Las Vegas, May 2001

In May, George and I did a road trip (in my new car... which performed flawlessly!). While we were there, we attended Cirque du Soleil's "Mystere" and Super Cross Finals. Other entertainment included visiting some of the great roller coasters in the area and trying our luck at Black Jack. Both George and I made money at Black Jack... maybe a career alternative??? :-)

We didn't get to spend any time with Rachael and Randy (who have just moved into their new house!). Hopefully, I can plan another trip soon so that we can visit.

Roller Coasters and other rides...

First stop, the "Desperado" at Buffalo Bill's in Primm, NV. The first drop is 225 feet, practically straight down. It theoretically gives you a great view of the surrounding landscape (not that I would know, 'cause I had my eyes closed the whole time!).

Desperado.jpg

Desperado2.jpg

The first full day in Vegas, we headed to the "strip"... for roller coasters and other assorted fun. We took the elevator up to the top of the Stratosphere tower (which is 1,149 feet above the Strip). On top of the tower are the two "highest thrill rides in the world".... the "High Roller Coaster" and the "Big Shot" (which basically flings you up the tower, then drops you back to earth -- and then repeats several times, going not quite as high each subsequent time!). The coaster was pretty disappointing... given its location, I expected more. I didn't have the nerve to try the "Big Shot", but George did and said it was awesome. [I snagged the aerial view below from a Stratosphere web site.]

Under construction

Coaster & Big Shot

Big Shot

Next stop -- "Speed - The Ride" at the Sahara. This ride definately lives up to its name. It hits 70 MPH in mere seconds, then an immediate 90 degree turn, up, down, around, and finally straight up a tower where you hang weightless for a second, before it does it all again -- in reverse. Awesome! Click on the "Overview" picture below to see the tower (just behind the gold dome in the center).

Racing off to the tower

Fremont Street...

George and I stayed at the Golden Nugget in the downtown area. This area has changed a lot since the last time I was here (10 years ago or so). Fremont Street runs down the middle of the downtown area... it is closed to traffic, so pedestrians wander along on the spotless, painted, shiny street. It almost has a DisneyLand atmosphere (out of place for Vegas). One thing we marveled at is that even though they've created this warm, inviting place for people to stroll, there's not a bench in the entire place. If you're going to sit down, it's going to be at a slot machine or a gaming table.

The "Fremont Street Experience" is difficult to describe. A four block section of Fremont Street is covered with a "light show medium" that hovers 90 feet above the street and is used to present unique light and sound shows every night. The system consists of over 2 million lights and 540,000 watts of concert quality sound. Here's a couple pictures I snapped during one of the shows. They don't begin to capture it though.