Friday, April 5, 2019

Las Vegas (part deux) and Hoover Dam, then HOME

Well we wrap up this chapter of our western trip with a return to Vegas, the Stratosphere and Fremont Street in the downtown.
The Fremont Street Experience was great people watching

The good--these guys were really good!

The ugly--we saw these guys getting out of their car (in makeup and bathrobes) and Fitz asked them if they were
performing that night.  A little while later we saw them in performance mode! The people have to stand in those black circles and I guess they live on tips from picture takers.
Hoover Dam was explored and then we had to close up the RV for storage for a couple of months. The Main Street Casino in Las Vegas Downtown is quite the deal (if you don't need a swimming pool) and very convenient to the Fremont Street Experience and the cheap bus service to the strip. We thought it would be a little noisy because it is right beside I-15 but we had no problem.
The Colorado River caused a lot of problems for those downstream in the 1800's so after a lot of
homework they found the best place in the 1400 mile long river to control the flow.

The Dam was built in the 1930's in stacked blocks of concrete--enough concrete to make a side walk
around the earth at the equator--and it only took 5 years to build.

Lake Mead took 6 years to fill and it is the largest reservoir in America--50 ft. deep and 120 miles long
We arrived just in time to see the Vols to lose to Purdue in overtime in the sweet 16 in the NCAA. We are extremely sad to see the season of Grant Williams, Admiral Schoefield, Jordan Bone and company to come to an end--it was a fun time. Closing up the RV proved to be a little easier because of our boating experience.
The Stratosphere offered a great view of Vegas 

Iconic sign welcoming all to Vegas
 

Loved the Statue of Liberty in the Golden Knights Shirt --they love their hockey team here
and are looking forward to having the Raiders football team in 2020.

Leaning building/hotel--figure this is a big V for Vegas

Elegant shopping mall

Seriously?!?

The Bellagio water feature was really something.

The 3 hour flight into Nashville showed us how long it had been since we had been on a plane.  We were sure glad to see Nick down at the baggage claim.  Home for 2 months--could not have come too soon.  Regroup.