Much of our past travels have involved going places on back roads, avoiding highways and interstates. We just like poking around different places. However, there are occasions when we just need a repositioning – to get ourselves somewhere to then do some major poking around. Like, if we wanted to visit Alaska using only back roads then by the time we got there we’d have no time left to do much before we had to turn around and head back home. We were in a similar situation with Southern California. So we’re visiting friends and making stops along the way as always, however we’ve been jumping on the Interstates in between.
Leaving Parker, we checked the most direct route to LA. At 15 hours driving time, it felt like a comfortable 3-day trip: Parker to Grand Junction, Grand Junction to… hmmm… there was no real way around this – two thirds of the way, we’ll be in Las Vegas. Although neither one of us is especially into gambling, drinking, or glitz, Doug had never been there, and I’d learned on a business trip years ago that there are some fun shows to see in the Entertainment Capital of the World. Let’s see one!
While rolling toward Vegas, we looked over Cirque du Soleil’s several offerings and chose to see Mystère at the Treasure Island Casino. We bought tix and found a place to spend the night with the RV – believe it or not – right in Downtown Las Vegas (DTLV).
Getting to the show was an experience… There are zero Uber drivers in our part of Vermont and we’re not very familiar with the app, but we successfully got ourselves a ride. Our ebullient driver Stephen brought us up to speed on what’s where in his beloved hometown and pointed out all the famous Sin City landmarks on our trip from DTLV to The Strip.
The Cirque du Soleil show was indeed great fun. It featured dance and gymnastics (are these people even human?), amazing costumes, and technology-enhanced, gravity-defying acrobatics punctuated with bits of comedy and even a few hints at a storyline. All the Cirque du Soleil shows include great live music. Mystère opens with a segment that features Taiko drumming – thunderous rhythm! Our faves were the Hand to Hand Sisters and the Aerial Dance. (Video recording isn’t allowed, so these are sanctioned samples from Youtube.)
Of course, like all casinos, the path from the entrance to the theatre is filled with slot machines, games and distractions of all types. Despite our lack of interest in participating, it was a fascinating, exciting and compelling sight to see.
Camp was interesting… It was one downtown block , paved, surrounded by a cement block wall with one entrance. It was owned and managed by Main Street Station, a hotel, casino and brewery in the Downtown section of Las Vegas. Almost arms reach to the interstate, our stay was relatively quiet – except when the firefighters at the firehouse next door started what must be a weekly check of their chainsaws and sirens at 7am – that wasn’t quiet!
Perhaps the most interesting discovery was the path the Interstate took through west Colorado, southeast Utah, southern Nevada and southeastern California. It was just beautiful! We’ve traveled through these parts in the past and been amazed by the beauty at the nearby National Parks. Who knew that the scenery right along the Interstate would also elicit such squeals?! (Probably a lot of people did, but not us!) We drove near the Grand Mesa, through the Manti-La Sal National Forest, around all of the National Parks we visited in 2017, and through the Virgin River Gorge in Arizona. After we crested the Cajon Pass in CA, it was clear that we’d arrived – 10 lanes of traffic, suddenly backed up in both directions. Welcome to Los Angeles!
For anyone who’s interested, more Scenes From the Road and Las Vegas pix…
