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Friday, 09 April 2004 00:00 |
 Yesterday, we decided we would head out of Vegas and continue our trek to the northwest in the morning. We decided to check out the other end of The Strip because we had only been as far as The Mirage on Tuesday, about 2/3rd of the way up. We parked at the north end of Las Vegas Boulevard and started our walk southward. It was evident that this end was not as new as the other; the casinos were older, smaller and seemed a little run down, the hotels were "tougher" looking with smaller rooms and shops. The glory days were behind them and they need some serious facelifts or even demolition to make way for the casinos of the 21st century. We walked back to the car , then drove to and parked at The Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, at the south end of The Strip. We decided to have our farewell dinner there and enjoyed a meal at the China Grill one of their over 20 restaurants.
Even though we had an early night, when we got up this morning the weather was so beautiful, we decided to stay another night. It gave us an opportunity to do some cleaning and take in a few more sights. We drove out to another nearby state park, the Spring Mountain Ranch State Park at the base of the Wilson Cliffs next to the Red Rock Canyon. This is a 520-acre ranch with a colourful history going back to the early 1800's. It has had many owners, one being Vera Krupp, a 1955 German movie actress and more recently, Howard Hughes. Most of the original structures still exist and in their original or even better condition. The backdrop for this interesting site is magnificent and throughout the property is evidence of the wild burros that wander in the area. (We did see some but they were too far away for me to photograph.) It was a great opportunity to view some of the splendour of an era gone by as well as understand some of the history of the area.
Tomorrow we WILL hit the road again! 
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