We actually sort of forgot that we wanted to see the Hoover Dam while out here (that’s what happens when you have a bajillion things to see and do… eventually one will get lost along the way). By the time we remembered, we were too far along to turn back. We decided that we would save that outing for the next time we visit Las Vegas. Below is the route that we DID take.

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Now we’re in the little town of Kanub, UT. Not long after we got here, Isabel stepped off a curb, turned her ankle, and collapsed epically into a heap on the ground. She’s fine, but it seems that the bad luck cloud that she picked up in Vegas is still following her. I thought what happened in Vegas stayed in Vegas…

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We also got to see some Joshua trees near the highway! This was very exciting because we thought we wouldn’t see any (since we ended up skipping Joshua Tree National Park). One Joshua tree grove was near a rest stop so we got close enough to hug one!

Our route took us alongside (but not into) the Mojave National Preserve (and not, alas, through Death Valley — we considered going that route instead, but it just added too much time). Hopefully some other trip can include those adventures!

Before we knew it, we were in Las Vegas!!

We’re staying at Bally’s. We chose this place on the strip solely because it hosts the show we saw tonight, Jubilee!

Brian and I really wanted to see a classic Vegas show involving showgirls with huge feather headdresses, sequins, and crazy over-the-top tackiness (often referred to here as “opulence”). You guys, Jubilee! could not have been a more perfect choice. It has been running in Las Vegas since 1981 and has seven different acts, including performances by former Polish hand balancing champions, an aerial silk artist, and a juggler; the main company enacts the stories of Samson and Delilah and the Titanic, among other things. Please don’t ask me to try to explain it. I’m just not up to the task. But it was like opener!! Finale! Finale again! Another finale! Juggling! Finale!!!! Also, we were in row H (maybe 50 feet from the stage), and the woman sitting in front of me was totally using opera glasses (dude). The show was both amazing and horrible, as Brian said.

Moving on, I also have to report that shortly before the curtain went up on Jubilee!, I started feeling pretty sick (most likely from a dubious taco I ate for lunch). Unfortunately, my problems persisted into our post-show exploration of the Las Vegas strip, so we couldn’t quite do it up the way we wanted to. We did go into some of the other places nearby, and we did attempt to play some slots (and we came out about even, I think). I don’t really understand 99% of the slot machines here; they seem pretty complicated and confusing, or maybe I’m just unfamiliar. But anyway, we both enjoyed seeing the fountains at the Bellagio!

The fountains put on a show every few minutes set to music and everything and it’s really fun and pretty.

Now we’re in our hotel room, which is by far the nicest room we’ve had so far on this trip (but not the most expensive, by the way! Hotels in Vegas are cheap; I think they just [rightly] assume they’ll get more of your money from gambling, food, shows, etc.). I’m hoping tomorrow I’ll feel up to seeing a little more Vegasy things before we move on. Whew!