OLA: Escaping to the Natural Side of Vegas!

Bill and Carol @ the Artists' Palette in Death Valley National Park

our little Saturn @ Rainbow Vista Point, Valley of Fire

After such a sizzling week of 12 shows at the Strip in 8 days, most of them free, Bill and I needed a nature break.  With some research and tips from Tony and Angie, we found four trips of less-than-an-hour and one 2-hour day trip to the other side of Vegas. We were excited that natural outdoor parks are so accessible from the city’s man-made wild side. Maybe that is one reason the site was chosen for the city.  But the major factors for its early growth were the legalization of gambling in 1931 and the construction of Hoover Dam in 1935. The population of the SMSa is now 2M.

full view of the Red Rocks Canyon from the Visitor Center

Carol @ Calico Point, Red Rocks Canyon National Conservation Area

The very first day trip we took was only 30 minutes away, the Red Rocks Canyon National Conservation Area. It provides awe-inspiring views of desert beauty in towering red cliffs, very near and in contrast to the bright lights and hype of the Strip.  The red hills were formed by a number of geological forces including fractured faults where the earth's crust collided over millions of years, leaving fossilized sand dunes. The Calico Cliffs and Tanks are of special interest.

having lunch high up at Mt. Charleston Lodge Cafe

Cathedral Rock at Mt. Charleston

Only 40 minutes away from the heat of the city is Mount Charleston, a haven in winter for its skiing facilities and in summer for temperatures cooler by 20 degrees, much like Tagaytay is to Manila.  Unlike Tagaytay though, it is serene and uncrowded, a definite indication that the real draw to Las Vegas is the unending sizzle of the Strip. Cathedral Rock is the towering attraction, much like Taal Volcano is for Tagaytay. Bill and I enjoyed lunch at the deck of Mt. Charleston Lodge, overlooking the mountain ridge.

Hoover Dam and the new Bypass

Hoover Dam, once known as Boulder Dam, is just about 50 minutes south of Las Vegas. It is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River. Constructed between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression, such a large concrete structure had never been built before, some of the techniques were unproven, and the torrid climate presented difficulties.  The dam is located near Boulder City, Nevada, a municipality originally constructed for workers on the construction project, about 25 mi southeast of Las Vegas. The dam provides power for Nevada, Arizona, and California. 

 

Lake Mead National Recreation Area from the Visitor Center

Carol @ Las Vegas Harbor and Cafe on Leak Mead NRA

Formation of Lake Mead began in 1935, less than a year before Hoover Dam was completed. The lake features water recreation - boating, swimming, and fishing. It also features hiking trails and views of the surrounding desert landscape; three of the four desert ecosystems found in the U.S. — the Mojave Desert, the Great Basin Desert, and the Sonoran Desert — meet in the first ever National Recreation Area to be created. About 30 M acre-feet of water are stored there although there are highs and lows through time, depending on snowmelts. Now it is 100 feet short of the maximum recorded in the 1980s.

Bill and Carol @ Beehives in the Valley of Fire

Bill again maneuvering to give me a perfect shot

The Valley of Fire is only 50 miles northeast from the city. Considering its magnitude and beauty, I wondered why it was designated a state park and not a national park.  Later I learned that it is the oldest state park in Nevada and was also designated as a National Natural Landmark in 1968. Covering an area of almost 42,000 acres, it derives its name from red sandstone, formed from great shifting sand dunes during the age of dinosaurs that often appear to be on fire when reflecting the sun's rays. The Elephant Rock, Mouse Tanks, White Domes, Silica Dome, Fire Canyon, Piano Rock, the Arch, Rock of Gibraltar, Beehives, Indian Marbles, etc. are of special interest. The park even has campgrounds with full hookups!

Badwater Basin, 2nd lowest part of the world
@ Death Valley National Park

But our biggest discovery is that the Death Valley National Park is only 2 hours away from the Strip! So Bill and I went early to maximize our coverage of the large Park. It is known for being the driest (average of 2 inches of rainfall a year), lowest at -282 feet (second to Laguna de Carbon in Argentina), and hottest (134 degrees Fahrenheit recorded).  The highest point of the lower 48 is Mount Whitney, at a height of over 14,500 feet, is only 87 miles away. Home to many species of plants and animals that have adapted to this harsh desert environment, it has been declared an International Biosphere Reserve.

Zabrieski Point @ Death Valley National Park

Natural Bridge @ Death Valley National Park

Tourism blossomed in the 1920s, when resorts were built around Stovepipe Wells and Furnace Creek. There is now a Visitor Center at Furnace Creek right at the center of the park near the Inn, Ranch, and Resort. From there we were able to go to the Artists’ Palette, Natural Bridge, and Badwater Basin. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the time to go to Stovepipe Wells, Scotty’s Castle, and the Racetrack. It is interesting to know that parts of the first Star Trek movie were filmed there!

Well, that is the other exciting side of Las Vegas, the natural side. In four weeks, we have vacationed at a hotel, dined at a revolving restaurant, visited with friends and family, watched 12 shows, and drove to five amazing outdoor areas. What other treasures Las Vegas has to offer in our last week still awaits us. I definitely like the Entertainment Capital of the World a whole lot!!!

OLA: Going Wild at Vegas Shows!

Carol found her Yellow Garden at the Bellagio Botanical Conservatory!

Carol at MGM Grand

Crowds are aplenty, even if it’s off peak season (winter is peak). Crowds go wild, even with the sluggish economy! There are those, like us,who did not come for the casinos. They have become ubiquitous around the world and especially in the US and we are not risk-takers enough to gamble our money. But we surely came for the spectacle of the shows! You can even stay for a month, like us, and still have many left unseen for a future visit. Surprisingly, you can find many that are free, if you just know where to go. Luckily, the Thousand Trails Las Vegas resort provided us a list!

Jabbawockeez at Pinoy Pride Celebration

Free Shows

The first free show was at the Pinoy Pride Celebration where the main feature before the Santacruzan was the JABBAWOCKEEZ, a multicultural group with Filipino co-founders. They are the only dance group to headline a show in Vegas! They are best known for winning the first season of America’s Best Dance Crew. They now have a 6-year contract with Luxor.

the 19 Elvis Contestants

The next free show was a tip from Tony, my friend and former mentor from IBM Philippines. It was the Elvis Contest that sought the Las Vegas representative for the Memphis National Search. The night we watched, they were already down to 10 finalists from the US and Canada. Before midnight there were only three left in the semis and, finally, Chad Collins, a crowd favorite, emerged as the one who made Elvis most alive. Bill and I were thrilled!

Circus Circus Act

Carol and the Pirates

At Harrahs are flair bartenders and girlie dancers all night. Circus acts from all over the world was at Circus Circus every hour on the hour. Planet Hollywood has its Miracle Mile Fountain Show. However, we missed the Volcano, Sirens, and Dancing Lights at the Mirage, Treasure Island, and Bellagio respectively, because of high (20+ mile per hour) winds the night we were there. But the largest salt water aquarium, the pirates, and the botanical conservatory in each of them still delighted us!

fireworks when the Sirens united with the Pirates

We went back another night when the winds were calmer. The Sirens is actually a battle fought between the Sirens and the Pirates, in 2 ships on either side of the bridge we were on! Of course, the Sirens won! The volcano eruption is cool (no kidding)! And the dancing lights are and will forever be romantic.

the volcano eruption at the Mirage

at Excalibur

Although I’ve been to Las Vegas several times before on business, I did not know of these free shows except for the Bellagio dancing lights and the amazing exteriors of MGM, Excalibur, New York, New York, and Paris

.

New York, New Yorkn

Carol at the Paris Hotel/Casino

The Caesar’s Palace’s Atlantis Show is another spectacle. It recreated for all the Fall of Atlantis showcasing sibling rivalry at its fiercest, the brother and sister bragging about how one's ability is better than the other  and why each should be favored by King Atlas. You will love the electrifying animatronic statues incorporated into the fire and water show. We later learned that at the other end is another show of Bacchus, Venus, Apollo and Plautus!  Next time!

the Fall of Atlantis in Caesar's Palace

Lake of Dreams at Wynn

However, it was the Lake of Dreams at Wynn, a newer and classier hotel/casino, that was the best! It is a mechanized fairy tale with flowers that sway, each 30 feet wide. 7 projectors give life to a giant head that rises from underneath the lake, singing, talking and making faces at the audience amid music. The singing frog is also 30 feet tall, backed by a four-story stage rigging that sends up dancing characters, moons and balls of fire every half-hour. This is our most valuable find because we were alone, viewing it from a balcony without having to dine at the restaurants around the 3-acre serene lake. However, we have to come back to have the time to view all the features.

Wendell, Angie,and Carol at Harrah's after the show

For-a-Fee Shows  

But the shows that had a charge are even better!

On Mother’s Day Angie and Wendell Manchester treated us to the longest running show on the Strip, Divas Las Vegas. Drag stars paid surprisingly good tributes to Madonna, Mariah Carey, Cher, Britney Spears, Lady Gaga, Tina Turner, Celine Dion, Janet Jackson, Liza Minelli, Beyonce, Whitney Houston, Dolly Parton, Bette Midler, and Donna Summer. The drag queen, Frank Marino plays Joan Rivers himself.  People asked, why drag queens on Mother’s Day? Well, for one the people they are impersonating are mothers themselves, and in today’s society, they can be mothers, too!

The Divas Las Vegas with Frankie Marino at The Quad

Really Hypnosis at Planet Hollywood

Three days later, the Manchesters treated us to another show, this time in Planet Hollywood, Really Hypnosis, Really Funny. Marshal Sylver, educator and author reputedly hypnotizes 100,000 people in his shows annually and has sold $150M of his books and DVDs. During the show he first asked for about 40 volunteers from whom 10 who were the more easily influenced were selected. They became the show after Sylver led them to do all sorts of funny antics while in trance. In the finale one of them, a frail girl was stiffened, head and feet rested on two separate pedestals, and stepped onto by Sylver himself! And he is not a light weight!

Wendell, Carol, Bill,and Angie with Marshall Sylver

Carol  at Jersey Boys in Paris

On Mother’s Day, my second daughter Claudine gifted with us with tickets to Jersey Boys. The longest running musical in Vegas (it also runs on Broadway in New York), it is the story of the Four Seasons, as told by each of them, Frankie Valli, Bob Giorgio, Tommy de Vito, and Nick Massey, in four acts of spring, summer, fall, and winter. Their 40-year friendship took them from the streets of Newark to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. With performances of "Sherry," "Big Girls Don't Cry," "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You," "Dawn," "My Eyes Adored You," and comedy, action, and romance, crowds literally went wild. I was up on my feet dancing in the aisle! Bill was shier this time!

Carol and Bill at the Tournament of Kings

And, for Bill’s gift for me on Mother’s Day…it was the Tournament of the Kings at Excalibur! He saw it maybe 20 years ago and he wanted me to experience the fun, too! And there, I really went wild. We felt as if we were in a real jousting arena, rooting for our King (ours was the King of Austria). We were taught to ‘Huzzah’ for him and the competition of the crowd sections was as fierce as the tournament of the Kings. During their banquet at the Round Table, we ate like we were in medieval England, too, with our fingers, much like in the Philippines today! We each had a whole Cornish hen (tasted like Max’s chicken, a Fillipino favorite). We drank with our tankards and raised them too! 

the dancing lights at Bellagio

Free or for-a-fee shows in Vegas are as plenty as the crowds and they constantly add new shows, new celebrities, and new acts. We have to stay in this city longer next time or visit more frequently. One month or one time just isn’t enough! Las Vegas is indeed the Entertainment Capital of the World…even if you don’t gamble! I concluded I have to let out my wild side at least once a year!!! Hope Bill agrees!

OLA: Rekindling the Filipino in Me!

@ the Pinoy Pride Celebratioin in Las Vegas

Nine years ago, I migrated to the US from the Philippines. Although I have been immersed into the American way of life, especially in the RVing community, It is no secret that I miss many things that I enjoyed back home. As a matter of fact, the tourism slogan of my home country is ‘…it’s more fun in the Philippines’.  Las Vegas, like San Diego, proved to be another place where I can rekindle the Filipino in me through tasting near-forgotten favorite traditional Filipino food, talking in Tagalog during visits with Filipino family and friends, and revisiting much-missed Filipino traditions.

Ate Tesing and Kuya Ute at their Las Vegas home!

tulingan and pinakber, an all=time favorite of mine!

First to visit us in our RV were retired septuagenarians, my dear Ate Tesing and her husband Kuya Ute.  Ate Tesing is my first cousin whose mom, Tia Juana, the last living sibling of my mom, passed away last month. I fixed fresh lumpia, chicken inasal, and buko pandan for them. Last Saturday, they returned the favor when we visited them at their apartment in Henderson, Nevada, just 15 minutes away from Las Vegas. She had ‘tulingan’ (flattened Bonita fish and poached to perfection with dried kamias and salt) so I brought pinakbet to pair it with. Bill could not believe how much I ate! He kept to the roast chicken.

Chef Bill checking in on the girls, Bernie and Carol

after dnner, wine @ the RV

Next to visit were Tony and Bernie Nievera. Bill grilled New York strip steak (his favorite) while I made potatoes au gratin and a spinach salad. Everyone enjoyed the beer before and the wine during dinner. Bernie brought a triple chocolate cake and matched it with the French vanilla ice cream and fudge we had in our refrigerator for the after dinner dessert! Although it was more of an American dinner, it was a night of reminiscing our old days when Tony was a mentor and the Country Manager of IBM Philippines. We were supposed to return the favor and visit them at their house in North Las Vegas last Sunday but alas, Tony had a nasty accident while gardening which required several stitches on his face and a splint for his arm.

part of the Santacruzan @ the Pinoy Pride Celebration

Filipino dancers on stage @ the Pinoy Pride Celebration

We found out from Tony that there would be a Santacruzan at the Boulevard Mall that Saturday evening. Flores de Mayo is a Philippine Catholic festival held during the whole month of May in honor of the Virgin Mary. On the last day of the festivities, a Santacruzan is held in honor of Helena (known as Reyna Elena) and Constantine who found the True Cross in Jerusalem. It turned out that the event was a full-blown Filipino fiesta, Pinoy Pride Celebration, complete with rides, kiosks, and dancers and singers on stage, carved out of the Mall’s parking lot one weekend in May every year.  Reliving the tradition with a cupful of rice, menudo and sauteed ground pork, was a great way to cap the day!

the Mother's Day Brunch Buffet @ the Boulder Station Casino: Angie and Wendell and Carol and Bill

beaming mothers: Carol and Angie

On Mother’s Day, we met Angie Manchester, a friend from my Toastmaster days, and her husband Wendell, at the Brunch Buffet of the Boulder Station Casino. We feasted on the rows and rows of offerings: breakfast, Asian, Italian, Mexican, and carving (prime rib, roast pork crown, and roast turkey) stations and the salad and dessert bars. The three hour feast was interrupted only by the guy who felt that the waitress who was taking our group photo leaned too far back and was too close to his mother. He ranted boisterously at the ‘great offense’. Obviously, he does not know about Asian tourists!  He was talked to by managers, eventually led out by the security guards, and blacklisted from the casino. 

Although an unfortunate incident that could have marred our day, we just decided that it was some unique free entertainment. Thus the week ended happy, with me bringing home four more tulingans for my freezer, reviewing my Tagalog with three great Filipino couples, and chancing upon my first ever Santacruzan in America…in Las Vegas, the Entertainment Capital of the World! Although not just a Filipino traditiion, let me add a very pleasant Mother's Day with another Filipino friend. I may have missed many things from Manila but there are places in the US that are almost like home! Perhaps this is the kind of city we should settle in!

OLA: Eating, Playing, and Loving in Las Vegas!

'High on Love' @ the Observation Tower, 108th floor of the Stratosphere with a view of Las Vegas Strip at night!

our Las Vegas Hotel room!

The first thing we did when we reached Las Vegas last Tuesday, coming from the national parks of Southern Utah, was to check in at LVH (Las Vegas Hotel) where Bill and I took a 3-day vacation from our RV.  It was the former Las Vegas Hilton where my brother-in-law (deceased) Gary Bautista wowed many audiences for many years with his one thousand and one impersonations. Under new management, our room was spacious and luxurious and the spa/fitness room/pool facilities are superb. They even gifted us with a bottle of red wine. During the next three days, we simply went chillaxin'.

Bill with his B at the Fremont Street Experience!

Carol with 100% of the King's attention!

The two nights, however, we had our first taste of Vegas, the entertainment capital. We had both been there several times in the past, but this was our first time together!  The first night Bill and I went to the Fremont Experience. The old Las Vegas of two blocks of old casinos had been converted into a compact combustion of energy with the street between them enclosed. There were several stages of live bands and performers, costumed characters inviting every one for a souvenir photo, lovely girls beckoning us to the street bars, artists at work peddling their art, souvenir kiosks, and even a zip line that ran under the electronic roof (whose dizzying display was controlled by 300 computers). 

Carol dancing with a Flash Mob at Fremont!

Her Majesty, the Queen!

The second night, Bill took me to dinner at the Stratosphere, the revolving restaurant atop the iconic Las Vegas Tower. Though the dinner was great, I could not concentrate on the food because the 360 degree Vegas night scene captivated me. After dinner, we even rode up to the 108^th floor, two floors up from the restaurant, to view those who sky jumped for the amazing thrill of flying over Vegas! But for us, the thrill was different. We found a sign that read, ‘High on Love’ against the backdrop of the Strip (headline photo)!

the Stratosphere dinner, overlooking the Las Vegas Strip!

Filipino dinner with Tony and Bernie!

After our brief escapade, we parked our RV at the Thousand Trails’ Las Vegas Resort. The next day we met with Tony Nievera and his lovely wife, Bernie at a favorite Filipino restaurant, Kusina (meaning kitchen) ni Lorraine. Tony had been a mentor during my IBM days, where he was former GM (later he also became GM of Unisys Philippines and VP of Computer Associates in New York). Out went my diet for I feasted on the much-missed Filipino buffet, especially with the ginataang monggo for desert! It’s a good thing I can continue the daily routine I started at the hotel at the resort’s exercise room! 

the Praying Mantis' Flames at the First Friday Festival

3 Friends at the First Friday Festival!

Afterwards, we walked off the calories at the Las Vegas First Friday Festival where many artists displayed their creativity. First thing that caught our attention was the Eagle Owl with very bright yellow eyes who can rotate his neck 270 degrees! There were rows and rows of food kiosks, even a rolling frozen yoghurt bar! Unique finds were the gypsy guys, the Syn Shop (Vegas’ Hackerspace community) and the Flaming Mantis which was built because the artist was bit by one! We ended the night with beer and wine under the moon and stars with the Las Vegas Tower as a backdrop!

playing Dangerous Beauty @ a penny slot machine

That Saturday we could no longer postpone going to a casino. We went to the one just a mile from our campground, Boulder Station, part of the chain of Station Casinos in Vegas. We took out a boarding pass for each of us. Bill ordered the 99 cent margarita that afternoon while I lost all of $1 in the hour I played on a penny slot machine called Dangerous Beauty! That was a good start! Afterwards, we went to the Saturday Vigil Mass at the Guardian Angel Cathedral right next to the casinos on the strip.

Guardian Angel Cathedral in front of Encore

On Sunday we chose to watch Iron Man 3 in 3D. It was all over Facebook.  Everyone was saying how good this movie is and I wanted to see for myself.  Bill happily complied for this is one of his favorite genres…a slightly comedic action adventure. As for me, as long as I have my refillable large bag of popcorn (we had two!) and large drink, I am happy. That was it…the first week in Vegas sizzled with lots of eating, playing, and loving. That was the advice Tony had given us! I now wonder…should we settle down in this city?