Vegas!

Be Sure to check out my last post: Arizona!

Well normally.... what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.... but I'll let you all in on it just this once.

The Fremont Street Experience

Vegas is just a short 4.5 hours from home, and a drive I've done many times before. At state line, I made the stop at Buffalo Bills casino to ride the famous Desperado roller coaster. At its opening in 1994 it tied the record for steepest and longest drop (225') and at 80mph, was just slower than Steel Phantoms 82mph. The Ride experience starts with a chain lift through the casino, and rises high

Desperado Roller Coaster Ticket

above the desert floor, where it then plummets at a 60degree angle under the earth. The rest of the ride experience is nothing special, and honestly is downright painful. The coaster cars hurt your back as it rocks down the nearly 6,000ft of track. But after the ride, and 30 minutes later, I arrived at the Monte Carlo Hotel.

While I had only paid the rate for a lower level floor, the desk clerk upgraded me to a corner room on the 31st floor! It was huge and we were only 1 short of the top floor. The view was of the new City Center complex and across the 15 freeway.

View from the hotel room at the Monte Carlo

Official Wet'N'Wild Vehicle

I was excited to visit the new Wet'n'Wild Vegas, as it was the first Water Park to open in Vegas since
the strip location closed in 2004. The new park was located off the strip in a residential area and has plenty of room to grow. The slides were all shining and the wide open feel has a lot to build upon. I apologize for not taking more photos, but I definitely want to go back.

After the day at Wet'n'Wild I spent the night down on Fremont

Slide through a Shark Tank

street seeing some of the great free attractions. almost nightly on
the weekends there are live bands playing on the street. There's also the "show in the sky", which an awesome LED light show that is on a massive cover that stretches down the entire street. This seasons shows were all based on classic rock such as The Doors, The Who and the Beatles. We also ventured inside the Golden Nugget Hotel to see a water slide that goes right through a shark tank!

When it came time to leave Vegas the next day, I took a stop at the World Famous Gold and Silver Pawn Shop, from Pawn Stars! I was hoping to see Chumly, be he wasn't there... must have been out doing some mindless task for the old man.
On the drive back, I took a stop at one of my famous roadside sights: Rock-A-Hoola Water Park at beautiful Lake Delores!

Rock-A-Hoola Waterpark!

 OK, its actually closed down, and has been empty since the summer of 2004. Its located a little over 1/2 way to Vegas in the middle of nowhere, and is honestly no surprise that it closed. The lake has since dried up and plants have over grown what is left of the park. Most of the slides have been removed and there is nothing left around it. However this desert location used to be quite the family destination when it opened in 1962. Check out this promo video for the park while it was open:

While it is nothing special, it has always served as a running joke between me and my friend Huntington that when we strike it rich, we would buy it out and reopen it. While it was closed down and there were some no trespassing signs, I still ventured in to collect some photos of what was left. There are plenty more in the #LyfInFocus-Vegas album, but here are a few of my favorites.

 Before making it back home, I took a stop to see my good friends Annie and Jeremy, whom I hadn't

Annie and Jeremy with Bucky

seen in quite a while. They actually just got married last weekend too, (they were engaged when I visited over the Summer).

Didn't get enough photos? Then head over to the #LyfInFocus-Vegas album.

Be sure to check out my next post: Eating on the Road!