Las Vegas: Outside of the Casino
It gives me a chuckle when I tell people we are staying in Las Vegas for three weeks and they react with a little surprise, wrinkle their nose and ask, “Why?” The common perception is gambling, desert, and scorching hot weather.
I’d like to introduce you to the other Vegas: the one that has bright, sunny November days with temperatures in the 60s and 70s, the one surrounded by thousands of acres of conservation land and state park, and the one that happens to be less than 3 hours from some of the most beautiful National Parks in the western US. Is there gambling here? Sure. But that's like saying New York City is nothing but skyscrapers or Denver is nothing but pot dispensaries. There is (usually) more to a city than what the tourists see. (OK, at this point maybe Denver really is nothing but dispensaries.)
For example, Red Rock Canyon Conservation Area borders the western side of the Sin City and as you can see, there's not a slot machine to be seen.
Of course, the strip has a lot to offer outside of the casino, too. I ran the Las Vegas Rock and Roll Half Marathon to celebrate my birthday (they close down the strip and you run the strip at night!). As part of the event, you get tickets to a concert the night before the race. My childhood bestie, Kelly, came out to celebrate my birthday and we went to see Kesha. There's no shortage of shows to see in Las Vegas! (Birthday Month celebrating continues next week with a Paula Abdul concert! This is just one way I know Jim loves me hahahahaha!)
Also, Valley of Fire State Park is pretty amazing! Jim’s college roommate, Mark, popped out to visit and explored the Valley of Fire State Park with us. I highly highly highly recommend this State Park. The geology and rock formations are AMAZING. So many arches and not nearly as crowded as Arches National Park in Utah. From limestone to sandstone to petroglyphs to desert landscape, the park wowed me. Since the sun sets so darn early here (4:26 PM?!!??) we were still in the park as the sun was getting low on the horizon. It’s pretty neat seeing the lighting change the coloring of the rocks.
Our goal with this trip was to explore LV as a possible homebase for when we are tired of traveling. The jury is still out on if this will be a contender but we’ve got another weekish of exploring the area. Of course, there is a chance of snow on Thursday and we all know how Jim feels about snow!!
We're off to shop for Thanksgiving vittles and prep for a visit from Jim’s sister and her boyfriend Clint, whom we'll be meeting (and vetting) for the first time!