Wednesday, March 5, 2014, Free Things to Do in Las Vegas, NV

Joani researched quite an extensive list of free Las Vegas, NV, sights worth seeing. The Miracle Mile Shops attached to Planet Hollywood had a unique atmosphere. The painted ceiling and faux buildings above all of the shops gave it an old-world market feel. 

There was a fountain show at one end and a rainstorm on the other, just to have something different.

Walking around the shops we found another gallery selling high-end photography in exquisite framing at top dollar prices. It's good that we don't have any empty wall space in our home! The salesman showed us how the pictures changed with the level of lighting in the room. He said the pictures were printed on special paper that had microscopic crystals embedded in the surface. They had the effect of making the pictures appear luminous.  I will have to see if I can find out more about that paper.

The Miracle Mile was adjacent to the Paris Casino. It reminded me of something you might see at Disney World - I feel like I've been to France.

Crossing Las Vegas Boulevard by skywalk, we arrived at the Aria shops. I think this mall was practically a work of art in itself. There were inlaid stone floors and lighted stairs.

The whirling tubes of water have to be one of the most unique displays I have ever seen in a public area. The water would rise and fall in the tubes, speed up and slow down and change color. It was enough to make you forget you were in a shopping mall - I was mesmerized for at least 15 minutes until Joani finally dragged me along.

The picture below is just the supporting base of a second-floor bar. It has to be the most extravagant construction I've ever seen and there was more of the same above the seating area. 

We wore ourselves out for the day, but we will continue our exploration of this town's extravagant and excessive sites in a few days.

Tuesday, March 4, 2014, Valley of Fire State Park in Overton, NV

The Valley of Fire State Park in Overton, NV, was only 50 miles or so north and east of Las Vegas, NV, which made for a nice day trip. Our route took us through the Lake Meade National Recreation Area where there were a few glimpses of the lake and lots of breathtaking landscapes of rugged mountains and desert.

The Valley of Fire State Park was named for a large basin of red sandstone that has been pushed up and cracked (according to plate tectonics theory) and weathered into some strange and wonderful formations. There was also an abundance of ancient petroglyphs to explore.

There were several hikes that looked promising beginning with the White Domes (one of the longest) at the end of the park drive. It was a loop trail about 1.5 miles long. It could have taken about 45 minutes, unless like us, you have to stop for pictures every few feet. Then it turns into a 2.5-hour hike. There were so many beautiful picture opportunities it was difficult to leave.

I don't really know how to describe the rock below - it was like the layers were frosted with some coating that has been melting away for a while. The red actually stained the rock underneath.

Since it had rained only a few days before, there were still ripples in the sand/mud where the water had been flowing.

The colors here rivaled those in Death Valley.

There was a narrow section of the trail where you would have a problem passing someone else. There was unexpected color and interesting formations everywhere.

The HDR function on Joani's camera did a great job of capturing both cloud detail and shadow detail in the same frame.

Joani climbed into the little alcove below making for a nice picture. Note that Sam was along for the hike. Since this was a State Park, dogs were allowed along the trail as long as they were on a leash (and you pick up after them). Sam was happy to be included instead of lying around the coach all day.  

The hole made a nice frame for the landscape and the HDR, again, helped to capture the wide dynamic range of the composition.

The sun was getting low in the sky, but there was still one more hike that could not be missed. This one went to the formation called the Fire Wave. It is not shown on their map, but the Ranger told us the trail started from parking area #3. It was 0.6 miles each way and at times our pace was pretty brisk.  

I think we got to the park's signature feature at just the right time of day. The nearly setting sun really accentuated the colors in the rock.

Below is a picture that pretty well indicated just what the roads in the park were like.

How can that rock stay in place? I don't think I would venture too close to that formation just in case it was not my lucky day.

On the way out of the park, we found "Poodle Rock" and "Arch Rock" near the campground. It looked nice for an RV no longer than 30 feet or so. Obviously, our visits will have to be day trips.

Heading south on I-15 we were treated to a fabulous view of the city lights

Because it was Fat Tuesday, one might expect there should be some craziness downtown. We decided to see what was going on on Fremont Street. I think the police were concerned things might get out of hand so they had enough of a presence there everyone was pretty well behaved.

The Fremont Street canopy featured music by the "Who" which I found to be pretty entertaining - Joani liked the psychedelic '60s show better. 

It was an exceptionally long day for us. It's been so long since we were busy throughout the whole day. It was good to get home for the night with plans for sleeping in late the next morning!

Monday, March 3, 2014, Move Back to Las Vegas, NV

An easy moving day as we stopped for another week in Las Vegas, NV, waiting for spring in the Utah National Parks. It was only 66.4 miles (7,125.6 trip/66,606.7 total) back down the same highway that took us to Pahrump. Duck Creek RV Park is pretty well located with respect to the sights and shopping - unfortunately, the location is under the approach to the airport. There seems to be an almost continuous stream of jets into Sin City at about 90-second intervals.

Since we settled in so early there was time to head over to Sam's Town to explore their casino and try to learn something about gambling in this town. They had an electronic card system for tracking all of our betting which would give us points to use for drinks and dining. Of course, we signed up since we plan on gambling as much as ten dollars before leaving town.

They had a laser light and dancing waters fountain show inside the casino. It included an animatronic wolf with glowing red eyes, a big grizzly that stood up and roared and a mountain lion who kept growling at us to let us know we were in his territory.

Sunday, March 2, 2014, Devil's Golf Course, Badwater Basin and Artist's Palette in Death Valley National Park, CA

On our third trip into Death Valley National Park from our site in Pahrump, NV, it was a cool, partly cloudy day after the rains had passed through. The lighting was different from our previous trips and I think it was the best for bringing out the subtle color in the desert. As an added bonus there were freshly bloomed flowers along the roadside. 

Zabriskie Point is right on the main road through the park and an easy paved hike that made it mandatory to stop again on our way to check in at the Furnace Creek Visitor's Center.

I cannot say what drew me to the Devil's Golf Course, but it was definitely worth the half-mile trek down the gravel road. Below is what it would have looked like before it rained two days ago. Now the only delicate salt formations are only two days growth.  What is left is as hard as a rock.

You have to be careful walking here because if you were to fall it would be very painful. The dried, heaved earth is covered with extremely crusty salt that will easily cut your skin. Everything seemed to dry and harden into sharp and pointed shapes.

The delicate aspect of the salt was dissolved in the rain and has started anew.

The wispy hairlike formations have formed since it rained two days ago.

Our best guess was that this six-inch diameter hole went down three to four feet. It gave me an eerie feeling that I was standing on top of a giant sinkhole that could open up at any moment.

After many tries to capture down the small hole, using the flash finally worked.

This visit, there were a lot fewer people at Badwater Basin (maybe our timing was better between the tour buses.)  Water levels appeared the same as before the rain. The Ranger explained that even though they had 0.37 inches of rain it will take months to seep to the basin low spots since the area is so nearly level here.

As the water evaporates, the salts are formed into tiny salt strands that are shaped by the winds. It really adds a different dimension to the basin on a macro scale.

Since Artist Drive was one of our favorites, it deserved a repeat visit. This time some hiking deep into the Artist's Palette was the plan. The cloudy skies helped to enhance the colors and kept the car cool for Sam as we hiked.

"Hey, I can see our car from here!" We really enjoyed hiking through the colorful hills of Artist's Palette. You have to love a park that allows you to immerse yourself in the landscape. Even though there were maybe a dozen others doing the same thing in the area we were able to capture our pictures as if there was no one around.

The rock below was just along the roadside and required us to stop on our way home. It made you stop to think about how many years it will take before the wind and rain will abrade and weaken the structure enough for it to topple. Of course, that led us to wonder how many years it had taken to get it to its current shape - you know it was a long time! 

This formation was about 8 - 10 feet above the ground. (David is standing back a bit.)

It was a bit sad to leave today, but like most of the National Parks we have visited so far, we look forward to visiting it again someday.