Oh, Las Vegas! You've done it again. The Wheel of Fortune, spun by that stone-hearted Lady Luck, is so capricious...

But if you're around. and would like to do something fun outdoors, or have a meal or coffee or whatnot, you can let me know. Maybe a bunch of us can do something fun. Looking beyond the obvious, the Las Vegas Valley is gorgeous (that's why I moved here, aside from a cool job). I don't drink, smoke, or gamble, so...

There are tons of places that are quite beautiful and fun. If you're a cyclist, the cycling is outstanding, there's hiking, fun nature walks, great birding, and plenty to do that has ZERO to do with The Strip (which most locals never visit, unless going to a glitzy show).

Here are some photos of what you see literally minutes off the strip - forgive my goofy self in some of them

-swiss

There's always The Beatles show at The Mirage which I cannot recommend highly enough.

And, do what we did. An evening's horse riding at (I think) Red Rocks Canyon. (Mainly memorable for the fact that they also hosted Weddings - it is LV after all - and there was a wedding due to happen while we were out riding, but the wedding party thought that the venue organised the celebrant, and the venue though that the wedding party were going to do it. Some tension and some disappointment were on display for us to witness from one side...)

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Captain Corella
60 Years a Fan

Great pics, swiss!

I see you managed to catch a Roadrunner in the last pic - Wile E Coyote will be jealous!

You are lucky to live in such a beautiful area.

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CaptainCorella
There's always The Beatles show at The Mirage which I cannot recommend highly enough.

And, do what we did. An evening's horse riding at (I think) Red Rocks Canyon.

Great suggestions, CC - couldn't agree more!

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DandelionPowderman
Great pics, swiss!

Thanks, Dandy - I should've rejiggered them to be the same size, but I think they give a sense of what you can find "off The Strip"!

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Green Lady
I see you managed to catch a Roadrunner in the last pic - Wile E Coyote will be jealous!

Hope you're doing well! And, yes, my god, such nutty birds! You may know, Green Lady (I didn't 'til I moved here), they don't say "Meep Meep" but make strange sounds, more like a monkey, ooooh oooooh eeeeh eeeeh! and whir and click, and dash around like dammit, while their tails flick up up and down and the crown of feathers on their heads pop up and down. My cats get agitated when roadrunners show up on our back wall--they're so large and peculiar! Perhaps coyotes aren't the only ones who become unreeasonably irritated by them

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Green Lady
You are lucky to live in such a beautiful area.

Truth. It took a bit to find this place. Abuts conservation land, just scrabbly desert, so not gorgeous, but no neighbors and does attract interesting wildlife--last week a tarantula the size of your hand--and older trees in the backyard so 20 degrees cooler than the brutal sun. World away from San Francisco, where I lived prior to this...

Wow great pics Swiss. A bit more impressive than Dartford Heath I have to admit.

Thanks for the info.

Nice pics.

Is the red building your house?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2016-10-20 05:40 by EddieByword.

if it is Eddie... it's long one .....



ROCKMAN

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Rockman
if it is Eddie... it's long one .....

......I don't mean the 'Ayers rock' in the background...........(I'm already worried about the rattlesnakes .....

.... I wouldn't be able ta sleeeeeep at night... WHAT WAS THAT NOISE?



ROCKMAN

I've been to the Red Rocks area. They filmed the movie, The Professionals, from back in the 1960s, nearby. Great movie if you dig Westerns. If y'all got the chance, push westward into Death Valley National Monument - it ain't all desert - or East toward Zion National Park. There's also the bridge (not Hoover Dam, though it's a cool visit) that takes you over Black Canyon into Arizona and the Black Mountains. If you push really hard southward you can visit Joshua Tree National Park.

We did a ScootCity tour out to Red Rocks, a lovely morning exclusion I can't recommend highly enough. A very entertaining experience

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Rockman
if it is Eddie... it's long one .....

Ha, I just noticed 'the long' hose..........

Nice pics Swiss !!!!

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EddieByword

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Rockman
if it is Eddie... it's long one .....

......I don't mean the 'Ayers rock' in the background...........(I'm already worried about the rattlesnakes .....

Some respect please for the Original Owners. The rock mentioned is called 'Uluru'.

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Captain Corella
60 Years a Fan

hey you guys! bluzdude and I may be getting together for a little sightseeing fieldtrip/hike/walk/zipline/dinner adventure. If you're down, let me know and let's coordinate it -- probably early afternoon.

re: comments above about the photos -- he he! There are very few desolately located houses like the one in that one image -- it's hard enough to get water at a regular house out here

There definitely are creatures out here...the guys who take care of my yard found a Black Widow Spider nest last week with babies jumping aorund everywhere and hundreds of EGGS!

My neighbor and I came upon a tarantula as big as your hand last week while taking a walk through open space behind where we live.



Boris the Tarantula...




And this morning I was awoken by some jerky kids messing around on that same conservation land on the other side of my back wall, making crazy noises like hyenas---it went on so long that I lept out of bed, pulled up the shade, and there were 3 adult coyotes, so large and healthy they looked like wolves (beautiful but freaky)!

Vegas is not for the faint of heart.

That said---if you want to get out and about in nature, then have a cas dinner at a nearby little town, join us!

-swiss (aka San-Franciscan-in-Exile-in-Vegas)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2016-10-20 13:34 by swiss.

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CaptainCorella

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EddieByword

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Rockman
if it is Eddie... it's long one .....

......I don't mean the 'Ayers rock' in the background...........(I'm already worried about the rattlesnakes .....

Some respect please for the Original Owners. The rock mentioned is called 'Uluru'.

That's ok, but remember, next time you come to the UK, don't forget to tell your travel agent you want to go to Ynys Prydain



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2016-10-20 13:31 by EddieByword.

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swiss
hey you guys! bluzdude and I may be getting together for a little sightseeing fieldtrip/hike/walk/zipline/dinner adventure. If you're down, let me know and let's coordinate it -- probably early afternoon.

re: comments above about the photos -- he he! There are very few desolately located houses like the one in that one image -- it's hard enough to get water at a regular house out here


Vegas is not for the faint of heart.

That said---if you want to get out and about in nature, then have a cas dinner at a nearby little town, join us!

-swiss (aka San-Franciscan-in-Exile-in-Vegas)

And that's just the animals.............

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EddieByword
And that's just the animals.............

Precisely, EddieByword. Ever-abundant wildlife.

The power of screen names! I always thought you were a male librarian from Switzerland.

Very nice pictures.

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parislocksmith
The power of screen names! I always thought you were a male librarian from Switzerland.

Very nice pictures.

And I've presumed you're Paris Hilton

Thanks! Are you here in LV?
(This is me in my librarian garb last week - not a boy - not Swiss)





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2016-10-20 14:20 by swiss.

No, unfortunately. Stuck in Sweden (not, alas, Paris anymore) preparing for classes tomorrow. Have a great time in Las V.

Geeeeeeeeez I always thought you were a French master thief ...



ROCKMAN

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Rockman
Geeeeeeeeez I always thought you were a French master thief ...

Mais oui...

I drove the red rocks loop yesterday - 14 miles or so. Today I took the Mt.
Charleston loop - about 30 or 40 miles. I recommend both. If I had hiking boots than I would have hiked in some of these areas but there are warnings about
rattlesnakes etc. So Shorts and running shoes seemed a poor decision.

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swimtothemoon
I drove the red rocks loop yesterday - 14 miles or so. Today I took the Mt.
Charleston loop - about 30 or 40 miles. I recommend both. If I had hiking boots than I would have hiked in some of these areas but there are warnings about
rattlesnakes etc. So Shorts and running shoes seemed a poor decision.

swimtothemoon,

Well alright! So glad you got to those places - fantastic!! Both are in my photos.

Not sure where you saw/heard those warnings but really very unlikely to come across rattlesnakes (or others) on trails in those areas. More likely you'll see a tarantula (who are not interested in people unless you try to grab them).

-swiss

Thanks Swiss, I thought that was probably the case as I saw a several runners along the paths in Redrocks on my way out. I might go back Friday or Saturday.

I am afraid this is closer to the truth:

are you a ceiling inspector ????



ROCKMAN