52.01 New York, New York: Oops! That should be Las Vegas, Las Vegas: What are you doing to our desert?

The lights of the city.

The heading is not intended to get closer to our New York friends, both of them. Instead, we find Las Vegas, the city, a rather disjointed place that has probably grown so quickly that the planners were not called in until it was too late. I am rather judgmental about Las Vegas, I'll admit—what it stands for, the side of life that I don't see as positive and beneficial to humanity—I'll stop there. Quite a nasty guy, I'd say. Well, if we're going to talk about superficial places and things, then what I do like is views of the city while gazing through our windows at night and being attracted to the lighting. During the day I'm comforted when peering from our room that I'm not dealing with the traffic and the many rough looking fellas panhandling below. 

  So why are you in Las Vegas? We're here because the surrounding landscapes of this desert city are nothing short of beautiful in the context of nature. While I know and understand that many prefer the lush forests also offered by nature, there is a beauty, admittedly harsh, that winter deserts present. Over the years, my initial inculcated dislike for deserts has reversed into a fondness, actually, much more than that. My fear is that should we experience some global cooling, we could lose these precious regions...continues below, 'educated in Las Vegas'. 

Las Vegas at sunset from Black Mountain, Boulder City.
A winter's day in the city, viewed from the peak of Red Mountain, Boulder City.

Sunrise over the city. Las Vegas arises or does it ever sleep? Mount Charleston and Red Rock Park in background.
The tricky climb of Lava Butte viewed from Old Vegas trail.
Perched on Lava Butte, a free climb (no entrance fee 😏), no trail.
On the way up Lava Butte.
Lake Mead at last light.
Lake Mead with plenty of light. (Arizona, state line commences from the middle of the lake.)
The city from Turtle Head Peak, Red Rock National Park.
From Red Mountain, outside Las Vegas.
Lake Mead from Black Mountain, at sunrise.
Finding a spot to view one of the most gorgeous lakes. Don't forget Lake Powell and many others.

"Another Las Vegas performer. Don't you tire of these show-offs?"
Descending Hamblin Peak.
Last week we reached Black Mountain, Henderson and suspected the flag might have been replaced. It had. This is from an earlier climb, perhaps when the symbol of the flag had more meaning, more value. "Cry the Beloved Country" wrote Alan Paton of another place.
Sunrise on The Frenchman.
Spotlight, the ultimate light, on the city.
One of the gems of Las Vegas: Red Rock Park, a mix of Utah and Arizona.

  Mountains of sandstone: Finding a way to the base, climbing onto it and walking up: Our type of fun.
The city at dawn from The Frenchman.

I think Jen and I received a wake-up call when we arrived in Las Vegas toward the end of 1976, our first overseas trip. We were 24 years old and of course, nearly invincible. With all the experience and knowledge gained over the years, we are now very vulnerable, much more humble and of course, wearing down quickly. Oh, the beauty, excitement, and foolishness of youth. Our port of entry was a city known to most: New York. To a couple of country kids, that was an eye-opener. Johannesburg is, and was a big city at the time, but this was arriving in another world. 

  When we hit the strip, we decided to try our hand at taking some dollars back to Africa. We had some (very little) experience in gambling through trips to Swaziland, a tiny country bordering South Africa. We purchased $10 of chips and proceeded to almost break the bank. These Americans did not know what hit them. We almost doubled our stake-money. 

  We returned to our hotel and I thought I should try out a rather brilliant but simple strategy I devised on the way back from the casino. Earlier, utilizing $1 chips (50 cents in Swaziland), we had succeeded. Following this thinking, why not buy $5 chips, commit $50, thereby using our system but making 5 times the stake. Same effort for a return of a multiple of 5 times our money. I thought this was nothing short of brilliant. Jenni may have concurred, but she certainly did not resist. 

  After dinner, we returned to the casino. We were primed, ready and raring to go. On our way out of the casino, we were dazed. How had we managed to lose $50 in less than 5 minutes? We spent time analyzing our time in the casino and eventually realized we were way out of our depth. Truth be told, since then, gambling is a very boring waste of time for us. Unfortunately, we found other ways to lose money. 

Cheers, 

Jenni and Jeffrey