As most of you probably already know, Vegas sure is an interesting place!! I can see where it got it's nickname! I had a great first-timer visit this past weekend with my girlfriend, Nicole. We stayed at the New York-New York.
The M&M store was right across the street, so we spent some time wandering around in there.
We did a TON of walking up and down the strip. I think my favorite hotel/shops was the Venetian. I loved the store fronts and the feel of being right in Italy - canals with gondolas and singing Italians (okay, maybe not really!) and all!
These guys were on the same street corner every day! Can you imagine being the guy in the "Welcome to fabulous Las Vegas" sign?!! (Yes, there is a person in there!)
Of course, we hit the Hard Rock.
And saw the dancing waters at the Bellagio.
We caught the tail-end of the Botanical Gardens in the Bellagio, too. They were in the process of tearing them out to change seasons so we only got a glimpse - bummer!
This exhibit, in one of the shopping lobbies, was made of ice that was slowly melting. Each day was a new view!
There were also a bunch of "pet tornadoes" in the same lobby.
On our last night we went up to the top of the Eiffel Tower. It is half the height of the real thing and it seemed very high! I don't know how I ever made it at the top of the real thing...I was young and blissfully ignorant to heights then!
From the top there were some amazing views of the strip!
We had a great long weekend. My favorite part...good company, relaxing by the pool, and the much deserved pedi after all that walking! It was a successful Girls Weekend, one that will have to be repeated at another fun location in the future!
She also designed a dress and matching headband with fabric scraps for her dolly. With a little sewing help from Mommy, we put it together and (squeezed) the dolly into it. I think it would fit a barbie a bit better... K said it is just a bit "skinny"! She did pretty good considering the size of the scraps I was willing to part with!
The M&M store was right across the street, so we spent some time wandering around in there.
We did a TON of walking up and down the strip. I think my favorite hotel/shops was the Venetian. I loved the store fronts and the feel of being right in Italy - canals with gondolas and singing Italians (okay, maybe not really!) and all!
These guys were on the same street corner every day! Can you imagine being the guy in the "Welcome to fabulous Las Vegas" sign?!! (Yes, there is a person in there!)
Of course, we hit the Hard Rock.
And saw the dancing waters at the Bellagio.
We caught the tail-end of the Botanical Gardens in the Bellagio, too. They were in the process of tearing them out to change seasons so we only got a glimpse - bummer!
This exhibit, in one of the shopping lobbies, was made of ice that was slowly melting. Each day was a new view!
There were also a bunch of "pet tornadoes" in the same lobby.
On our last night we went up to the top of the Eiffel Tower. It is half the height of the real thing and it seemed very high! I don't know how I ever made it at the top of the real thing...I was young and blissfully ignorant to heights then!
From the top there were some amazing views of the strip!
We had a great long weekend. My favorite part...good company, relaxing by the pool, and the much deserved pedi after all that walking! It was a successful Girls Weekend, one that will have to be repeated at another fun location in the future!
We started at the Alluvial Fan.
Then headed up to the Alpine Visitor Center via Fall River road - a one-way, dirt road. We stopped at Chasm Falls on the way.
We saw some beautiful views on the way up, but no big wildlife.
Kaylynn was sworn in as a Junior Ranger and got a big round of applause from everyone in the visitor center!
Though it was in the nineties at home, it got down to 56 degrees at the top of the pass. A bit chilly in shorts and T-shirts!
On our way down we came to another dead stop and crept along in a traffic jam in the park. Turns out there was a bull elk and his harem near the side of the road. He must have been quite the guy! He was laying down so I didn't get a good picture of him, only the ladies.
After we made it through that we saw another bull elk across a meadow. Here is a zoomed in picture of him.
Shortly after we exited the park we hit another traffic jam..."what now"! Turns out it was two black bears, one on either side of the road. Here are the best pictures of one of the bears. 
When we got home K said, "That was a fun trip!!" She was right! We decided it was a blessing to be stuck in all those traffic jams. We were fortunate to see some interesting wildlife along the way!
