Day 41 – Hoover Dam and Las Vegas, NV

Thursday, October 21^th 2010

In the morning I drove back along US-93 to see the Hoover Dam. I had driven past it the night before but I wanted to see it in the daytime. Hoover Dam is a massive concrete arch-gravity dam controlling the flow of water from the Colorado River. The dam rests on both sides of the Arizona and Nevada state line. It was built during the years of 1931-1936 for the purpose of controlling floods, providing irrigation and to produce hydroelectric power. It is 1,244 feet long, 726 feet tall, 660 feet thick at its base and generates 4.2 billion KWh annually, supplying power to public and private utilities in Nevada, Arizona and California. It’s a remarkable structure and worthwhile seeing.

From the Hoover Dam, I drove about 30 miles to Las Vegas. I arrived around noon and drove the main strip. The strip was full with people as I’m sure it always is. Kevin was staying at the Mirage and he offered the extra bed in his room to me for the night so I parked near his hotel. I met up with Kevin and Graeme around 2pm as they were taking a quick lunch break from the show. After that, I went out to walk around and check out the sites. Vegas is an interesting place. It has an “anything goes” type of vibe to it. Everyone seemed to be drinking in public so I decided it would be best to try to fit in with the crowd. I went to a few casinos to take advantage of their drink specials. I passed a little person dressed in a leprechaun outfit outside of the O’Sheas casino, part of Harrahs. He was advertising a beerpong tournament that was about to start in twenty minutes. The entrance fee was $20/person and a prize of $200 awaited the winning team. I tried to coax Kevin via a text to leave the show early and be my partner in the tournament but he couldn’t. I knew he wouldn't be able to but it was my only option. I really wanted to play. I sampled a few more beers at some other casinos and then stopped at a Chipotle for a Baracoa burrito. I figured this was going to be a long night and I had better get some food in my stomach. I went back to O’Sheas to watch the tournament in progress. Although I didn’t get a chance to compete in the tournament, I did meet someone who asked if I would be his teammate in a few pickup games. We went three games undefeated before I had to leave to meet back up with Kevin and Greame. If only I had met this guy earlier in the day, I think we would’ve had a chance at that $200 pot!

After some time walking on the strip, we all decided to take a taxi to Fremont Street in downtown Vegas. Fremont Street is the older section of Las Vegas and this was my first time there. It is an actual street outside but it is covered overhead with a giant canopy of neon lights and video screens, making the night as bright as day. It was full of people, girls dancing on tables, bands and street performers. I definitely prefer this area compared to the well known Vegas strip. We had some dinner, drinks and tried our luck at some tables. Graeme had a nice run going playing roulette and then we went to the blackjack tables. The dealers slowly depleted our chip stacks. Kevin and Graeme had gotten up from the table and I was down to my last chip. I pulled two eights, which I split, then split again and then doubled down, making back my money to break even.

From there we walked a few streets over to the Hogs and Heifers Saloon. This is a well known biker bar bereft of all of the glitz and glamour of the typical Vegas bars. Here, bras and bumper stickers adorn the walls and good looking bartenders intermittently break from pouring beers to dance on top of the bar, all the while putting patrons in their place with the use of a bull horn. It was great! We stayed for a few rounds and then things started to get a little fuzzy. I guess I’ll just have to end this post here and stay true to the Vegas motto.

We had fun.