Day three of our trip began with a drive in the rental east out of Las Vegas. The plan for the morning was to explore western landscapes and bodies of water I'd never seen before, including a national landmark that I've always wanted to see. As we made our way through the suburbs and out of Las Vegas, the conformity of the quiet subdivisions along the highway was a reminder that not everything about Las Vegas is how it's presented in pop culture. There is a quiet, "normal" side to Vegas that isn't as flashy and attractive to tourists, an everyday side that's necessary for the natives and transplants who call LV home, which up to that point we hadn't seen.
If you haven't read the previous entries in this series, catch up on Day 1 and Day 2 before reading on.
Also, a bit of advice I'd heard on a podcast years ago about living in the desert came to mind.
"Make sure you shake out your shoes before you put them on. You may find a scorpion hiding in one of them."
As much as I don't care for spiders, I'll take those over scorpions...
The thought of stinging/pinching insects left my mind as Travis led us down a newer stretch of highway where a stop-off was recently erected. From that perch, we laid eyes on Lake Meade in the distance.
It being my first time to the lake, I never saw Lake Meade when the water level was higher. According to news reports I found online, the lake is suffering greatly from a water shortage due to the ongoing effects of climate change. The intensity of the water's blue hue was the first thing I noticed when we arrived.
Justin and his hat take a photo of Lake Meade in the distance.
Our stop was brief, however, and we got back in the car to head to our next stop: the Mike O'Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge over Hoover Dam.
The route to the bridge was laden with a series of long ramps and a staircase to bypass them on one side. At the top, sitting areas line the pathway to get to the mouth of the bridge on the Nevada side, which safely keeps pedestrians away from speeding traffic with a concrete barrier. The bridge spans the Colorado River and crosses into Arizona.
The route to get up to the bridge.
The bridge spans the Black Canyon high above Hoover Dam and the Colorado River—nearly the height of two Carew Towers stacked on top of each other. It took five years to construct before opening in 2010 and serves as an effective bypass to accommodate modern traffic between the states.
It also provides a dam good view.
The mighty Hoover Dam.
Looking down from the bridge.
It was a little frightening to hold my camera over the edge of the bridge to get a good photo of the dam. The drop was so severe, it made me dizzy and I had to take a step back from the edge multiple times. Still, considering how high up we were, I think I handled the height well.
We sought more of Lake Meade after leaving Hoover Dam. Having paid the ticket price to wander the national park, we stopped to grab a few photos.
Seven-panel panorama of Lake Meade. Not great for viewing on a phone. Best viewed on desktop.
Travis, Justin & hat, and Rob at Lake Meade.
This would be the last time we'd see a cool, blue body of water for the rest of the day. Our next destination was Nevada's Valley of Fire—a far hotter and drier landscape than anywhere we'd been up to that point. Driving north, we saw the landscape slowly grow warmer and redder as we approached the outskirts of the 40,000-acre national park.
I've relied only on photography and film to convey Aztec sandstone. Seeing it in person grants a whole new level of appreciation that I didn't anticipate affecting me so profoundly. It was like I'd stepped foot on another planet when we stopped to get a few photos and I could take some time to breathe it all in. The scale of the rock formations, coupled with the red hue, had my brain buzzing with new visuals to process. I couldn't recall the last time I encountered a unique landscape that didn't share commonality with something back home. The Valley of Fire was indeed a fresh, new experience I'd never had before.
The silhouettes of two visitors can be seen taking photos from the shade inside the Valley of Fire.
A covered picnic area inside the Valley of Fire.
A winding road led us through the Valley of Fire.
Justin stops to take in the scene before snapping a photo. It is unclear where the hat went.
Travis kneels and sets up what is assuredly a good composition for a shot.
Rob climbs the rocks to get a photo on his Mitsubishi 3000 (inside joke).
I doubt these are air-conditioned, and as such, can only imagine how bad they must smell inside.
Sticking close to the rental and keen not to burn ourselves in the hot desert sun for too long without reprieve, we snaked over the park's paved roads for hours. We saw hikers park and suit up to venture deeper into the sandstone on foot, which we collectively agreed would be difficult in the heat of July. Even though we spent some time in the elements, the airconditioned car wasn't far from us at any time.
Travis made plans to meet up with a Las Vegas photographer in the late afternoon, so we decided to leave the Valley of Fire with enough time to squeeze in a meal before the rendezvous. We stopped at Tacos El Gordo on North Las Vegas Blvd for a somewhat chaotic ordering experience that resulted in some excellent tacos.
The parking lot for Tacos El Gordo featured an out-of-service gas pump awning that was fenced off. Cars parked around the fence’s perimeter.
We met up with photographer Nick Lanehardt (@purely_35mm) at ReBAR for a drink after tacos. Nick's a Vegas local who shoots film and works in the cannabis industry. I asked him about life in the desert, and he echoed the sentiment about scorpions and shoes that I was reminded of earlier in the day, which I found amusing. Once we'd shot the breeze for a while, we all took a walk around the Arts District and shot interesting elements of the area. Nick proved to be a knowledgeable and affable dude who pointed us in the right direction for photogenic scenes with colorful elements ripe for capture.
Justin & hat and Rob in the foreground, Nick and Travis in the background
Some pepto bismo-biles
Faded signs aplenty
Having spent about two hours wandering around with Nick, we parted ways in good spirits and headed back into downtown Las Vegas. Once the car was parked, our party made its way over a skywalk and through Circa Resort & Casino, a new addition to LV, where we saw an enormous moving neon sign in the shape of a kicking cowgirl named Vegas Vickie. We then rode the elevator to the top of the casino where we had a drink at the luxurious Legacy Club.
Vegas Vickie with her moving leg inside Circa.
A view of Las Vegas from the Legacy Club.
I felt that none of us were dressed appropriately for a high-class place like the Legacy Club, but the hostess didn't bat an eye when we arrived. If she didn't turn us away, it was probably fine for us to be in there without wearing our Sultry Sunday Best.
The view of the Vegas skyline from the top floor was breathtaking, to say the least. We could see large swaths of the city stretching outward for miles as the sun was slowly heading down toward the mountain line in the distance. A storm rumbled behind us to the northeast, and we stepped out onto the open-air terrace to get a better view.
The Las Vegas skyline.
Rob was headed out that evening, so we made a pitstop at an excellent Thai noodle place on Fremont Street before ushering him to his hotel. Travis was headed out in the late morning, and we called it an early night so everyone could get some much-needed rest.
Dinner was here.
Back in the hotel, I spent an hour pouring over photos from the day while struggling to keep my eyes open. The minor jet lag coupled with the trip's busy schedule had eroded my ability to stay awake, and I succumbed to sleep sometime around 11 PM.
I wasn't leaving Vegas for another day, though. In fact, I still had a couple of things to see and do before flying back to Cincinnati.
Stay tuned for the final installment of A Trip to Las Vegas, coming soon!