40 hours in vegas, 14 hours driving through the desert

Las Vegas is a 7 hour drive from Tucson and an 8 hour drive from San Fran, which Kris pointed out last weekend, and which was why I found myself in Vegas this weekend. The drive provides a nice view of desert, including the Arizona Joshua Tree highway, and takes you across the Hoover Dam. If I had stopped, gotten out of my car, and walked across and looked over, it might have been more interesting. Instead, the main feature of driving across the dam was a single-file line of stop and go traffic starting 5 miles out.

Vegas itself was fun. The strip reminded me of Bourbon Street - lots of people walking along the sidewalks with drinks in hand. It didn't have that old, dirty, disturbing feeling of Reno, but it also didn't have those elements of charm and character (found at a place like Myrtle Beach). As is common knowledge, the goal is to get people to spend money and of course gamble. I thought an interesting example of this was an element of outdoor space design. It was hot and dry, and after walking up and down the Strip, Kris and I were ready to sit and rest. However, there were no benches in sight. None. No place to sit and people watch, except from restaurants. Or, more ideally, you would walk into a casino, which is full of comfy seats, and stay for a while.

We stayed at the pyramid (the Luxor) the second night. The wall and window in the room slant, which is cool, and instead of elevators they have "inclinators" that follow the slant.





























In front of the hotel