Las Vegas is a very strange city. And, though I think it is worth a visit at least once in a life-time (if for nothing more than a the realization of how bizarre it is), I have visited it many more times than I ever expected to. The first time I visited was bout 15 years ago. The Geology Club planned a summer field trip to California -- Death Valley, the White Mountains, etc. It is hard to take gear for 20 to 25 people (stoves and tents and such) on air-planes. So, some of us drove the van, loaded with equipment across the country, camping and enjoying the emptiness of the west on the way. We arrived at the Valley of Fire state park and spent the night, sleeping out, under the stars, listening to the sounds of the desert in the spring. The next morning, we got up and drove down the strip, looking for breakfast. ... I think we all experienced culture shock without even leaving the country. There were slot machines everywhere (even in the airport!), We got trapped in Cesar's Palace (there is a moving sidewalk into the casino, but no way out!) where, in the streets of ancient Rome, the statues of the gods come to life and clouds drift across a painted sky. The second time I visited I overheard two women on the street talking about the city. One says to the other as they walked under the Eiffel Tower at the Paris (?) Casino, "I don't know why anyone needs to go to Europe, when you can see all the wonders of the world here. In one place."What can I say. I'll tell you in a year if you should listen to her, or see the real things for yourself.
(I actually kind of enjoy LV. I could die happily if I never go back again, but ignoring the ecological disaster that it represents (Kentucky Bluegrass and fountains in the desert; and enough lights to make it seem almost like daytime in the middle of the night), there is a festive, amusement park feel to the strip. It is every excess of American culture with no apologies.)Mostly, I avoided the strip and hung out with my friend Wendy and her family. I hung out in the Geology department at UNLV (where I ran into Spider, for those of you who know her). Playing on the Internet, attending guest lectures (which I am proud to say that I understood about 90-95% of! -- the geology of the western US is as bizarre as LV itself, by the way), and playing with an SEM (we looked at an ant head -- and got to see the hairs on its "nose" -- very cool!)
Wendy and I did couple of "hikes" over the weekend; one in the ravine behind her house, the other at Red Rocks -- Red Rocks is beautiful and a great site to see cross-bedding! We hiked up to a frozen pool and a view of the city. Our quite and serene (though very dark by the time we got down -- I thought that this far south, it would stay dark after 5pm, but I was very wrong!) hike was followed by a drive down the strip. One last comment about Las Vegas. It was COLD! -- there were two days where there was frost on the grass in the morning! a rare thing I hear.
I also found out that Wendy and I share a delight in what I affectionately call "trashy TV" and, as a result of this common decadence, I got to wallow in the Sci Fi series: Farscape! For the uninitiated, and from my perspective, Farscape is the Australian version of Blake's Seven, which is the British (anti)-version of Star Trek. -- I love looking at how the story/situations/characters/etc. change over the decades as they jump across the oceans! Wendy credits sci. fi. for getting her interested in science, and I know that my affection for the good stuff (and frustration with the bad stuff) has increased as I have learned more about science.I'll close with a general statement of what my plans are for the future: I don't know. I'm staying in San Diego with my brother and soon-to-be-sister-in-law for some period of time. I intend to head out in a few weeks for parts unknown -- Australia/New Zealand on the way to Thailand in Feb. I'll keep you posted on future movements!
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