Las Vegas

Finally out of California! If you don’t count Guatemala and Mexico, We had spent almost 6 months in California. But the state is pretty huge and the cities are very different. But now it was time to visit Nadine and Daryl and my cousin John in the city of Sin. But Laurel had to fly back to LA for a conference and she decided to also fly back to Virginia to visit her 100 year old grandmother. So that left me alone in Vegas for a lot of the time. John was still working nights at a restaurant, so our schedules didn’t overlap much. So I spent most of the time exploring by myself. I played a lot of disc golf, hiked, rode my new bike around, ate ceviche, hung out at the pool, and spent almost zero time gambling.

The Strip

We spent about 2 weeks in Vegas but only went down to the strip 2 times. It’s pretty fun if you’re looking to walk around with drinks, see some tourists from all around the world and then possibly win a few bucks at a casino. The casino part of the strip is actually fading a little, they’re focusing more on malls, attractions, and Restaurants. There’s still a ton of money changing hands down there and it will always be where the action is in Vegas, but living in town for a couple weeks you start to realize that most people who live there just kind of ignore it.

Las Vegas RV Resort

We booked this pretty far ahead since I knew that we were going to be here for 2 weeks. It a nice park, paved wide roads with paved spots. No cable, but the wifi was pretty speedy. No grass, but it’s the desert so… Can’t really blame them. We camped by the dog park, which I wasn’t sure the point of. But after I got a call notifying me that a complaint was filed that I let the dog poop in the site. So from then on I had to carry the dog over there. Which I don’t do in the middle of the night because… Nobodies got to know. The pool and hot tub were good excellent and Baby made a lot of friends at the dog park. At one point there were at least 10 Shi-tzus staying there.

Hiking Lee Canyon

Daryl took me hiking in Lee Canyon the weekend that Laurel left. It was about a 45 minute drive from the city to the trailhead. It wasn’t the most difficult terrain, but the altitude really hit me hard. I think it’s about 7000ft. About 20 minutes in we started seeing signs of snow, which was cool since it had been in the 80s all week. We hiked up a dry Creek bed across some snow fields to a frozen waterfall with a great view of the valley. Where we had lunch. It was a great hike.

Green Valley Ranch

From the outside I thought this might be a shopping mall, Laurel and I rolled through about $50 in slots one night without much luck. But I went back with John to watch the NBA playoffs and had a little bit better luck at some video poker. It’s a pretty nice place, they call it a Locals Casino. Probably just because it’s pretty far outside the city.

Sams Town

This is a real bargain casino. I didn’t gamble here but we did get Dunkin Donuts a few times and checked out the buffet once. It would be impressive if it was in any other town. They have an indoor waterfall and apparently a lazer show. If this place was in Toledo Ohio it would be super fancy.

Sunset Park Disc Golf

I ended up playing this course three times while I was there. It’s got some charm, first of all it’s 24 holes long so you really get your times worth. The holes are mostly open, but some have peaceful trees. Some of the mandos are designed to keep you out of soccer fields and baseball diamonds. The other people using the course really don’t pay attention, so you have to yell or just play around them. On one saturday there was some kind of softball tournament going on and someone had parked a (hopefully replica) Shelby Cobra right in the middle of the fairway on one of the hole. We threw right by it, because… they should know better.

The Beatles LOVE

We knew we wanted to do one big night out on the Strip, so we got all dressed up and went down to the discount ticket booth. We almost got Jabbawockees, Absinthe was sold out, so we settled on LOVE. It was the right descision! Laurel is more of a Beatles fan than I am, but even she was a little apprehensive that it would be a good show. From the opening minutes we were totally blown away by the production and integration of the music. It was unforgettable!

Gold Spike

I think this would be described as ‘Adult Recess’. It’s a bar with tons of open space in the back to play oversided games. Beerpong with basketballs and trash cans, enourmouse cornhole, xtra large jenga. Also regular sized four square, which didn’t need to be enlarged. We had a blast.

Carson Kitchen

We went out with Daryl and Nadine here, its one of those places that’s a little overpriced. But the food is super top quality, so you’re not going to feel so bad about spending $130 bucks. Everyone loved their meals and the deserts were unspeakably good.

Fremont Street East

‘Downtown’ Vegas has been going through a restoration in the last 10 years. They’ve added attractions and lots of bars and restaurants, they existing older casinos have their charm but they can’t really compete with ‘The Strip’. They added a roof over the street about 20 years ago and it’s become something like bourbon street, in all it’s cheesy booze soaked glory. But it is pretty cool to see people flying overhead on zip lines while people take pictures with fat strippers on the ground.

Fremont Street West

The west side I enjoyed a lot more, it’s still lined with bars and restaurants, but they seem to have formed more naturally and they are much higher quality. They have a little district made out of shipping containers that has a ton of little shops, live music, and a playground with a 3 story slide that they let adults play on! I heard that it was losing money and struggling to get people out there, but for my money it’s one of the most fun neighborhoods in Vegas.

Bad Beat Brewing Company

I almost didn’t go here because we were limited on time before leaving for Flagstaff. I had sampled some of their beers around town and it was mostly pilsners and lagers. But I’m glad I did because they have some of the most flavorful and interesting beers in town. Untappd List.

Favorite Beer – The Heater

Crafthaus Brewing Company

I’d seen their beers around town and was really excited to get to the source. They did run out of their sour the moment that I walked in the door, but other than that we had a great experience. Small tasting room and they don’t serve food. But they didn’t mind that we brought in our own. And one of their brewers is a woman, you don’t see that everyday. Laurel liked it so much that she bought a tshirt!

Favorite Beer – Jean Claude

Aces and Ales

I wasn’t impressed with this place at first, it seemed like they had added the ‘Craft Beer’ part onto an existing bar. But when I started talking to the bartenders I realized that they were really into it. They’re super nice and really made me feel at home. The place has a few pool tables and video poker in the bar. The beer selection is impressive and rotates quickly. Another feature is that it’s walking distance from the RV park. Also it was featured on Drinking Made Easy