Viva, Las Vegas

The intent of this trip was not to spend time on the strip and in the casinos but to visit with Leon’s family and get to know other parts of Vegas. But one cannot ignore the glitz and neon lights completely. The Strip is actually four miles along Las Vegas Boulevard where the most popular casinos line the sides of the street and the neon lights light up the night sky, while the throngs of tourists look like an army of fire ants whose hill has been disturbed. So we joined the ants! At the Rio we saw the Show in the Sky, one of the freebies that we had not seen.

There is a large stage, lightly clad dancers, and three “vessels” that float around the room on rails on the ceiling. They even throw a few Mardi Gras beads. It is not at the top of my list of shows to see but it's free!

Then it was a time for an ice cream fix. We immediately thought of St. Mark’s Square in the Venetian. We got our gelato, cholesterol and fat free of course!

Then we just sat in the plaza and watched the crowds before wandering over to the canal to watch the boats with singers poles by.

We intended to visit New York New York but we just ran out of time.

It was great having all the space at the Elks’ Lodge to ourselves most of the time.

The unexpected entertainment was the sirens we kept hearing as emergency vehicles passed by from the next door fire station.

This was the last planned stop on our trip so it is now time to head to the house.

Liberace Museum, Las Vegas, NV

Before the famous, flamboyant pianist Liberace died in 1987 he had set up a foundation and museum in the town where he performed for 42 years.

Several of his many cars are displayed here. This rhinestone roadster was customized in the style of a Duesenberg and adorned with thousands of rhinestones to match one of his outfits and his Rhinestone Baldwin Grand Piano. The piano was used in the finale of his performance in Radio City Music Hall in 1986.

The 1957 English taxicab he bought in England and restored. He would sometimes pick up his friends at the Palm Springs, California airport in this taxi.

There was also a room full of pianos. This @1900 Steinway was painted blue and gold to match an outfit he wore when he performed. He often used it at the Las Vegas Hilton.

Due to all the beadwork, his Neptune costume weighed 200 pounds. His shoes had heels that helped balance the weight of his cape.

And then there are the pink ostrich feathers!

Leon was even in awe of his costumes.

The toreodore outfit was one of my favorites.

He was the king of bling in the 1950s to 80s and when asked once how he played with all those rings on his fingers his reply was “Very well, thank you!”

Now where is my bling.

His Las Vegas mansion was filled with this furniture. A bit gaudy in my opinion. This was a fascinating tour!

Stratosphere, Las Vegas, NV

The stratosphere, which looms high above Las Vegas, is the tallest free standing building in Nevada and the tallest building west of the Mississippi.

Leon’s grandsons, Blade and Gunnar, accompanied us and made this adventure special.

The observation decks are nearly 1,000 feet above the ground and the views are amazing. Mt. Charleston in the distance is over 11,000 feet high.

Las Vegas Boulevard, the strip, was busy below.

We could barely see the people in and around the pool, but trust me, they were there.


Three rides atop the tower are for the real thrill seekers. The Big Shot shoots riders straight up into the air high above the tower.  We could hear their screams.

The X-scream is like a giant see-saw that plunges the riders out over the edge of the tower in a downward motion. It made me nervous just to watch.

Our guys were not insane this day and did not ride. Afterall, they had just eaten lunch. The insanity spins the riders out over the edge of the tower.

It is always a pleasure to spend time with Gunnar and Blade. They are such nice young men. Today was special!

Red Rock Canyon, NV

Red Rock Canyon, 17 miles west of Las Vegas, consists of rugged peaks, ravines, canyons, and sandstone hills amid the ponderosa pine, creosote, and barrel cactus. It is a popular national recreational area, a 197,000 acre preserve. Leon's daughter, Trisha, led the way.

Hiking trails abound and we gradually climbed uphill to the entrance of the canyon, about 1.5 miles one way. I, of course, stopped along the way to view some wildflowers.

A front was moving through the area and the temperature rose to 59 degrees, compared to 81 yesterday. The winds blew and in the canyon they were reported to be gusting at 61 miles per hour. I don’t doubt it!

We finally reached our destination and posed in our Easter bonnets.

Afterwards, the nearby visitor’s center allowed this magnificent view.

Fremont Street, Las Vegas, NV

Fremont Street was once the prime spot in Las Vegas to spend your money! In the 1930s the workers at Hoover Dam would come to this dusty street to spend their wages on prostitution and gambling.

The Golden Nugget, built in 1946, was the largest and most luxurious casino in the world.

In the 1940s the strip was born and Fremont Street was left behind for the more budget minded. Well that has changed!

Fremont Street has put on a new face and nightly there are crowds mingling along the four block long, canopy covered street to watch the laser shows.

12.5 million lights arch across the canopy for a laser show that is phenomenal.

Underneath performers, musicians, shops, and casinos keep the tourists entertained.

I am not so sure this cat was entertained. Poor kitty.

But this fellow sure seemed to be entertained.

Springs Preserve, Las Vegas, NV

In the middle of Las Vegas is one of the nicer Elks Lodges we have visited. Imagine having a half block of space in a town with almost half a million people for your own back yard. We had the parking lot to ourselves. I decided to check on nearby geocaches and the closest one led us to the Las Vegas Valley Water District.

I learned that this is on land where three artesian springs were located that surfaced in the middle of the valley. They formed beautiful pools 20 to 30 feet deep which led to a green oasis in the middle of the desert. Spanish explorers named the area Las Vegas, “The Meadows.” These springs and the creek that flowed from them to the Colorado River allowed for settlement in the area and the beginning of Las Vegas.

Several well derricks are in the area over the original springs.

From the geocacher we also learned that there were some gardens nearby. Off we went to explore and we located the Springs Preserve.

Instead of paying $19.00 we ended up with free tickets to tour the gardens. There were large buildings with all sorts of displays and hands-on activities for children. So we acted like children and made our own fun.

We wandered among the eight acres of flowers.

Information kiosks were set up to explain all about gardening and water use. Gila monsters seemed to be the theme.