We have been to Vegas many times but we always find something new to see and do there. Kathy planned this 1,250 mile road trip as a birthday gift to me.
On the way to Vegas, we stopped in Baker, California and saw the "World's Tallest Thermometer" (134'). I remember reading about it in my "Weird California" book. It's height represents the highest temperature recorded in nearby Death Valley - 134 degrees.
We stayed at the Las Vegas Hilton which opened as the International in 1969. Shortly after it opened, Elvis sold out 58 consecutive shows there and broke his record several times in the following years. He was scheduled to perform there again in 1978 shortly before he died. We spent most of one day just laying out by the pool and sipping tropical drinks there.
I wanted to see the Sahara Hotel & Casino before it closed on May 16. The Sahara was opened in 1952 and is the last remaining vintage hotel & casino where the "Rat Pack" performed and hung out. The closing will leave only the Tropicana, Flamingo and Riviera as the last remaining hotels from that era.
We ate dinner at the NASCAR Cafe at the Sahara. We passed on the famous six pound B3 (Big Badass Burrito) on their menu. I figured if Adam Richman of "Man vs. Food" only ate five pounds of it before giving up, I better not try.
We drove out to Hoover Dam again to see the Mike O'Callaghan - Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge which opened in October 2010. It's the second tallest bridge in the U.S. at 880' above the Colorado River. We've seen the bridge under construction during our last several visits there. We walked to the middle of the bridge and got our first full-on view of Hoover Dam. Before the bridge, you could only see the dam from off to each side. The bridge is a US 93 by-pass and has really reduced the traffic over the dam. We've seen traffic backed up for miles there. It as an interesting coincidence that bin Laden was killed the day before we saw the bridge honoring Pat Tillman (the other honoree, O'Callaghan was a Korean War hero).
Back in Vegas, we went to the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop of "Pawn Stars" fame and then to the top of the Stratosphere Tower, at 1,149', the tallest observation tower in the U.S. They have four extreme rides on the top. I rode one ride called the "Big Shot" several years ago. Another ride is the SkyJump. For $100 you can "free fall" on a cable to the ground in about 15 seconds. We chose to have a drink, take in the view and take the elevator down instead.
That night, we went to the Ghostbar at the Palms which is owned by the Maloofs who happen to also own the Sacramento Kings. We hung out with the rich, young and famous even though we are none of those things. We got a VIP free entrance pass - one of Kathy's co-worker travel agents books all the travel for the Maloofs and got the pass for us. The view was great on the outside 55th floor terrace of the Ghostbar but the techno music was getting pretty monotonous by 12:30 a.m. so we left. I'm sure the party was just getting started then.
On the way home, we stopped at the Calico Ghost Town. It has a building made out of bottles which is also in my "Weird California" book. Finally, we ate lunch at Peggy Sue's 50's Diner near Barstow. Across the street from the diner, there were hundreds of tanks or armored vehicles waiting for transport (hopefully not to Libya!).
Here's a slideshow (can be paused) of 49 of the photos we took: Photos.
Here's some short hi-def videos I took: