Go West Young Man! Part Two: Sin City

On Thursday, we left Williams and the Grand Canyon for Nevada and
Vegas. The trip north was relatively uneventful as we once again
descending into the desert, which despite the short respite in the
hills of Arizona still filled me with awe at how wide the world could
be. We planned on visiting Hoover Dam before making our way to Vegas,
but approached the border with a not a small amount of apprehension
considering the beefed-up security and a sign warning "construction
ahead." I'm not an impatient person but prefer avoiding lines if
possible. Luckily only a few cars had stopped at the checkpoint and
state trooper did not think much of the two East Coast boys in their
travel-laden SUV. He waved us through with no more than a cursory
glance inside the Yukon, now swollen with coolers, groceries, and
souvenirs. We drove off feeling fortunate and yet a little indignant
too. Mostly harmless, indeed!

Now the road to the dam winds down into this beautiful ravine walled
on either side by large red-brown boulders so smooth they almost
appear artificial. The blue waters of Lake Mead, which met our eyes
as we emerged initially from the cliffs, was a welcome sight.
Accustomed to living near water, I think the trip through the mesas
and cliffs those last few days made me realize how much I missed the
oceans, reservoirs, and bays of the East Coast. It's strange, I know,
but it relaxes me to know I live so close to water. A sea of grass or
sand just isn't the same.

The road into Nevada crosses atop the dam itself so even if you do not
plan on stopping you can glimpse much of the lake and dam structure at
least until tourists begin to swarm around you. On the western side
of the dam, a huge wall of solid concrete rises over 700 ft from the
silken-blue ribbon of the Colorado tailing harmlessly through the
ravine far below. I'm told that the dam wall is actually taller
than the Eiffel Tower, but staring at it reminded me more of that
great gate in King Kong -- it amuses me to think some great serpent or
Krackon dwells on the other side. Very impressive, all in all, this
mixture of red rocks, white concrete, and blue water, yet subtilty
does not exist here. Dam propaganda saturates all the presentations
and tours, trying to reinforce how magnificent and awe-inspiring the
dam truly is -- as if we were walking around blind; in the end it just
made the visit a little ridiculous. "America depends on the power,
water, and agriculture provided by Hoover Dam. We cannot exist
without it." "Herbert Hoover: president, humanitarian, and
super-genius." "Without Hoover Dam, it is doubtful whether America
would have risen to meet the country's needs during WWII. Fascism
would have consumed the world without this modern marvel."

However, looking back, I think that Hoover Dam in many ways preprared
us for Vegas. Only I wonder if there exists any true seed of
magnificence in Vegas or is it all just fabrication? Ah, but I'm
getting ahead of myself. We arrived in Vegas sometime around 4PM, I
think; still far too sunny to consider the town "alive." The smell
that met us as we entered Mandalay Bay was unusual and not entirely
pleasant like they had cleaned the floors with some combination of
bleach mixed with menthol. The people too were equally distinguished.
We saw an old woman dressed in a black one-piece swimsuit complete
with matching high-heels, sunglasses, and feathered (crow?) hat. I
had thought such creatures existed only in movies really. Other
guests greeted us on the elevator with bloodshot winks and practiced
jumping up and down as the elevator fell reeking of alcohol. Girls
dressed scantily in Catholic school uniforms waited impatiently
outside a private elevator in the lobby, while families speaking in
various dialects and languages crowded in the lobby. If the hotel was
populated by the characters dreamed up by Todd McFarlane or American
McGee, I doubt it could be stranger.

After losing about $100 at the casino (myself individually; Dennis won
$30), we decided to walk the strip. One thing I will say about Vegas
the architecture of some of these casinos is quite impressive. New
York, New York for instance features a miniature version of New York
complete with bridges, fountains, and inside amid the slots a
makeshift replica of Central Park complete with autumn leaves and a
blue domed sky so while you may be gambling at least you don't feel
like your gambling. The Paris casino adopts a similarly impressive
structure and an "outdoor" gambling arcade as well, and sits directly
across from the Bellagio fountains, which are perhaps one of the only
truly elegant shows in town. No admission, beautiful scores, and a
fantastic piece of artistry. The buffets there were likewise worth
the trip. Expensive (~$20 a head), the food is nevertheless exquisite
and delicious (particularly the desserts) -- the Alladin is the
reputed king of buffets, but I recommend the Bellagio; superb fish!

Walking on the Strip in the sun was a bit of a chore though. Every
few feet or so, you are accosted by Mexicans handing out "trading
cards" of hookers and strippers, which most tourists grab, laugh at,
and discard on the street. The effect of such is that the sidewalks
-- which apparently are not cleaned all that often -- are littered
with porn. Yet even if you avoid staring at the ground, the Vegas
hotels routinely flash clips of thong-ed dancers on their color
marquees so it really is impossible to avoid it all.

On Sat after gambling a little bit more (I lost another $100; Dennis
won $60), we decided to visit a few more exhibits around the city. On
Friday, we saw an exhibit of Ansel Adams (I attached a few of my
favorites photos) and so on our last day, we saw an exhibit on Ruben
at the Venetian. Afterwards we went to the Star Trek ride. Now we
had this powerpass credit card, which allowed us free admission onto a
number of attractions. Lloyd (my second travel-mate) saw that the
Star Trek Experience was included and so we traversed to the Vegas
Hilton and whatever awaited us there. Now I'm no Star Trek geek. If
you asked me my favorite series, I would have to say the one where
Scottie cuts off Vader's hand with the Borg saber. I don't do space.
Yet I must admit, the Hilton's exhibit was pretty cool. They
transformed part of the casino to look like the docking bay of a space
ship and had compiled a complete star history timeline-thing
accompanied with a large supply of Star Trek memorabilia. I was
clueless to what everything was, but it was pretty awesome that
someone had put so much work into it. Lloyd enjoyed it at any rate.

I won't speak of the 3-D rides. Let's just say that I was probed and
prodded in my chair by Borg aliens, and leave it at that. It was
unpleasant and Dennis had a good laugh at my expense. The seriousness
of some of the actors though really surprised me though. I mean if I
had to shout "The quantum computer indicated that the photon canons
are clogged! Reverse phase and fire the intergalactic fusion missiles
at those space scum!" while pushing imaginary buttons several times a
day without laughing I'd be fired within an hour. One poor guy had to
pick out a tourist and yell at him during the ride. "You think this
is a joke?! One more snigger and I'll toss you in the brig with the
other space trash. It's that kind of attitude that separates the
space commanders from the Klingon carrion." (try saying that five
times fast without laughing; I dare you).