April 01, 2010

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!

2 comments:

Barbara and Ron said...

Cool! We're never been up that. I would never in a million years do any of those rides - I don't have that much faith in mechanical things.

Susan said...

It was fun to watch the rides but No Way! It made me nervous to watch.