It All Happened in Vegas Baby

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Erika was convinced that we’d see Bison this morning if we’d went back into the park this morning. I was convinced that we were already too late for wildlife as by the time we took the hour’s drive in it would be about 9am. I didn’t object as one, I’d kick myself if the Bison were there and we didn’t go and two, it was quite close to Point Imperial look out over the Canyon which I wanted to take better pix of now that the weather was perfect. We didn’t see the Bison just loads of Bison poo on the road. However, it was lovely just to take in the beautiful vista of driving in and out of the Kaibib National Forest. The kids went with Erika for the 5 hour trip to Las Vegas and the plan was that we’d meet at the Orleans Hotel. As it turned out she ended up going the wrong way and I had a feeling she would so I called her and she already made as far as the Coral Pink Sand Dunes before turning back on track again. Meanwhile I stopped at a view point where some Indians were selling jewellery and crafts on the side of the road so I bought an Xmas decoration, a wrist band and another necklace. The scenery was pretty awe inspiring along the way as per usual and the weather starting to get hotter. It took about 5 hours to get to Vegas and we managed to find the hotel OK. However it was huge and I had trouble finding the entrance. When I did, I couldn’t believe the check in counter was nearly as long as the 3D Transformers ride at Universal Studios. There were people every where. Welcome to Vegas I guess. We had to park some way away and to save money on valet parking we had to make two trips all the way from the 15^thfloor to the car park over 2 trips in the stinking heat. By the time we sorted all the clothes out into draws etc for our luxurious 3 day stay we went downstairs to check the situation out. As it turned out, Erika was waiting in the queue, so I took all the kids up to our room so they wouldn’t get bored waiting. Once everyone was sorted, we had an early dinner by eating at a Mexican restaurant inside the casino which was yummy. After that we headed out onto the strip by getting the free shuttle bus to Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall. We went north on foot to see some of the free shows such as The Sirens of TI. I couldn’t believe how busy it was. We had to wait about half an hour and stake our claim on the ‘boardwalk’. The crowds were oppressive and the show wasn’t really kid friendly. Brendan really wanted to see it. After that I wanted to look inside TheVenician which was incredible. There was a recreation of the canals of Venice which went from the outside of the casino to the inside the mall looked like you were outside at dusk in a Venice street and St Mark’s square. Of course all the expensive shops were there, including a massive sweet/candy shop which the kids got stuck in and couldn’t get out for all its power. We watched the Mirage’s exploding volcano from one of the bridge/balconies at the Venitian. We didn’t really get the full effect but got the idea. I was really keen to see the free fountain show at Bellagio which was right over the street where we had to get back on the shuttle back to the Orleans, but Erika didn’t want to because her kids were tired, so I missed out.

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