Sin City & Around - Las Vegas, Hoover Dam & Grand Canyon

It was two weeks since the San Francisco trip and we were back onto our planning – the Las Vegas Trip (November 12th - 14th 2010). Though we are calling it that, it was much more than a trip to a new city. It was an experience of life time with a bunch of exchange students from more than 5 countries going to have a weekend full of fun and enjoyment. In short, it was a 3 day plan where we were going to cover Las Vegas, Hoover Dam and Grand Canyon.

So we were all packed and ready to go on 12th morning. Pablo and Enrique got a rental car – a shining VW Jetta – which was going to be our ride for next 3 days. They picked me and Larry on way and we were off to the desert city. It was over a 5 hour drive to the paradise. It was evening by the time we landed in LV and headed straight to our abode of the weekend – Summer Bay Resorts. Rogers and the gang joined us here. They were providing a service apartment along with cooking facilities at this place and hence the next stop was a grocery store. It sounds strange but true – we picked enough groceries and drinks to last over the weekend and stuffed the racks in the apartment. We had a quick dinner and were ready to roll on the streets of this city which starts at night. The entire group was strolling on the strip the entire night hopping from one casino to another. Each casino had a different theme on offer along with a completely diverse medium of entertainment for those who were not so inclined to put in the money. Well they say – “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” and so I would keep it that way for most part of it. But it should suffice to say that I was having a great time – spending money on poker, dolling coins in slots and of course enjoying the other perks of being in the city!!

We were backs to our apartment at varying time from 4 in morning to 8. Since I and Larry were amongst the first ones in, we were also the first ones out next morning. Since everyone was asleep we both moved out to walk through the city and have an experience of the deserted casinos and low on life strip (compared to the evening) and had few snaps with landmarks in background. After the stroll we had a quick lunch with the entire group and were off to Hoover Dam around 25 miles away. It is an over 8 decade old dam build during the great depression and is subject of documentaries because of the technical and logistical challenges faced during its construction. It lies on the boundary of the states of Nevada and Arizona. This is highlighted with two giant pillars on either side carrying clocks with time in the two corresponding states. We were back to LV by nights and then began another night of poker and blackjacks!! Next day was going to be a long one but this did not deter any one of us from enjoying the wonders of the city through the night.

We had an entire night of fun and were still all ready and fresh to march towards one of the “Seven wonders of the world” called the Grand Canyon! After what seemed like a long and exciting drive from LV to GC, we were there at the helm of this giant structure extending to limits of our sight. After the quick ticketing and other formalities we hopped on to the tourist bus which would take us along the canyon and to some of the identified viewing spots. Standing beside this marvel, one is forced to realize the powers of nature and how small we are in front of it. Spending the entire day at that wonderful scenic structure was an exciting opportunity and we did not realize that it was time to be back. We drove back and spend some more moments at the Strip mostly enjoying the dances, music and shows at various casinos. Next morning it was time to be home – yeah call it temporarily – but still I was enjoying every day of it.