop...some of them were as close as .2 miles.  Each stop offers its own unique vantage point.  The final stop is a historic cliff house, Hermit's Rest, built in 1914 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.     Hermit's Rest has the largest native stone fireplace -- it is massive!

Here's our tour of the Rim:

Colorado River

Amazing!

We enjoyed our day albeit damp & frizzy headed.    And I hear a mule calling my name for my next visit!

We headed south to bed down in Williams for the night.