We arrived at our vacation destination of Las Vegas, Nevada on May 13, 2008. Las Vegas is one of our favourite vacation destinations. We've made the trip almost yearly for the past fifteen years and it always amazes me how much it changes within a year. One of our first stops after picking up the rental car is at the Klondike Hotel & Casino. This little locals casino was shown on Vegas Vacation with Chevy Chase (a must watch movie before each trip) although the actual name was never mentioned. There was 10 cent roulette, 10 cent black jack and they actually played war! Smoke hung in a thick cloud and the chairs did not beckon sitting on. Still it was like a good luck charm. Unfortunately the familiar red western style building with yellow lettering was no more. And so it was...
Why Las Vegas? I could answer with a why not but I won't. Seriously we love the place even though I detest the environmental impact the city has. It's a city smack in the middle of a desert! Deserts are not wastelands as they have both flora and fauna indigenous to the region. This means that suburbs with their nice little chemically dependent green carpets do not belong in the desert. The city finally woke up to that fact and is now encouraging the residents to use natural landscaping or artificial turf. The city is growing at a rate of about 5,000 people per month! It doesn't matter that the valley can't support all that growth especially with supplying water, it continues to grow. Transients make their way to Las Vegas because at least there they don't have to worry about blustery cold weather only blistery hot heat. Tourists flock there daily by the thousands.
The thing about Las Vegas is the city is really anything you want it to be. More than any other city in the world it embraces and welcomes change. Nothing stays the same. There is no history other than what is written because as soon as any building out lives its usefulness, down it goes to make way for the latest and greatest. There is glitter, noise and lights everywhere sure to over stimulate even the calmest of people. Tables groan under the weight of over filled plates combined with a lot of beverages all to the not so quiet lull of ringing, jingling slot machines. Your brain is so busy trying to process the copious amount of stimuli it simply can't focus on any personal thoughts or problems. There is no end to the visual, auditory and olfactory stimuli either. It is a constant 24/7/365 thing. The only time that I can remember in our travels there where things stopped was a 1 minute of darkness on the strip in honour of Frank Sinatra's death. Even in that the eerie darkness became another stimulus.
It is the ultimate in escape vacations!
Garden Gnome
©2007
Your description makes the place palpable! What an adventure.
ReplyDeleteOh thanks Sandy! It is a wonderful adventure.
ReplyDelete