In the Hotel Room of the VdaraWe stayed in the Vdara. When we booked, we didn't know it was a non-gambling, non-smoking, eco-friendly spa hotel...but very nice with remote controlled curtains. It is one of 7 buildings in City Center on the Vegas strip.
Aria FlowersWe noticed every hotel had it's own smell. The Aria (one of the hotels in City Center) smelled like Chocolate. These flowers were in the lobby and are made of chocolate.
The VdaraAn up view of the Vdara. Opened in December of 2009. 57 stories and 1495 rooms. No casinos, no smoking. Some of the suites are sold as private residences with the option to lease it out while you are away.
The NightThis is the view from our window. Over looking the 76 acres of the City Center.
New York New YorkThe New York NY hotel and casino located on the strip. Opened in Jan 1997 to resemble the NYC skyline with the Empire State Building, The Chrysler Building and the NY Harbor. There is a roller coaster that goes through the inside and outside of the hotel. It is a lot faster than we expected. 67 mph with a 144ft drop off. Very cool hotel. The inside reminds you of walking down the street in NY. Pizza joints, bars and shopping down a cobblestone walkway.
Las Vegas BlvdOne of the many moments that will make you feel very small in Vegas.
The DesertWe rented a car and drove to the Hoover Dam. We stopped to see the landscape along the way.
More DesertMore landscape. Hard to believe a city like Vegas can be built in such a vast area of nothing.
Hoover DamWe visited the Hoover Dam (on the border of Arizona and Nevada). Built between 1931 and 1936, during the great depression to provide power to NV, AZ and CA.
Hoover DamThere is enough concrete in the dam to pave a 2 lane highway from San Francisco to NY.
Penstock Tower - Hoover DamThis is one of the 4 penstock towers. They are basically Pipes that deliver water to the turbines. Each one controls 1/4th of the suppy of water for the powerplant turbines. They are called the Arizona Upper, Arizona Lower, Nevada Upper and Nevada Lower.
Hoover DamThe dam eliminated the natural flooding of the Colorado river and formed Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the US. You can see the ring where the water used to be. The past ten years of drought and population growth in the SW has drained the reservoir. Many people rely on Lake Mead for their everyday water, and if the level drops below 1050 ft, it will be impossible for the turbines to work...it's actually a huge problem.
Colorado RiverWe stopped upstream to see the views. Hard to tell in the picture, but the water level has dropped drastically here as well. There were pictures of it 50 years ago. Sad.
