Sin City, otherwise known as Las Vegas, is a very interesting
place. Everything you have heard about it
is true. Driving in through the desert
bought back memories from reading the book “Fear and
Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream”. Only we didn’t have any reptiles diving at us
from the sky or a big red convertible sports car.
Our immediate reaction on driving up the strip to the hotel, was that
it was over-the-top, garish, glitzy, and incredibly false. After settling in to the penthouse apartment
and then wandering around town, our initial impressions were confirmed. But it was seething with life, colourful and
fun.
We did the touristy things like watch the water display outside Caesars
Palace, the volcanic eruption outside The Mirage Hotel, and treated ourselves
to the Cirque de Soleil show “O”. It was
an unforgettable and brilliant fantasy acted and choreographed over a set made of water and submersible stages.
The casinos drew in the crowds later on and we saw many sad gamblers in
front of slot machines, drunken punters at the tables, and scantily-clad
dancing girls gyrating on top of the bars.
Street hustlers hand out cards as you walk the streets, offering a girl
in your hotel room in 20 minutes, guaranteed.
Stretch limos with blacked-out windows cruise The Strip and deliver VIP’s
to important dates at the many clubs. Every night on the Strip was like New
Years eve, with throngs of happy people out cruising.
As an escape from the madness, we headed off to see the Hoover Dam, and
do the tour of its innards. It was educational
and fun, and gave an insight in to American history and culture during the
great depression of the early 1930’s. The dam itself is an engineering
masterpiece, and the lake it formed, Lake Mead, the biggest hydro lake in the
USA. It was designed with an Art Deco
theme, in keeping with trends at the time.
There is liberal use of louvered aluminium, and doors and frames made of
brass. The American’s are rightfully
very proud of it.
The following day we headed North West in to Death Valley. Named because it is so hot and dry that nothing
much grows there. Driving in to the
valley reminded us of the McKenzie Country.
Flat plains in a valley surrounded by brown and gray hills. The scale is different though, as Death
Valley is huge. We managed a walk
through the Badlands, past old Borax mines, up and down desolate canyons which
rarely see any water.
There is a small town at Furnace
Creek, where there are natural springs.
This little oasis has recorded the second highest temperature in the
world, 134 degrees Fahrenheit (56 degrees C). Fortunately, it was only 78 F
when we visited. This was also the low point of our trip, literally that is, at 190 feet below sea-level.
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