Las Vegas

We stopped by Las Vegas on the way to Ridgecrest and Chinalake. The place is something else and we think a must for visitors to the US who want to see how the US can create to excess at it's finest. Everywhere you look there are flashing lights, big hotels and casinos and poker machines. There are even poker machines in the airport so you can get straight into the gambling while you're waiting for you luggage or get that last fix before you go.

Las Vegas is also famous for it's big stage shows and most of the big casino / hotels have something playing. In typical Vegas style we went and saw an Elvis tribute show. It was great entertainment and we both enjoyed the night.

Everything is designed to get you into a casino. While you are gambling all the drinks are free (any type you want) so we had a bit of fun one night for a few hours. While we did our money, we had the limit and had plenty of drinks. All up we were gambling for about 4 or 5 hours and had over 10 drinks total so we thought it was a pretty cheap night (compared with going to a bar or nightclub.

We stayed at the Mandalay Bay on the nights before going to Ridgecrest and the Monte Carlo on the last night before flying back home. We can recommend both but the Mandalay Bay has great views of the strip, airport and the surrounding countryside (not that there is much to look at once you get our of Vegas.