Vegas: The Other Activities

Because the other posts were getting long, I decided to make a third post with other things we did. Yes, we fit in a lot in 1 week- I'm exhausted just typing all of it! :)

High Roller

Since 2014, Vegas has been able to boast that it has the tallest Ferris wheel in the world, standing at 550 feet tall. We went on a ride around 4 PM and ended up having an entire cabin to ourselves! The entire ride lasted for about 30 minutes and we were able to get a deal by purchasing the tickets online versus at the ticket office, so be sure to do that if you're going. The views were amazing and I definitely recommend it!

Super excited to have our own cabin!

Top Golf

While we do have Top Golfs in DFW, we had yet to do it together. Additionally, the one in Vegas had just opened a couple of weeks prior to our arrival, so it seemed like a great opportunity. Top Golf essentially combines golf with skee-ball-- you try to hit your ball into one of several targets down range. It is insanely fun, even for non-golfers like me!

Not a bad view!

Atomic Testing Museum 

I don't have too many pictures from this, but after we went to the Hoover Dam we went to the Atomic Testing Museum. Las Vegas is very close to the Nevada Test Site, so it was a natural location for this very interesting museum. It walks you through the history of atomic weapons and testing and has several interactive exhibits. We both really enjoyed it and would recommend it (look for a Groupon for admission- makes it that much cheaper). 

Have to know how to defend yourself from radioactive fallout while you're on the farm!

I promise, this is the last of the activity-related posts. But I hope you see how many different things there are to do in this city :)

Vegas: The Indoor Activities

While we did have an amazing time hiking, we also really enjoyed the time we spent indoors. 

Hoover Dam

Since we were so close, we had to go to the Hoover Dam! It was about a 45 minute drive from our condo and we got there about 30 minutes before it opened at 9. I am so glad we did because there was already a line out the door of the visitor center! While you can go to the dam and just pay for parking, if you want to go into the power plant and/or the dam, you have to book a tour. The power plant tour is about 30 minutes long and you can book ahead of time. However, if you want the tour of the dam (which includes the power plant tour), you have to buy it the day of and those tickets are very limited. We were probably within the first 20 families through the door but we were already on the second dam tour of the day! Regardless, it was very well worth it both from what we got to see and what we learned. Did you know that despite what rumors say, there are no bodies buried in the dam? Bodies would have ruined the structural integrity of the wall so they made sure to get the bodies out!

Line to enter the visitor's center before it opened 

Looking at the dam with Lake Mead behind it

Looking down at the power plant area

This was one of two tunnels used to divert the water but is now being used for the power plant

Power plant turbines

This is 1 of 4 vents on the face of the dam 

And this is the view from that vent!

So many long hallways!

Standing on top of the dam, looking towards Lake Mead

Standing on the Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge

Battlefield Vegas

For part of Matt's anniversary gift (though I certainly enjoyed it, too!), we went shooting at Battlefield Vegas. This gave us the chance to shoot guns we had never shot before in both semi-automatic and automatic modes. We chose a package deal where we got to shoot a MP5, an Uzi, a M4, and an AK-47. I'm not going to lie, there was a little bit of bruising on our shoulders after shooting the AK-47 in automatic (and I only did that for 15 rounds or so), but it was an experience I won't soon forget! 

With our buzzer waiting for them to get our guns ready

The MP5

AK-47

MP5

M4

And of course the AK-47

The Shows

We did do some more stereotypical Vegas things and went to a couple of Cirque du Solei shows, specifically Ka and Beatles LOVE. Both shows were absolutely amazing though for different reasons. While LOVE centered around the music of the Beatles and was much more dancing-oriented, Ka featured a stage that could literally move in every single direction and was much more acrobatic in nature (here's a trailer so you can get a sense of the stage). If you are a fan of the Beatles, I would recommend that to you, but otherwise Ka may be a better choice if you can only see one. I look forward to seeing some of their other shows as the production value is unlike anything I've seen before!

Our amazing view!

Wandering

This was technically both an indoor & outdoor activity, but I had to put it somewhere. We found we really enjoyed exploring the strip and the casinos/shopping areas, particularly in the morning hours before it was crowded. We found an amazing store that housed only rare books (think those signed by Thomas Jefferson, first editions of classic works, etc.) that would be any bibliophile's dream. The level of detail that was put into the buildings was also pretty astounding, so it just made for a fun and unique place to walk around. 

An amazing flower sculpture inside one of the hotel/casinos

It is undoubtedly beautiful at night!

Inside the shopping area of Ceasar's 

Outside the Bellagio

Inside the Bellagio they also had sculptures made from plants and flowers

Because who doesn't love chocolate?

This is the rare bookstore mentioned above

Are you exhausted yet? We did fit a lot into our week but we did take some time to relax. We both read several books that were non-work related, which hasn't happened in a long time!

Vegas: The Outdoor Activities

As most of you know Matt & I in real life, you would probably not consider us the typical Vegas person. We don't gamble. We're not huge drinkers. We don't party. The stereotypical Vegas would not fit our idea of a good time. But after talking with my family and some of our good friends who had been before we learned that there is so much more to the area than partying and gambling. So, without further ado, here is the first of two posts outlining what we did do. 

After going to the Smoky Mountains a couple of times, we have found we really enjoy hiking, so we knew we wanted to go somewhere that would include a lot of day hiking opportunities (neither of us are campers). We were able to fit in 3 hiking days into our itinerary, none of which were more than a 1-hour drive from our hotel. 

Red Rocks Canyon National Conservation Area
The first place we went to was about 30 minutes west of the strip and really lived up to its name! It reminded me a lot of Hueco Tanks outside of El Paso as there were lots of rocks to scramble over and between. As the temperature was forecasted to get pretty bad after 12, we did a series of shorter hikes in the morning and enjoyed a picnic lunch before heading back. Overall it was really fun and I would love to go back in cooler weather so we can do some of the longer trails.

There were two cowboys riding horses on our trail,
with a dog running beside them. I felt out-Texaned :)

Valley of Fire State Park
While we didn't get to do nearly as much hiking here as would have liked (it was already above 90 degrees by 9 AM), the scenery was absolutely gorgeous and so unique. This was the first state park in Nevada and featured several distinct rock formations, petroglyphs, and petrified logs.

I learned the panoramic setting on my new camera at this park.
Hopefully you can click this image to make it bigger.

We saw so many lizards! See if you can spot him

Mt. Charleston and the Spring Mountains
This was definitely my favorite place we went to our entire trip. I had no idea that I was going to see snow-covered mountains when I went to Las Vegas in late May, but sure enough there it was! We went here on our last full day when the heat was at its worst (when we left the city at 7 AM, it was already 88 degrees and quickly climbing) and the timing couldn't have been better since it was about 15 degrees cooler in the mountains! We did two amazing hikes up some of the 'smaller' mountains and enjoyed the best views of the trip. 

Approaching the mountains on our drive

Finally at the top!

[Hopefully] Click on the image to enlarge

Self-timer + bench :)

At the top of our second hike, the Mary Jane Falls trail.

While the falls weren't much to look at...

The view on the other side was amazing!

Have I convinced you yet to go? There is so much we didn't do at each of these parks and we can't wait to go back!