Monday, March 29, 2010

Vegas and Red Rocks

Working through my backlog...

A few weeks ago Ethel and I made a quick excursion to the City of Sin to make use of the prize I got at the Silverman Triathlon in 2008. Glorious prize...a suite at the Wynn for two nights and a very generously comped dinner. That's all the excuse I need to get on a Southwest flight, tolerate the madness that is Vegas, and do a little exploring.

Let's start at the Wynn, and we'll move on from there.


Private entryway to the Tower Suites


The tour begins; our living room at the Wynn


The tour continues; our bathroom (!)


Self portrait


Lake of Dreams at the Wynn

We had a full day in between our travel days, so we rented a cheap car and fled the Strip for Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, conversationally known as Red Rocks. This gem may be the most redeeming place in all of Vegas, and it's awfully close.


Ethel examines the pool underneath a seasonal waterfall in Red Rocks


Goofy self portrait - "go on in there, I'm sure there aren't any snakes."


Scales


Compartments

After wandering around Red Rocks proper for a while, we followed a tip from one of Ethel's workmates and rallied our rental car on the dirt road to Black Velvet Canyon, part of Red Rocks but away from the popular loop road and largely unknown to all but rockclimbers.


Cacti in Black Velvet Canyon

This day of exploring the desert was amply rewarded by our tasty dinner at Bartolotta at the Wynn; I'm awfully glad that wasn't a bill I needed to pick up.

'Twas good to get away from Reno for a couple of days, even if it was to Vegas!

Past Detritus