Paris to Wynn on the Strip

It was a beautiful day today.  High of 66 degrees and the sun was shining.  The Imperial Palace is continuing its transformation into The Quad although the sidewalk scaffolding is still in place and the look is quite messy.  There were a lot of people out and enjoying the sights but it was not too overcrowded.  Bill’s Casino is now closed and in the process of being upgraded to a boutique casino within Harrah’s fold.  One more night at Paris and then it’s back to home.

 

From Luxor to Paris

Wednesday was the day to check out of Luxor casino and check into Paris casino.  Since there was a bit of time in between, we went to an outlet mall north of the strip to do some shopping.  This mall is located near one of my favorite buildings to photograph in the Vegas area – the Cleveland Clinic.  This building has a wild curving shiny exterior façade.  You have to see it to believe it.

After that was a lunch buffet at the Riviera casino and a walk across the street to Circus Circus.  Both of these casinos have seen better days but there is some new construction going on nearby so maybe things will improve.

Then we checked into Paris, a nice upscale casino hotel.  Walked over to the Planet Hollywood casino with an attached shopping mall and had dinner there.

 

Day Trip to Valley of Fire

Took a day trip to the Valley of Fire State Park, about 50 miles NE of Vegas.  This is a large, beautiful area full of red rock formations.  It has nice facilities and a good paved road that takes you to the major viewing areas.  From there you can take either short jaunts or extended hikes around the huge boulders and outcroppings.  Some of the rocks are softer and there is a lot of localized pocket erosion that look like mini-caves.  The temperature was in the upper 50s with the sun shining brightly (no cloud photos).  It was very comfortable in late February but likely not very pleasant in July.

We came back to Vegas along the highway that goes along Lake Mead.  The road was in excellent shape, very winding, and hardly any traffic.  There were a few interesting areas along the road, but nothing to compare to the beautiful area we just left.

We stopped at Riviera Casino to make use of a 2 for 1 coupon, but found out they had just discontinued doing supper buffets.  Guess they just don't get the tourist traffic in that area anymore.  Had to settle for a Denny's Slam Breakfast instead.

Walking Around The South Strip

The sun is shining and the wind is just a gentle breeze.  Perfect day to walk around.  This was a walking (and some tram) trip from Luxor to Bellagio and back.  The casinos are still celebrating the Chinese New Year so there were a lot of dragons, snakes, and red balloons around (this is the year of the snake).  Ended the trip with a stop at Cinnabon (yum).

Travel To Las Vegas

Sunday was travel day to Las Vegas.  Very windy driving today.  Looks like the Joshua trees are ready to bloom with some warmer weather -- the buds are very noticeable.  Too windy to do a lot of stopping along the way.

Got a few shots of Nothing, AZ, looks like its ready to get torn down -- I kept driving past it on previous trips it but figured I better get some pics before its gone.

Then a stop at the Wikieup Trading Post--a favorite stopping place.  A little too windy to do any picture posing at the local jail.

Continued driving and just before Hoover Dam, came across an interesting, colorful stop called the Last Stop.  Fascinated by the Uranus Gas and artsy walls.  Will have to go inside and do some shopping around next time.

Too windy to do any sightseeing around Hoover Dam, so just continued on to Vegas.  Had lunch/dinner at Chipotle -- always some good comfort food on a trip.  Checked in at the Luxor and just did some inside walking over to Mandalay Bay.  Did a bit of gambling at the slots and came out even.  Tomorrow looks like a good day to do some extensive walking around the Strip.