Sunday was spent in getting to know the area known as the Strip, which is actually Las Vegas Boulevard. We went in and out of the many hotels there (like the M.G.M. Grand for example), marvelling at the size of them and all they contained. Monday we played our first game of golf at Desert Rose a public course close to the city. It was a good public course and we enjoyed it a great deal. In the evening we relaxed then went out to sample one of the very fine buffet diners which every hotel seemed to have. On Tuesday we had a travel day. Following a relaxed breakfast and leisurely start to the day, we went to visit the Hoover Dam site,
which is well worth a visit should you find yourself in Nevada. We spent a couple of hours there including lunch time. From there we went north-east to the Valley of Fire. This state park is gorgeous, full of weirdly shaped red sandstone rocks. We explored the park and had a good time there.Wednesday rolled around and was another golf day. We played at Red Rock Canyon country club. The site is divided into a private course, the Red Rock Course for members only, and the Arroyo Course which is open to the public and which was the one we played. Both courses were beautifully contoured and sculpted. There were beautiful displays of desert plants all around the course. However, though the course was gorgeous, none of the group enjoyed playing there as the previous course. I think this was mainly due to the long time spent in the carts getting from green to tee, and also because we followed a very slow group which would not let us play through.
Thursday was our final golf day as we cancelled the golf for Friday. We played at Stallion Mountain another lovely course, and we enjoyed our time there as we had an earlier tee time and had lots of light left to play. Unfortunately poor Barrie had to stop playing after the first half of the course as his knee was bothering him too badly. He became our official coach and rode the cart for the rest of the back nine and he did have a little trouble driving it.
Friday it poured with rain in the morning, so it was just as well we'd cancelled our golf game for
the day in favour of a tour out to Red Rock Canyon and Bonnie Springs, to the west of the city. The weather eased a little for us to tour the canyon, which, like Valley of Fire, was quite spectacular. Once we'd been through the canyon we went on a little further to Bonnie Springs which is heralded as a little bit of the old west, in a secluded spot in the desert. On the way back to town, the outlet shops beckoned to us as a place to find little gifts for certain members of our families, and we were successful.Saturday we spent doing a final tour of The Strip, trying to take in some of the places we'd missed on our earlier explorations. Once again, we enjoyed the spectacular displays of the Bellagio fountains, which are all set to music. (You can view a sample here by clicking the link then video tour). Of course, the climax to a good day was when we all went to see Andrea Bocelli perform at the MG.M. Grand theatre. He was superb and his performance left us wanting more.
On Sunday, departure day for the four of us, Ben and I dropped off Dil and Barrie at the airport around 10:00 for their noon flight. We then went to visit one of the local malls and got some books to read on the way home. Around noon we returned our rental car and got to the airport check-in. We dumped our bags with Alaska and went to get some lunch at the airport food court. On our return to our gate we were told that our plane was to be delayed three hours with mechanical problems. Well, not to bore you with details but things got worse. Instead of arriving back in Comox at about 22:00 on Sunday night, we arrived at 20:00 on Monday night, tired and frustrated. However, we were safe and well and glad to be home. By the way, Barrie and Dilwyn had beaten us home by about seven hours I'm glad to say, for their flights back to Wales went like clockwork.
It had been a great week. The group had worked well, with lots of give and take. Now all that remains is for Barrie to get his bum knee fixed this coming Saturday morning and we'll be able to go again one day. Safe surgery Barrie and thanks to you, Dil and Ben for a great time. Viva Las Vegas! (If you wish to take a peek at a collection of pictures from this trip, click on the link to Ben's album and you can view them there.)
(Map of some of the local trips we took)
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