Las Vegas - WOW Show (Part 4)

 Going to Las Vegas and not watch any shows doesn't sound right. There are many shows to choose from. I thought of picking something that would be colorful and exciting. WOW show that takes place at Rio Casino seemed like the one that fit the requirements. It also had a pretty good review from the audience. 

Rio Casino have a very fascinating interior. I was amazed. 

 

Despite the high rating of the show, the line was rather short. The overall audience was less than expected. It worked well for us. The ticket collector offered us better seats that were empty. 

More of Rio Interior:

Inside the theater. It looked rather small but eye catching. I was a bit disappointed as I was expecting a very big stage. However, once the show started, the whole room seemed to have become the stage. It was pleasantly unexpected. Loved the show very much. 

Hoover Dam

Anybody visiting Las Vegas is sure to take the time to visit the all famous Hoover Dam, which is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the U.S. states of Nevada and Arizona. It is about an hours drive from Las Vegas. We stopped by there on our way to Grand Canyon South rim. My idea was it would take about an hour and we'd be able to get back to road quickly. However, the reality was quite different. The place is gorgeous! We ended up spending over two hours there. 

Approaching Hoover Dam:

Mike O'Callaghan - Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge:

The landmark river bridge, featuring the longest concrete arch in North America is nearly 1,900-foot-long crossing of the Colorado River approximately 1,500 feet downstream from the dam.

Multi-storied Parking lot offers a nice view as well. 

Visitor center:

The memorial:

The way up to the bridge:

A better view of the dam from the bridge:

Mojave National Preserve

 Mojave National Preserve is located in the Mojave Desert of San Bernardino County, California. Natural features include the Kelso Dunes, the Marl Mountains and the Cima Dome, as well as volcanic formations such as Hole-in-the-Wall and the Cinder Cone Lava Beds. Impressive Joshua tree forests are found in parts of the preserve. The forest covering Cima Dome and the adjacent Shadow Valley is the largest and densest in the world. The ghost town of Kelso is found in the preserve, with the defunct railroad depot serving as the Visitor Center.

It is about an hour drive from Las Vegas. As I always do, I had made plans well ahead of all the places that I would visit and this was one of the items in my list. We all love dunes in my family. So, Kelso dune was a place we weren't going to miss. I also wanted to check out the Joshua trees, something that is very unique of this part of the world. I had never seen one before but heard plenty about it. 

On the way to the preserve:

The Joshua trees in the preserve:

Part of the ghost town that was a mining town sometime in the past.

The Dunes: It is a bit of a walk from the parking lot. Just reaching the foot of the dunes can take about an hour. It is not easy to walk fast on the sand. If the goal is to climb up the dunes to the peak then one must plan to be there for about three hours. When we went there it was hot, almost barren with the exception of maybe three or four visitors. I wanted to go all the way to the peak but nobody else in my family agreed to. We went close to the foot of the dunes  and came back. Very nice place to be.  

We found this car parked in the parking lot. Interesting drawing.

The Lava Rocks:

We tried driving close to the Lava Rock using this dirt road. Unfortunately the road was so terrible that we couldn't drive faster than  5 miles per hour (two wheel drive). After going just half a mile we stopped, took pictures and turned around. 

On our way back to Las Vegas: