Las Vegas

Las Vegas, Nevada

~ ~

May 27, 2002
Las Vegas, Nevada
I arrived in Las Vegas about 10:30am. Catching a shuttle to the airport became an adventure in waiting, but finally I got to the hotel. I used the rest of that afternoon and evening to see the hotels up and down Las Vegas Blvd ("The Strip") and to see one of the shows -- Legends (people who look and sing like famous performers: Tina Turner, The Temptations, and, of course, Elvis).

I didn't go to Las Vegas for the reason people usually go; I used the cheap hotels as a base for my excursions. My hotel was Circus Circus. It is one of the older hotels on "The Strip" and is on the north end. Getting to the other hotels should have been easy, but they were having a bus drivers' strike while I was there, so walking was the most reliable transportation.

The man below is one of the performers at the Circus Circus circus. Click on the image to see an animation of part of his act -- flipping saucer then cup onto his head and stacking them perfectly.

The hotels there are more extravagant than can be imagined. The tour bus drivers would talk about the cost of a particular new hotel as over a billion (that is with a "b") dollars. The Bellagio is one such hotel. Below are shots of a water show that is put on each evening. The streams of water are choreographed to music.

The Mirage is another in the extravagant line. This hotel is where the Siegfried and Roy show is performed. (A statue of the pair with one of their lions is below.) The hotel is also known for its erupting volcano. Click on the image below to see an animation of the eruption.