We only go to Vegas on business trips for our company Answers In Motion (2010 ASD trade show) but we try to fit in at least one fun and interesting thing to do. Last year it was the amazing production called LOVE, a Beatles tribute by Cirque du Soleil...in a word, FANtastic!! This year we got to see the real Vegas, not the strip or the town or the shows or the buildings but rather the Vegas of millions of years ago.
A short drive out of town and you will find desert with Joshua trees(a plant actually, in the lily family!). With a well educated native at your side(thank you Robert!!) you can learn to recognize the layers of rock and landmarks of days gone by when mammoths roamed the land or ocean covered the desert floor. Now drive up to higher elevation and see first the scrubby pinions and junipers.
A very short scenic drive and you will be enfolded into cooler temperatures, tall pines and stunning vistas in the Spring mountains of NV. Did you know skiing is available from Oct to April? Picnic groves are easily found and hikes from simple to expert can be had. The air is so clean and fresh and the pace is lesuirely, as far from the lights and sounds of the strip as you can get but only 45 minutes away!
We are fortunate to know Robert, a lifelong NV native turned tour guide and all around great person. He has taken us to Red Rock Canyon and Mt Charleston one of the tallest peaks in NV and generously shares his vast knowledge of history, the flora and the fauna of the area. It leaves you with a new connection to the place called Vegas beyond the famous man made playground.
When you venture out West to try your luck for fun or business, do yourself a favor and contact Guided Vegas Tours...ask for Robert. http://www.guidedvegastours.com/index.html A simple walking tour of the Strip or a day or night adventure into the real Vegas of desert, high desert or mountain landscapes and you will be a winner every time.
