day71

Day 71 (October 30, 2006) - Las Vegas, NV

From Kingman we leave Route 66 and drive straight north towards Las Vegas, about 100 miles from here. But we drive first into the downtown area to take a look and realize that nothing much has changed since Williams. This is also a town still in time, the clock stopped ticking here in 1949 I guess, judging from the ugly billboards and run-down motels that grace its main street. It's a relic of a town. We are heading to the Hoover Dam, which we already saw 3 years ago when we got married in Las Vegas. We stop just to take a couple of quick shots and then press on to LV, which from the distance looks surrounded by a yellowish cloud. I cannot determine whether it's pollution or desert dust, but it doesn't look good, and the air stinks. After having spent the last 10 days in parks with clean air, birhgt blue skies and incredible vistas in front of our eyes, this is an eyesore. The only campground on the Strip is managed by KOA, it's quite expensive (we could have slept in a medium-range hotel for the same money) and ugly, I mean really ugly. It is basically a giant paved parking lot with no trees and located right behind the multi-story parking lot for the Circus Circus hotel, one of the tackiest among them all. Our spot is on Ringmaster road... This does not look good.

We are not in a good mood... Petr even confesses to me that he preferred the "red rocks", imagine that! It's a very warm day (75ºF) and despite everything we decide to walk the Strip. Even though we had been here before, we had never seen Las Vegas by day up close: we got married, then we left the city for the Valley of Fire, Red Rock Canyon, Hoover Dam and Death Valley. In shorts and T-shirt, we walk up and down grabbing a bite to eat and trying to figure out what has changed here in 3 years. A lot actually: the entire Strip looks like a construction site. The Trump building which was under construction before is now finished, across the street from it the Wynn Hotel was opened in 2005 (complete with a hill and waterfalls in front, and full-grown pine trees!), and next to it they demolished an old casino and are building now residential units (The Palazzo). Other hotels are undergoing restoration, the old Stardust (it's only 48 years old, but by LV's standards this is ancient) was closed this past weekend and will be the next to go down. Further up, between the Bellagio and the Monte Carlo hotels there's another boared up lot ready for construction. The horizon is dotted with building cranes. This is crazy, a city with virtually no water is undergoing amazing expansion. I just don't see the attraction in living surrounded by the desert...

After tight negotiations, Petr and I reach and agreement and purchase last-minute tickets to MAMMA MIA! at the Mandalay Bay Theater. I would have preferred Le rêve, a venue by Le Cirque du soleil or Thunder Down Under (!!!), while Petr was interested in the Fab-4 a band of 4 fake Beatles singing some of the band's most memorable hits. We walk to the hotel as the sun goes down. This is truly the time when you can appreciate LV for what it is: it's the night that makes it spark with glitter. The neon signs make it more attractive in all its ugliness. MAMMA MIA! is quite funny and with a talented cast. I had seen it in Boston with my friend Sabrina a few years back, but this was slightly different and I enjoyed it thoroughly. It takes us 2 hours to walk back to our ghastly camp while along the way we try to capture what LV is all about.