Month: November 2025

Fire, Valley of

Greetings from Valley of Fire State Park


 
Before going to see The Wizard of Oz yesterday afternoon, I, Sally, and friend Beth drove the hour north of Las Vegas to go to Valley of Fire State Park and take a hike. We chose the Elephant Rock Loop trail for three reasons: first, it was a loop; second, its parking lot had available bathrooms; third, its mile and a quarter length was all we had time for.

We ended up losing where the trail went, so we had to backtrack and ended up a bit short of our goal, but it was such a beautiful day that we didn’t really mind. I’d say next time we would do an out-and-back on a different trail, but the odds are I’m never going back to Las Vegas, unless it is to just pass right through it.

The Wizard Of OZ @ The Sphere

Who Dropped The Sphere On My Sister?

The efficiency of getting into the theater was smooth. They let you into the entry area an hour before you can be seated to get you lined up to run through ticket scanning and a scaled-down TSA security check. And it has to be because they have to seat 16,500 people in the 45 minutes before the show starts.

Before The Movie Starts

Above is what is projected on the screen while everyone is getting seated. The bottom looks like an orchestra pit, and softly playing was what sounds like one warming/tuning up to play. You can pick out snippets of the famous score.

If you are a purist fan of the film, you might not appreciate what has been cut, sped up, or added, because like anything created using that much AI, it can be either wondrous or appalling. The experience is definitely worth the price of admission; the tornado sequence is fantastic, the way Glenda’s arrivals and departures were done is just great, and the flying monkeys are a thing to behold.

After The Movie Finished

After the original credits, they do the credits for the current production, and instead of endless scrolling, the entire screen is filled, so it goes by in just two 30-second images. Above is what is projected on the screen as the thousands of us slowly climb up the stairs to ride escalators down to

Vegas Baby!

Stardust

I got to Las Vegas around 9 in the morning and drove around getting the lay of the land. I started by going to where Santa Fe Sally and I are staying and then made the trip out to the airport’s cell phone waiting area, where she and two other friends were flying into. I drove over to take a picture of the iconic “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign and cruised right on by. There was a line to take a picture of it about 20 people deep; I’ll buy a postcard.

I made the circuit one more time, and by then I needed to be waiting in the cell phone lot for their 11:30 arrival. I thought that even with my large suitcase in the back of the GTI, I could get Kevin and Beth’s carry-ons in back too (Sally just had a backpack,) but only one fit back there, so poor Kevin had to hold his on his lap for the 20-minute drive to the hotel.

Kevin and Beth are staying in the Cosmopolitan, and their room is on the 40th floor, and their balcony overlooks the Bellagio’s fountains; that’s the picture below. Sally and I are staying at an adjoining property, The Jockey Club, and our room is on the third floor facing the fountains as well. Hover over the below image, and you can see our view.

The four of us had lunch together in the very loud food court of the Bellagio and then retreated to our separate corners. After chilling for a couple hours Sally and I headed out to go to the Neon Museum, and Kevin & Beth went to a fancy Italian restaurant, Scarpetta, in their hotel.

All Nevada Day

Rhyolite Train Station


 
Started the morning in Sparks, skipped the hotel’s usual low-rent breakfast, and drove down to Carson City to eat at the Cracker Box, a longtime favorite. Everything I’ve ever had there was great, but the big draw for me is the fresh-squeezed OJ.

What followed was 300 miles of desert with one giant Army Ammo Depot, three small towns, and a dozen nearly ghost towns. The photo above is from a legit ghost town that is halfway between tonight’s hotel and Death Valley, Rhyolite. This is the town’s train station and is the most well-preserved building there.

On the way to Rhyolite, you pass by the Goldwell Open Air Museum, which is where the bottom two are from.

A Quiet Corner Of The Loudest State

K Falls Morning


 
Started the morning in Klamath Falls and ended the day in Reno. From Klamath to the California border is 25 miles, and from Reno to the border is 20 miles, leaving a little over 200 miles of the quietest part of California to drive through. Most of the “towns” you pass through on this route have just double-digit populations. The largest town on the drive is Susanville, with a population of 12,000, but on the route I took I never went through it.

Change Of Plans

I was supposed to fly from Portland to Las Vegas on Tuesday morning, but with the government shutdown and its effect on air travel, I’m now driving to Las Vegas.

The Flying Pig

Tonight I’m in Klamath Falls at my usual spot, the Shilo Inn, a stone’s throw from my second favorite coffee shop, Brevada Brewhouse. Because it was 1:00pm when I got there, it felt weird to order a mixed smoothie bowl, something I’ve always gotten at breakfast, so I ordered a sandwich instead. I did order my usual medium caramel latte though; those are timeless.

Because tonight is the time change, before I left home I set all the clocks back an hour, so I wouldn’t have to worry about that when I get back.