Why did we want to go to Las Vegas?  The answer is simple, Bob needed to be close to a major airport in order to fly to Pittsburgh for business.  Las Vegas was a reasonable drive from the Grand Canyon and we could stay at the military RV park at Nellis Air Force Base.  Desert Eagle RV Park at Nellis AFB is a great facility!  The sites are easy to get into and the staff has their act together to the extent that Bob thinks they should be the example for others to model.

You can’t go to Las Vegas without spending some time on “The Strip.”  We parked at the Bellagio to visit the Conservatory and watched the famous Bellagio fountains.  What a water show!  We wandered up and down the strip to see the river gondolas at the Venetian, a variety of casinos where we played the penny slot machines (we are not big risk takers), and checked out the Hershey’s M&M store.  It’s amazing how many different M&M products are on display, and even more amazing what people are willing to pay for a bag of M&Ms that they packaged themselves.  We also watched the Volcano at the Mirage.  It seems nothing in Vegas is small.

We had dinner at one of the buffets and you could tell that inflation has hit Las Vegas buffets.  They are no longer a cheap meal, prices on the strip ranged from $22 to $40 per person.  Bob said he could remember going to a buffet for $4.50 ten years ago.  After dinner we stood outside the Treasure Island Casino to watch the “Sirens of TI” show.

As we were leaving the Excalibur Casino we were offered a chance to see a show for free and get vouchers for gaming or dining (our choice) if we attended a timeshare presentation.  Not having any special plans we decided, “Why not?”  Friday, we spent four hours listening to the presentation and then saying “No thanks” to three different people.  That night we had second row seats for “Menopause the Musical.”  The show was absolutely hilarious!  We both enjoyed every minute of it.  At one point one of the actresses was singing “I’m having a hot flash, a tropical hot flash,” and came into the audience to sing directly to Bob.  She told the audience it looked like Bob was having a hot flash he was so red in the face.  By the end of the show Bob was laughing so hard there were tears in his eyes.

One day we were riding our bikes around the base and saw Air Force One parked on the ramp.  That was when the President was in Las Vegas for debate preparations.  We were able to take pictures from a couple hundred yards from the plane.  You just never know what opportunities you might run into.

Bob was gone Monday afternoon through Thursday night.  We went back to the Strip on Friday to see the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay (another gift from our timeshare presentation).  This is a neat exhibit and displays more than just sharks.  We quizzed each other on the fish we recognized from our trips to Bonaire.  One of the nice parts of the exhibit is the tube you can walk through and see fish swimming all around you.

That same night we visited Fremont Street.  Obviously there are a lot of casinos, but the cool thing about Fremont Street is that there is a “neon roof” with continuous light shows over Fremont Street and street shows for passersby to watch.  There is even a zip line ride that runs almost the length of a block.

On our last Sunday we went kayaking on Lake Mead.  We talked to the tour director at the Base Outdoor Recreation office and he gave us a good recommendation for kayaking spots.  We were able to see Hoover Dam from the reservoir and paddle around some small islands.  We stopped at one of the islands to have lunch.  The water was so clear, Bob regretted that he didn’t bring his snorkeling gear along.  After kayaking, we drove over to Hoover Dam and spent some time walking across the dam.  To say Hoover Dam is an impressive site is an understatement, it is huge!

Tuesday, Oct 16th, we were on our way to the Death Valley area.