Las Vegas, Live Shows & Grand Canyon with Jamie, Oli & Debbie

 Las Vegas, Live Shows & Grand Canyon 

We had arrived in the city that doesn’t sleep! Our famous hotel Flamingo was slap bang in the middle of the Las Vegas strip. To our utter delight and for all the car enthusiasts amongst us it was our lucky week as the Formula 1 Grand Prix had arrived in town, something that hadn’t happened here for over 40 years! 

 

It was straight to Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas, with an abundance of neon signs, casinos, open air bars and street performers, the pedestrian only street has a reputation for ‘anything goes’ and is the second most famous street in Las Vegas covered with the world’s largest light and sound video screen overhead.

It was a great spectacle to watch accompanied by banging tunes from the onsite DJ’s. We all shopped hunting for keyrings and t-shirts and gifts for our family. The best bit was getting to pose with some flamboyant showgirls in feathered costumes and Aimee and Sonia couldn’t resist a photo with the Chippendale dancers. 

An exciting day was had at as we made our way to the iconic landmark The Hoover Dam. It wasn’t long before we set our sights on the concrete arch-gravity dam straddling the Colorado River between the U.S. states of Nevada and Arizona of which there is a 1-hour time difference as seen by two large clocks. It was constructed between 1931 and 1936 and impounds Lake Mead, which extends for 115 miles upstream and is one of the largest artificial lakes in the world. The dam is used for flood control and provides hydroelectric power, agricultural irrigation, and domestic water supply. On the bridge we posed for some pretty awesome photos and took in the draw dropping views. 

 Next stop on our sightseeing adventure was at The Grand Canyon’s West Rim. We drove through the rugged desert land before arriving at this tourist hotspot. It is owned and operated by the Hualapai Indians, and we were thrilled to be able to experience the illustrious majesty of the Grand Canyon. We learnt that Native Americans named it Eagle Point due to the rock formation looking like and eagle with spread wings. History has it that when tribes lived at the bottom of the canyon an eagle flew down to warn their people of a great flood. As the eagle flew up, it stayed near the top of the canyon to watch over the people where it the turned to stone. 

It was then a short drive along Joshua Tree Highway and a stop at Wee Thump Joshua Tree Wilderness where we saw the famous trees that U2 named their classic album after. In Native Indian language, Wee Thump means "ancient ones". Some Joshua trees are over 900 years old and named after the biblical figure Joshua. The tree’s limbs outstretch in a form of prayer, and they only grow in two regions in the world so were privileged to see these majestic trees. 

Continuing through the Nevada desert we crossed the Colorado River into Arizona and onto the Famous Route 66 road lined with old, deserted houses and dilapidated outbuildings and bullet ridden rusting old cars before entering the old ghost town called Oatman. This used to be a mining town but was abandoned in 1908. We wandered down the wooden pavements and enjoyed the true Wild West spirit browsing the old shops buying souvenirs. Oli had brought carrots for the celebrated residents of Oatman, the wild burros (donkeys). Everyone really enjoyed feeding them and they were certainly hungry! They followed us around the town and even came into the shops with us. 

It was showtime at The Excalibur Hotel. We entered this medieval themed hotel and took our seats around the arena to watch the captivating Tournament of Kings. This is an adapted live action King Arthur tale where we ate like noblemen feasting on gigantic chicken drumsticks whilst being entertained by Merlin the Magician.  It was then time to cheer and shout at the valiant brave Knights as they fought on horseback jousting and engaging in a battle with swords right before us. They proved their bravery and chivalry amongst the many special effects, smoke, fire and pyrotechnics.

A tour of the famous hotel was a must. We began with the Hotel Paris and viewed its replica of the Eiffel Tower. This is an icon of the Vegas skyline, but at only 46 stories high it is only a half scale replica of the world-famous landmark in Paris. Next was the impressive and famous hotel Caesars Palace. This hotel sought to create an opulent facility that gave guests a sense of life during the Roman Empire. Inside we posed for photos next to the fountain and statue of Caesar. Last but not least was the renowned Bellagio hotel which featured in the Ocean’s Eleven film franchise. 

The fountains of the Bellagio are one of the most photographed images in the United States and we were completely enthralled as more than a thousand fountains swayed and appeared to dance to music soaring as high as 460 feet into the air.

 Another memorable show was at The Mirage Hotel where we took our seats to be captivated by  “The Beatles LOVE” a Cirque de Soleil production and we were so excited! We were all massive fans of Britain’s most famous band and with a circus act added to their back catalogue it was sure to please. During the course of the show, we experienced a spectacle of aerial acrobatics, urban dance moves and extreme sports, all set to The Beatles and their iconic music. Wow! 

At the Mandalay Hotel we  visited their aquarium- yes an aquarium in a hotel! We deep dived underwater where we saw many types of fish and reptiles including a crocodile, Komodo dragon and snakes. Gary and Sonia even touched a stingray. Tom and Graham marvelled as they walked through the shark tunnel with many different species of sharks swimming overhead.